Looking to build a dining table, is there a more affordable way to get a wooden table top?
storage - Safe to store a tabletop vertically? - Woodworking Stack Exchange
Where can I buy a round piece of wood for a table top that isn't crazy expensive?
Bought an unfinished pine table, but... I've never finished any piece of wood, ever. Need advice for some burning questions!
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I’m looking for a solid piece wood table top (I have wooden legs already) and am a little bit hesitant for the cost. Is this a reasonable price for the piece?
I am assuming your table top is glued-up long planks, with or without appropriately attached bread board ends. If that is the case, and it is actually vertical, or reasonably close to vertical, and you can store it so that you have equal air flow on both sides, you can store it that way indefinitely. 5/4" maple is plenty stiff, so it's not going to bend or warp from the storage position per se, even with a little lean in it. But if you store so that it breaths significantly differently on the two sides, then you are at real risk of trouble, as the boards that are not absolutely straight grain are likely to cup from differential moisture movement.
Given the additional details then you do need to take some precautions to help ensure this doesn't warp.
There's little to no risk of your tabletop bowing under its own weight because 5/4 maple is plenty stiff, however you do have to concern yourself with cupping.
Just as a board or glued-up panel can cup just sitting flat on the workbench (or on the floor) due to differential drying, here, if you don't ensure even-ish airflow on both sides your tabletop could cup.... in fact, if the wood was recently milled to final thickness this is likely.
The side leaning against the wall, or just closer to the wall, can experience significantly less airflow and hence the side facing out can take up and loose much more water. Additionally as your top will be against a garage wall as I suspected it would be, a small pocket of higher humidity could result which would further increase the humidity differential between the two sides.
Thinner boards and panels — which respond faster than thicker material — can warp overnight from this effect, something that not a few woodworkers have found out the hard way. A month is more than enough time for this to occur even on something this thick.
I'm looking for a 42" round piece of wood. It can be a bit smaller as well. Looking to stain it and finish it as a table top. Everywhere I've seen are upwards of $120.. What's the most cost effective way to do this?