Walnut Table Top

This is an update on a Eames Aluminum Group base by Herman Miller that I picked up on Craigslist. The original tops were usually Formica laminates in a rectangle or racetrack shape and the bases were finished with black enamel on the steel sections. I stripped off the black enamel and finished all the metal in a satin finish and then built the top from walnut boards that I sourced from WS - the staff matched these boards and they came out beautifully consistent in figure and color.

I came up with a variation on a rectangular top which incorporated a very slight curve along all the edges and then doubled up the outside edge underneath which received a 45° bevel, the top is actually only 3/4" thick. Steel C channel stiffeners were attached in three places to keep the top level and the end sections have slots in the screw holes that allow for expansion, which is why there is a gap in between the end pieces and the side pieces, I chose to make that function more of a design element to avoid the inevitable slight gap when the top moves.

The top was built up with dowels and then planed and sanded to 400 grit, then finished with two coats of Rubio Monocoat Pure and then with the N3 Nano Finish after the Rubio had cured thoroughly. Water just beads up and the surface is extremely resistant to stains.

Finish: Rubio Monocoat Pure, Blacktail Studios N3 Nano Finish