Took the first steps toward my winter project this morning:
rebuilding my bonsai tables.

The first step was removal of a 50-foot water oak from my display
area. I'm exhausted (and need to get a new chain for my chainsaw
before I do THAT again!). But the tree is down, cut into 75
2-foot lengths of various diameters for my neighbor's fireplace
(and she's already come to pick it up) and I have about a foot of
sawdust spread around where the tree came down -- with a BOOM!

My growing area went from dim to bright in one loud crash. (And
I even managed to fell it in the right direction. ;-)

I'll watch the new path of the sunlight over the next 2 weeks.
Then I'll demolish the old tables and start on the new ones.

I now have 2 4x8-foot tables in an "L" shape that are
over-crowded with trees. The new setup will also be two tables,
but these will be two-tiered, and wider on the bottom. The
bottom table will be 5x8-foot at about 3 feet tall. The upper
tier will be 3x8 foot at about 5 feet tall. My Dripworks
watering tubes will come up through the tables at each end and
will have emitters set to cover the table. I may or may not have
one in the middle top. The new tables will either be in the same
"L" shape or will be set parallel and about 10 feet apart. I
already have a slate walkway up to the tables.

(I also have a number of individual pedestals with trees
scattered through my garden. They won't change.)

I'll use 4x4" treated posts and 2x4 treated cross braces, but the
table tops are going to be that plastic lumber. With luck, I'll
never have to build another set of tables!

So if you hear a very loud scream in the weeks before Christmas,
it's me hitting my thumb with a hammer!

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - VEGETARIAN:
An Indian word meaning "lousy hunter." (Borrowed from a sig by
fellow listowner, Scott Peterson)

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Jim Lewis wrote:

Took the first steps toward my winter project this morning:
rebuilding my bonsai tables.

snip

I'll use 4x4" treated posts and 2x4 treated cross braces, but the
table tops are going to be that plastic lumber. With luck, I'll
never have to build another set of tables!

So if you hear a very loud scream in the weeks before Christmas,
it's me hitting my thumb with a hammer!

Sounds like it's going to be very nice, Jim. Just one caution - when we
rebuilt my Mom's deck we used that plastic lumber, and it gets really
hot in the sun. I'm concerned that it might overheat your trees.,
especially in sunny FL.

And be careful with that hammer! ;-)

Jay,
in cloudy but unseasonably warm MI. Went fossil hunting today - who'd
have thought that we'd have t-shirt weather in late November!

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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Sounds like it's going to be very nice, Jim. Just one caution -
when we
rebuilt my Mom's deck we used that plastic lumber, and it gets
really
hot in the sun. I'm concerned that it might overheat your
trees.,
especially in sunny FL.

Yeah. Lowes sells "plastic lumber" that is very dark. Home
Depot's is white(ish). (I may have that backward.) I usually
paint my tables white, anyway. Shows the fallen leaves and dirt
washed out of the pots better. ;-) White should solve the heat
problem.

But thanks for the warning.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman

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Hi Jim. You write,
I'll use 4x4" treated posts and 2x4 treated cross
braces, but the table tops are going to be that
plastic lumber. With luck, I'll never have to build
another set of tables!
Trust in plastic lumber's useful life might be ill-advised. A professional
architectural firm recently provided a friend with figures to project
reserves for her community's replacement of mixed fencing-- the treated wood
fencing (at less than half the running cost of substantial plastic fencing
of identical height) had a 20-year life whereas the plastic fencing was
projected to last 25 years. What are "lifetime" warranties worth for vinyl
clad windows and vinyl siding-- they are not "for the ages."

Of course, your tabletops will hopefully be graced always with shade from
pots and bonsai, which could extend sun damage. Redwood or old cypress, if
maintained modestly with a pigmented stain, would outlast 25 years even on a
watered bench. The secret is perhaps in sealing holes (e.g. closely
fitting bolts or pegs) to maintain wood integrity at joint connections.
Rigidity of the plastic & choice of connectors (nail gun?) probably affects
its life.

Best wishes,
Chris... C. Cochrane, , Richmond VA USA

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Hi Jim. You write,
I'll use 4x4" treated posts and 2x4 treated cross
braces, but the table tops are going to be that
plastic lumber. With luck, I'll never have to build
another set of tables!
Trust in plastic lumber's useful life might be ill-advised. A
professional
architectural firm recently provided a friend with figures to
project
reserves for her community's replacement of mixed fencing-- the
treated wood
fencing (at less than half the running cost of substantial
plastic fencing
of identical height) had a 20-year life whereas the plastic
fencing was
projected to last 25 years. What are "lifetime" warranties
worth for vinyl
clad windows and vinyl siding-- they are not "for the ages."


The treated 4x4s will undoubtedly outlast the tabletop, which
will get wet daily and (unavoidably) will get covered with wet
leaves and soil, and morning sun. However, my existing wooden
tabletops (treated lumber all) are mostly rotted away after just
10 years. Anyway, plastic fenceposts are as worthless as tits on
a boar hog. Take it from one who has probably sunk more (or as
many) fenceposts by hand than any living person who doesn't do it
for a living.

And I suspect that _I_ will be damned lucky to have another 20
years of hale-and-heartiness enough to manage a 100-tree bonsai
collection. Maybe a plastic tree beside my automatic, crank-up
bed. ;-).

I'd guess that "lifetime warranty" is probably OK. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman

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++++Sponsored, in part, by Carl Rosner++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++