A Meranti mahogany wooden tabletop is a classic piece of furniture that adds character to any indoor or outdoor space. It is durable, versatile, and the beauty of natural wood patterns is just incomparable. Not to mention, high quality wood tables are very environmentally friendly compared to other materials like plastic.
Chris needed a high tabletop in order to film his YouTube videos for Warehouse ’71 and since woodworking is a great passion of his, he decided to make one himself. He needed something that was pleasing to the eye and the exact size for him. He chose Dark Red Meranti wood. This wood is the perfect combination of beauty, versatility, and performance. One of the easiest hardwoods to work with, it easily cuts, sands and mills. Due to the silica content, it can have a dulling effect on equipment. The dense and consistent straight grain produces long, straight pieces of lumber well suited for furniture. It is often used in boat building for restoring historic yachts. It is suitable for pergolas, boardwalks, and different types of outdoor furniture because of its dimensional stability. This means it will hold its unique measurements when exposed to changes in humidity and temperature. Many people also use it for moulding, furniture, structure, window, cupboards and door trim for plywood.
Steps for Creating Tabletop with Meranti Wood
1. Glue pieces together
The boards were face jointed and planed flat on a 19” wide jointer. The edges were also jointed to clean them up for gluing. Chris used TiteBond III Wood Glue and clamped every 14” down the board for uniformity along the glue joint. Chris put clamps and blocks on the Meranti wood to make sure he had even pressure before gluing the wood pieces together.
2. Measure and cut the boards to size
Don’t forget your safety goggles!
Chris cut both boards to an even 5 feet.
3. Put Roman Ogee profile around outside edge
In order to dress the wood up a bit, Chris used the timeless profile, Roman Ogee. The Roman Ogee profile was done with a Bosch Router.
4. Sand tabletop
The boards were sanded to 320 grit with a DeWalt orbital sander.
5. Put furniture finish oil on it
The tabletop was finished with Walrus Oil’s Furniture Finish. Chris used a matte finish that is 100% food safe. It is important to rub the oil in so you can really see the curls in the wood.
6. Wax and buff the table
The table was then waxed and buffed with Carnauba wax.
Check out this YouTube video to watch Chris make this gorgeous Red Meranti tabletop!
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Material List
- 2 Dark Red Meranti wood – 2 in. x 10 in. Variable Length
- 19” Industrial Planer & Jointer
- TiteBond III Ultimate Wood Glue
- DeWalt Orbital Sander
- Roman Ogee profile
- Bosch Wood Router
- Walrus Oil – Furniture Finish, Polymerizing Safflower Oil, Tung Oil, and Hemp Seed Oil
- Clear Carnauba Wax Paste
About Warehouse ’71
Warehouse ‘71’s lumber department is growing tremendously. We are expanding our lumber collection for all different applications. We have cedar, decking lumber, exotic hardwoods and more! We currently have plenty of items at a volume discount. Check out our store here.