Blackwater: Tiki Table build diary

Long time no update. Tiki legs are done. I hope they don’t split in half under the weight.

Tabletop has been delivered, and I spent the day carving the top. I’m pretty happy with how it came out so far. Still need to carve the sides, then I’ll do final assembly and finishing.

(Tiki Diablo is a huge influence obviously, specifically his work for Undertow.)

[ Edited by BlackWater on 2023-11-26 18:24:30 ]

Wow, nice job.

Love it when a plan comes together.

Sweetness in the making

Glad to see an update, looks great!

That is definitely ambition on a grand scale. It looks absolutely top-notch thus far. My hands and arm are going numb just from looking at all of your router work! Seriously, I cannot wait to see the final stages once finish is applied and the entire table is assembled. The madman in me is thinking of all the ways a carved tabletop could be combined with resin... but that's for somebody else to attempt!

Thanks everyone. It is ambitious and has taken all summer. The router was tough, though actually the hardest part was making the straight, even lines. But I still had to keep the router controlled and constantly moving, and felt my arm muscles spasm a few times. I hope to finish the sides this weekend, then work on the frame and attaching legs.

Tiki legs are done. I hope they don’t split in half under the weight.

I wonder if some metal strapping around the top and bottom of the pole would add more support.

Looks great so far!

I was thinking about metal strapping but don’t know where to start. Maybe that will be plan B.

Flipped the table to carve the sides today.

But the table is 7 feet long. How am I going to carve the ends?

If it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.

That's brilliant & the ladder looks like it was made for the job. Also, The mention of, "could be combined with resin..." Sounds like it would make it much EZer to clean after dinner. I don't see those legs splitting & falling in two but instead of strapping how bout drilling a hole thru it & gluing a dowel thru it. Like East & west & north & south, like a cross.

Awesome

Great pics

What Will said

Ooh I like the dowel idea.

Blackwater, when I needed a way of attaching the table top to my Tiki Bob (albeit a much smaller table top) I used a leg mounting plate. I sank a bolt into the Bob (leg in your case) and anchored it with resin. Then I just screwed them together. Gravity stabilizes it horizontally, so the plate and bolt only need to fight against vertical shear. Not sure how this would work for you but I wouldn't want you to have to mar the beautiful surface of your table to sink dowels through (although setting them partway through the underside may be an option)

Here's the link to what I did with my Bob table.

Thanks. I’m using a traditional table frame with Z-clamps to hold the tabletop. The frame has a groove for the Z-clips which then get screwed into the top. Probably overkill, but since it’s outdoors I don’t want to risk of splitting the top with wood movement.

Gotcha. That's probably for the best.

Table is put together and ready for finishing. But while the top was propped against the bar, some #*%€! cat peed on it. Twice. I’ll try sanding it down, and I’m hoping dark stain will cover it, but any suggestions are welcome.

Let the cat live. It only adds to the character.

BTW, the table is out standing.

Never seen one like it. Great job.

Strong work 👍🏼

First coat of stain looks... not so hot. Some of the pine just didn’t take the stain at all. I’m going to try a dye stain next to hopefully get a more uniform color. Not panicking yet, just another challenge to overcome. And a reminder that pine sucks for tikis.

Oh yeah. Dye stain FTW. That’s the look I was hoping for. Giving it two days to fully dry before spar urethane so it doesn’t fog.

Looks AMAZING!!!

Perfect

Drink time

Rain in LA all week, so the stain still isn’t dry. I hope to urethane next week and put this project to a close with a cocktail.

I love deep carving. The table edge is just so incredible I could stare at it for hours. Love the legs too. Well done!

Fantastic job on this, looks amazing!

I'm declaring this finished. Thanks for your help and encouragement, everyone. A few photos of the finished piece to follow.

Time for a Jet Pilot.

Fantastic! Beautiful work.

A jet pilot ? That deserves a squadron of them.

Good job.

Table turned out great. I love the carving on the top and edges. Well done.

Outstanding job, love the reflection pics

This piece of art will be treasured by many people throughout the years. It will still be used when we are all gone. It is a masterpiece.

Thank you, everyone.