Designing a Plinth

Well, the cost of cocobolo is not THAT bad. I wouldn't use a solid block either. Much easier to glue up pieces so you do not have to worry about wodd "movement" down the road. You can get enough to build a plinth for about a hunded bucks. Believe me, I know. Using acrylic is actually more expensive. the two I have going now will use about $200 worth of Staron each. Plus, the glue, glue gun, and tips are EXPENSIVE!

I actually think the wood is easier to work with.

Jimbo, don't know if you saw it or not, but here's the link to my TT project:

Joe's Teres

It's not that hard to do if you know what you are doing. By far the hardest part is making sure the boring for the bearing is correct. Every thing else is only limited by you imagination.

If you want any advice, email me. I'll be more than happy to share what I've learned.

Joe

OK guys, I see this has taken off a little since I last checked in.

David, since I've done both wood and acrylic, I assure you it is true: Acrylic costs more. And it does not have the forgiving properties of wood. I like your wood list, some would look very interesting. Also, there is basically no Teres design directions. Just a set of dimensions that I chose not to follow too closely. I went bigger all the way around, and figured out my own shot loading pattern. Description follows....

Prpixel, a man after my own heart. I try and keep every little piece and scrap of exotic wood I can find. Veneer too. How else can you be with what wood costs these days? I agree that the pieces come in handy for inlays, accents, etc.... Luckily I don't have to worry about storage, because my shop has about 4000 square feet. Then my buddy Paul's shop has another 4000, and that's where the serious wood is. I may be the only person I know who has made cauls out of cocbolo. I had a cutoff from my plinth that worked perfect! You may be interested in my wood guy. Check out his site:

East Wake Hardwoods

Rodger has a great selection and is a hell of a guy. Last time I was there I spent 2 hours perusing. He has some estate cocbolo form the 1920's in 8/4 that is to die for. That's what I used in mine. Almost all of his wood (99%) is priced per board foot. I collect wood too.

Jim, when I did my plinth, I used several pices of cocobolo and one piece of ebony. I used 2 pieces of cocobolo for the bottom, about 2" thick glued on the indside edge. For the top there are 4 pieces (3cocobolo, 1 macassar ebony). The two outside pieces are solid cocobolo about 2" thick, glued to the two center pieces. THe ebony is about 3/4" with another piece of cocobolo under it. They were glued up first, the the outside pieces glued to them. Then the top and bottom were glued together. DO NOT USE SCREWS! EVER! The grains run in different directions on these two pieces to give it some added stability. Then came the veneer, which is a whole other story. The shot pattern is kinda, but not really random. I drilled 2" holes 2 1/2" deep, put EXACTLY The same amount of shot in each hole, and plugged then with teak. If you look at the pics, the teak has some really nice grain that is the same on all of the plugs. That little detail took two hours alone.

So, there you have it. Now, on to some materials issues. Jim, ebony & rosewood would both work and look very well. But remember, macassar ebony runs about $50 a board foot. This can make mistakes costly. Teres makes plinths out of rose wood, and I used Madura, a brazilian rosewood for my base. It is similar to cocobolo, but not quite as dense. I would have to say there is no "best" material. There is a lot of good, some great, but too many possibities for a best. Lead helps. I don't think anyone will disagree with that. Use #9. I got mine on the net.

Also, I have found that almost any wood will tear if you are not careful. Macassar ebony is exteremely hard, but tears very easily. I've worked several woods that I swore I'd never touch again. When it happens, I usually just put down the tools, go have a smoke, and give it a few minutes. If I can do this before I throw the piece across the shop, I can usually figure out what I was doing wrong, and fix it. BTW, with acrylic, no such luck. I won't admit to being a master of solid surface material, but I have done a shitload of countertops and sinks. Since my brand, Staron, is 100% acrylic I thought it would lend itself well to TT's. Right now, I need to overcome some issues that do not arise doing countertops. But it looks very promising so far.

On cones, I and others here still think Audiopoints are the way to go. I have them under my plinth and under the base. No matter how you build the plinth, these are very important for a non-suspende table. All you have to do is try the cone of your choice and you will definitely see what I mean!

Buscis2, if your tool of choice is a checkbook, email me!

And I'll say it again: The only affiliations I have are with me.

This is from the West Penn site:

"DALBERGIA RETUSA

Cocobolo is a member of the Rosewood family. It grows in the drier uplands on the Pacific side of Mexico down to Panama. Extremely oily it will reject almost any finish except wax. It shines up to a nice luster. Even an oil based varnish will not stick. There is no treatment that will make it suitable for bonding with glue, but it can be nailed or screwed easily. It is waterproof which is excellent for making knife handles. It smells like lilacs while it is being sawn or sanded. It varies in color from red to yellow and striped with black to lighter black. It darkens with age."

Sounds like drivel to me since I've done everything to it that they say can't be done. Also, I only paid $14 a foot for 8/4 that has been sitting since the 1920's.

David: On the platter we've been "having a time" as they say. I finally found that the best way do do it is with a router. Band saw down to close, and then use a template I had made out of steel. A friend of mine has access to a machine shop at work so he had a couple different ones made. This will make it a hell of a lot easier to try different arm boards and plinths. I can also get perfect cauls for gluing the veneer. May go the vacuum bag route here, not sure. I like doing things the old way some times. I'm going to do another plinth for myself too. I need to have two set up to evaluate pieces as they are made.

Our biggest lathe will only turn 11" so we have had to come up with alternative methods. I wish we had one that would turn 14" for the options it would give me. But, I can do just about anything either with a router, shaper, or by hand that I cound do on a lathe. Just about.

Teres uses Jatoba cores for it's platters. CB only made one solid cocobolo platter for the 340. The prototype is 4" thick and weighs 40 pounds! I'm shooting for the same size. I'm doing it in two pieces so you wont see any of the holes for the lead. I'm also trying some different lamination methods for stability. Veneer will be a must for cosmetics. Maybe some banding or inlay. But first I want to make sure it will work. I won't know how true it will run till I get it mounted. But, I'm no rookie!