Nick came over yesterday with the faux white oak top to his salt wafer fish tank. Due to the exposure of the humidity in the air above the tank the wood was seriously coming apart. Nick wants to make some enhancements to the tank by adding LED lighting in the cover. In addition he would like to have the front skirt hinge open as the way to feed his fish.
Nick mentioned that he had family members who were woodworkers. I do not remember if it was his father or grandfather. He wants to be involved in the process from beginning to end.
We talked about going to the lumber yard to pick out the wood. I showed him a lot of the different species that I had in my wood pile. Things like elm, white oak, red oak, maple, butternut and cherry. As we talked about the selection of the wood I mentioned to him that white oak was one of the most dense woods the cover as a result would be heavy. But when we talked about other woods that did not weigh as much they did not have the benefit of being very tolerant of a humid environment like the white oak.
When we talked about finishing the cover he mentioned that light colored wood furniture was not consistent with their style but at the same time the fish tank had what he described as a massive base that is blond colored and so he felt funny about changing the color of the top.
The next step is a trip to the lumber yard to pick out white oak. From there is will be planing the wood on my Dewalt. Jointing the edges and doing glue up.
I will post an update, maybe with pictures, as we get more in to the project.
Vermont Distinctive Handcrafted Hardwood Furniture 