building home furniture using oak sleepers (advice please)

[ccdixon]

hello forum.

I am planning on building a tv stand, a coffee table and two lamp stands using new untreated oak sleepers of size 2400mm x 200mm x 100mm.

I have made some designs to follow however im a very amateur DIY'er and i am seeking any and all advice.

I work in a school so I have access to some decent woodwork tools that the wood technicians are trained to use. Im not sure what these tools are all called but i can certainly check and get back to you.

My plan (please critique or suggest moving steps around):
Cut sleepers to desired size (using circular saw thing at school)
Clamp pieces into position
drill pilot holes to same diameter as screws (using corded drill and extra long drill bit)
fix pieces together using 140mm wood screws (using corded drill)
sand visible surfaces where appropriate
apply hard wax oil.

Thanks for taking the time to read

i would love if someone could recommend some cheap screws that will give it a rustic look.. like the screws here:

http://vkvasov.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/diy-project-oak-beam-garden-furniture_25.html

 

[nickjb]

I'd be wary of how much the oak will move as it seasons. I've made a few things from new oak sleepers. Some has been fine some has split a little. Fine for the rustic look, 😁

How about these screws: http://www.brigstocksawmill.co.uk/product_info.php/timber-titan-wood-screws-150mm-p-88 or similar decking screws? E.g. http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Scr...Structural+Screw+63+x+150mm/d90/sd2856/p84736

 

[foxhole]

You will need to plane the timber , sanding will take forever to achieve a smooth surface.
You will need to season the oak indoors, my coffee table shrunk nearly 20mm across it's width [could take months if the timber has been stored in the wet]. Due to the weight I left all components loose and just use velcro and the shear weight to stop the top moving on the legs.
Finished with oil and wax.

Coffee table

• foxhole
• 21 Jul 2010
• 8

Oak, from a couple of railway sleeper

 

[Norcon]

Looks great.
You'll need a pallet truck to shift it though.

 

[ccdixon]

thanks for taking the time to read and reply
Nickjb those screws look great and i suppose i could get wood this week and store it somwhere dry at work until i do the project at the end of may.

do you guys think im better off planing the wood before cutting it and assembling it, and should i plane all sides or just surfaces?

thanks again

 

[foxhole]

Looks great.
You'll need a pallet truck to shift it though.

If you are referring to my pic , it's four separate pieces which can be picked up fairly easily but the long sections at 1200mm are about 40kg.

 

[foxhole]

thanks for taking the time to read and reply
Nickjb those screws look great and i suppose i could get wood this week and store it somwhere dry at work until i do the project at the end of may.

do you guys think im better off planing the wood before cutting it and assembling it, and should i plane all sides or just surfaces?

thanks again

Make your cuts first and plane all round. You need to allow for shrinkage especially across the width.

 

[ccdixon]

thanks again for replies

so the plan i have for my tv stand includes 4 sleepers

we talking about 150kg or so ?

at that weight will screws still hold in place without snapping ?

 

[foxhole]

thanks again for replies

so the plan i have for my tv stand includes 4 sleepers

we talking about 150kg or so ?

at that weight will screws still hold in place without snapping ?

Must be a big tv.?
The coffee table in the pic is less than 1 1/2 sleeper [2.4m sleepers]

 

[ccdixon]

ok i think ive posted a photo of my tv stand design in my albums
it may be difficult to follow as im not a designer... it is just to help me

if it has worked please tell me if you think it is a viable ... will it hold or will the wieght be too much for the screws and smaller pieces....

i have designed it this way to mean that there are no visible screws on the outside of the stand

all measurements are cm

thanks

Untitled

• ccdixon
• 20 Apr 2014
• 1

top left picture is main design from front and red lines are screws or sets of screws as required

 

[foxhole]

ok i think ive posted a photo of my tv stand design in my albums
it may be difficult to follow as im not a designer... it is just to help me

if it has worked please tell me if you think it is a viable ... will it hold or will the wieght be too much for the screws and smaller pieces....

i have designed it this way to mean that there are no visible screws on the outside of the stand

all measurements are cm

thanks

Untitled

• ccdixon
• 20 Apr 2014
• 1

top left picture is main design from front and red lines are screws or sets of screws as required

What thickness are your sleeper ? as your top and shelf are only 10cm?
Seems a bit high for a tv, the stand I built is 20" high and holds a 50" plasma at ideal hight.

TV stand

• foxhole
• 21 Apr 2014
• 1

 

[ccdixon]

that looks really nice and much easier to build than what i have designed.

just wondering how have you connected the top to the sides as i cant see any screws or bolts and also how have you connected the two sleepers on top together?
also how have you got such a nice dark colour... is that oak?

the sleepers i am aiming to buy seem to be sized at 2400mm x 200mm x 100mm my tv is 55 inch i think so wanted something wide enough with a bit extra each side so thats why i went for the 160mm also i went for a height of 60 cm as my new suite is quite heigh seated so i wanted to raise the tv a bit but 45 cm would probably be fine as thats what we currently have


thanks very much for sharing your knowledge

carl

 

[foxhole]

Not clear on photo but screwed down into legs and used wood plug to hide screws, actually built as to narrow units then screwed together from rear with 6 inch screws.
Just cheap roofing timber about 10x3 stained with a dark oak wood dye and polished up.

 

[ccdixon]

Ahh right

So I could just use a wood plug cutter to cut out some wood plugs from the oak and then glue these over the screws to cover up
That could make my design a lot easier to be honest

 

[ccdixon]

any suggestion on screws to use
ones that i can cover with a wood plug but will be strong enough to hold all that weight?

thanks