Ipe (e-pay) or Brazilian Walnut
A church friend asked if I could make two table tops for use outdoors at his lakeside home. Since it was to remain outside year round, he asked if I could use Ipe, a tropical hardwood that is water and rot resistant, but is also extremely heavy and dense. I found that during fabrication it was so hard that I could not use the hand planes that I typically use for flattening and smoothing boards so I had to use hand scrapers instead. The tops are constructed using bread board end pieces which allow for wood movement due to temperature and humidity changes. He provided the steel bases to which I attached the tops. Photographs below show details of the end pieces.
Ed’s Workshop Project Galleries 