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Hi All.
I was inspired by this Custom Industrial Table by @ogosh for my outdoor / backyard deck.
Contrary to @ogosh situation, I could not source any good quality of this Pine Sleeper. (cupping or crook). Therefore I went with merbau fence panel Merbau Fence Panel
And frankly, I am a bit intimidated while working with cupping timber 👻
Earlier I built a low level deck and encountered many difficulties with cupping pine and deck timber.
But lessons learned, for sure.😃
I added bearers on top of leg table to line up with the table leg hole 3x 2 holes per leg.
It added approximately 40 mm of total table height but still maintain a reasonable height when sitting on the bench.
Completed by placing the Merbau Panel on top of bearers and secured it with bolt and nuts.
Placed in the deck with 2x Mimosa Merbau Bench .
..
Thank you and please let me know any feedback.
Regards,
Daniel
Hi @minklet,
I've used this same panel for an undercover fence (installed almost three years ago) and a pool pump cover that's seen several months out in the weather. Panelling undercover looks as good as the day it was installed, and the pool pump cover looks great too. I'd expect your maintenance to be similar to a deck; yearly oiling is all that is required.
The panels are quite robust and well-made, so there might not be any preventative measures needed to stop bowing/warping. Adding additional timber underneath that spans the length of the panel should prevent any issues. Four 42 x 28mm 2.7m FJ Pre Oiled Merbau Screening run down the length of the panel would certainly increase the rigidity.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Dear all,
I am updating this post as I received some questions from other members.
Thank you for asking 
and happy to provide more information.
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
| Merbau Fence Panel | 1x | Used for table top |
| 42 x 28mm 2.7m FJ Pre Oiled Merbau Screening | 1x | Used for bearer |
| 42 x 18mm 2.7m FJ Pre Oiled Merbau Screening | 1x | Used for joist |
| Table Leg | 1x pair | Due to unavailability at Bunnings stores in my area, I sourced my table leg from other vendor. However, these items may be available in your local Bunnings |
| Assorted Nut and bolts |
|
Note : 2x Benches are NOT DIY. I purchased it from bunning and assembly those at home. Luckily the color is match with my table.
Tools
- Drill and drill bit.
- Circular or Mitre Saw.
- Safety PPE
Steps
- Using decking layoff technique, I placed 'bearer' and 'joist' between the leg and table top.
- This is to bring rigidness between legs, also in a hope to prevent table top going to warp and make flush placement for table top as well.
- Cut screening 42x28 2.7 m into become 3x 90-cm. These will serve as bearer.
- Drill hole(s) to align with table leg holes profile. Mine has 3x 2 holes for each leg. See picture below. Then using nut & bolts, fit these bearers on top of leg.
- Cut 42x18 Screening into 4x 67.5-cm (approx). These will serve as joist.
- Fit these joists perpendicularly on top of bearer using bolt & nuts. Please refer to the blue circle below for my fitment.
- Then place table top / panel on top of these joist. Fasten it with bolt and nut.
Treatment
- I believe similar treatment when you build a new merbau deck is applicable here too.
- During first 4-6 weeks after built, avoid any water/liquid drop on table surface as it will create an ugly mark. Wipe it immediately if any drop happened. Otherwise, do similar treatment like decking such Cleaning and Oiling may help to prevent it.
- These merbau timbers may be still bleeding. If it is exposed to rain / water drop, it may damage color of surrounding area (floor/wall). I see many comments about this merbau timber that ruining the walls, which I believe can be prevented by proper Cleaning and Oiling.
- Warping Impact due to weather: Not-seen. it has been 6 months now (or so) since built this and I don't see any warping.
- Warping impact due to load usage: Not-seen. Current usage is between low to medium. Mainly use for having meal, coffee etc. (i.e no heavy load)
Thank you all.
Pictures below taken just recently (August 2023).
Hello @daniel4
Let me tag @minklet to make sure that they see your message. Thank you so much for all that extra detail you've shared with our members. I'm sure that members who are planning on making their own Merbau table are carefully reading your instructions.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
So I made the table, the differences being that I could not find any legs that had 6 bolt holes and instead got ones that had 4. I lengthened the main bearers to 1m (from 90cm). I used m10 bolts (the size that fits through), and used the same idea for cross pieces. It looks fantastic, however it is very wobbly. Not so wobbly its unusable, but it wobbles for a long time.
I think the problem is that the main bearers cannot be tightened enough to be rigid. Tightening them just digs the bolt deeper into the wood. Any ideas for better bracing? I just realised that I am using the bearers on the thinner side, perhaps flipping them would give more purchase
My initial idea was to get longer bearers and drop them to below the tops of the legs, so it's extending out. Then put bolts through the table top to the bearers at so there's more bracing. Not sure if this will provide much support.
Any tips for this? I'm curious how these legs are usually secured if it's not in this way
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