Hey all! Thought I might get some insight from other makers on material choice.
I recently acquired a solid cast aluminum outdoor set second-hand. It’s gorgeous and could survive a nuclear blast. The wood slats that came with it, not so much. They’re rotted and warped beyond repair.
Included are some photos of the set now, how the slats slot in, and what the set looked like originally. The depth of each slot is 1.25in, but I think I could put a spacer in if the material was thinner.
I’m leaning towards a composite of some sort. Does Allied Plastics sell anything that might work? I’ve also heard of outdoor-rated MDF but don’t know of anyone local that sells it. I’m really open to anything, as long as it is suited for long-term outdoor exposure
Super cool table! There are a couple of good composite decking style options you could use and cut out the profiles on the CNC. That would give you the wood look and better UV. My friend has some stuff he uses on commercial projects, I will get the supplier and link it here.
Hi Kate,
white oak, western red cedar, ipe, mahogany and teak (teak is stupid expensive though) are all excellent woods for outdoor use. Unfortunately i do not have any experience with composite materials so I can not offer any suggestions on that.
That would be awesome, thank you! With how many slats I need to cut and the curved profile on the seat pieces, I definitely think CNC is going to be my best bet
Thank you! I’ve been in contact with the original designer of the set and he used oak originally (which is what my set has), but found that it didn’t last well so upgraded to teak in future iterations. I think the dimensions and holding method for the slats don’t take well to natural wood. Since each slat is narrow and deep and held in with a press fit, the boards start warping like crazy. Pardon the terrible photo quality, but here is one of the listing photos where you can see some of the warping
I used dimensional pine from the big box store to make Adirondack chairs. Stained and then two coats of indoor / outdoor spar urethane. The urethane did well for three years. In its fourth year and needs a sanding and recoating on the sun-drenched surfaces. If you coat all sides, i don’t think you will get significant warping so long as the wood is dry and acclimatized. A light annual sand of the top and a fresh coat of urethane would keep it fresh.
On another point, a press fit sounds like a real pain and a great place for moisture to hang around. Either way, if you use wood, you might separate the wood from the metal base so moisture doesn’t hang there either.
good luck and glad to see a table being refitted rather than in the dump.
EDIT to add: small spacers between the slats to prevent warping? We have a backyard fence with horizontal boards. Required 2x2 vertical supports to prevent warping.
