BOTH SURFACES?

I currently making a hall table from Jarrah. The top is constructed from 19mm timber. To help reduce the problem caused by humidity variations, I've used the "breadboard ends" in the construction process.

Now I'm coming close to the finishing stage and am wondering whether it makes any difference, vis-a-vis warpage, if I finish only one surface. Or should I seal both the top and bottom of the table top?

Would appreciate your observations based on a similar experience with table tops.

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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!

Woodchuck,
Just checked two coffee tables of mine, one done in Jarrah, the other in a burr-walnut. Both were finished with shellac, top only polished, tho' the base has had a single wipe of shellac, more for esthetic reasons than anything else. Both tables are subject to the usual range of humidity and temperature in a house with ducted heating and air-conditioning. There is no sign of any warping after 8 months. This would include summer and winter.

Theres been a lot of discussion about this topic in the past if you want to do a search on it.

But in brief the concensus is that both the top and bottom of all tops need to be treated equally to even out the movement of moisture etc from the timber.

Having said this, I have only ever given the underside of tops an extremly good coating of sealer. A lot of people I know finish the undersides exactly the same way as they do the tops, but most of these guys do this more for asthetic reasons than anything else, as there work is upper class so if someone is paying top dollar for a table they don't want to be finding an ugly surface when they feel under the top, & as we all know everyone has a feel under the table!

CHeers!!

I probably should also mention that in the thousands of tops I have polished I have never, repeat, never had a client tell me about any problems.

Cheers..

Thanks, Shane.

I've reviewed past posts and have decided to finish both sides.



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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!