Mathman50

Thank you, postandbeam.

I used seven coats of Tung oil, steel wool between coats, and it looks very nice, but I know that won't offer much protection. I'm trying to find a flat or matte polyurethane for the topcoat and so far I haven't had any luck. Meanwhile, everyone is being super careful not to damage the top.

Any suggestions for a durable topcoat or where I might find a flat polyurethane product?

I milled the existing tongue-and-groove for a tighter fit than is used for flooring, but left some room for movement. The top is attached to the base only at the center on the short rails and along the middle 2/3 on the long rails. The redwood rails are very flexible and will move with the top without stressing the leg joints. (Of course, this is only theory as I've never done this before)

Thank you, Aaron.

I routed a 2"-wide tray around the border, half the thickness of the top. I glued the black veneer in place and then just glued each square in place. I had to shave equal amounts from the edges of all the squares so they would meet perfectly at the corners and still be of uniform width.

This border wasn't part of my original design - I was doing something similar with the lid of a small box and thought it would be interesting for the table as well. It took almost as long to do the border as it did to build the rest of the table, but it was very enjoyable work.