A small offcut of ipé (pronounced ee-pay) had been sitting in my shop for quite some time waiting for the
perfect project, and here it is. Ipé, a finely-textured South American hardwood, is gaining popularity as a
very durable and pricey decking material. Nearly five times as dense as western red cedar, ipé is reported to
last 25 to 30 years outdoors with no finish required. I figured with credentials like that it could stand up
to the rigours of a bathroom or kitchen. My small offcut came from Exotic Woods in Burlington, Ont.
(www.exotic-woods.com, 905-335-8066). Some documentation warns that the dust from milling this wood is nasty,
so make sure you wear a dust mask when working with it.
This project uses 1/2" material throughout, so if you don t have the luxury of a surface planer in your shop,
you ll have to get your supplier to make a few quick passes on their planer before you head back to the shop.
Most retailers who carry ipé will be happy to do this for a small fee. You ll need at least a 3 1/2" x 9"
piece to start.
One-Tool Wonder
All the milling operations for this project are completed on the tablesaw fitted with a thin-kerf carbide
finishing blade. As with all small-scale projects, any errors in the final product will be very noticeable,
so take your time and test tool setups on scraps to ensure accuracy. Start by ripping the wood to 3 1/2" wide
and crosscutting a 6"-long section for the top. Reserve the rest for the feet.
Groovy
To mill the grooves for the top, set the blade height to 1/8". For the first groove, the fence should be set
to 3 3/8" minus the width of the blade. Cut the first groove then move the fence 1/4" closer to the blade for
the next cut. Continue these steps to complete all the grooves. Now crosscut the top to its final 5" length.
This will clean up any tear-out you may find at the end of the grooves.
Dados For The Feet
To make the dados for the feet, adjust the blade height to 1/4", and the fence to 3/4". The dados are cut
with a series of overlapping passes, so make both sides identical by flipping the piece around each time you
move the fence. Continue making passes using the blank for the feet as a gauge for the final size. Crosscut
the feet to their final 1" length now.
45' Chamfer
To make the chamfer on each end of the top, tip the blade to 45
and adjust the height to about half the top's thickness. Set the fence by eye as it is too hard to give an
accurate measurement with a tilted blade. You may want to cut a few 5"-long scraps to test the setup. Once
you are happy with the results, cut both chamfers.
Finishing up
All that's left to do now is fix the feet into position with a little polyurethane glue and smooth out any
sharp edges with some fine sandpaper.
