Oh dear!! You may have created a monster in my house. The Husband Guy got interested in your tenor recorder and thought that he might like to have a go at learning how to play one. I had never known that there are so many sizes of recorders. Maybe a trip to the Music Store is on tap for our next outing. Cross your fingers. This could work out well. And Don, it's going to be all your fault! I think that he's going to be your not-so-secret admirer. Those Halloween Spider Webs are also on his list of things to try.

Thank you for the quick responses. Pcan, you are right about putting the HTML code in. Coey, I don't understand how it works on your computer and not mine with putting the quote marks at the end. My computer must know that I'm computer illiterate. :)

No. Making a tabletop out of several pieces of wood fastened together requires clamps and cauls---clamps to get the boards together tightly and cauls to make sure those boards are all even and flat. It also requires a bit of knowlege and skill in positioning the boards----alternating grain direction for pattern and strength. The table top has to be fastened to the skirt to allow for movement also. Breadboard ends are more than decorative, they help prevent splitting of the ends of the boards. You could glue and screw boards together and make a table like you proposed, but it will not stay together and will split in a lot of places, leaving you with a very expensive pile of splitting lumber shaped like a table. There is a way of making a simple rustic table that would be right at home in a one room log cabin setting. Ash is a moderatly dense wood that is fairly inexpensive. It is an open grained wood---often substituted for more expensive oak---however. It stains much more easily and more evenly than soft maple, which is the other wood close in price. Using 1/2" thick stock, layout the boards for pattern and size---then turn all the boards upside down, keeping the layout as done. Cut---(have the lumberyard cut) a piece of 3/4" BC plywood about 2"-4" more narrow and shorter than the layout dimensions. Center that plywood over the boards and screw through the plywood into the boards. You will need to figure out a way to clamp the boards as tightly as possible as you screw them to the plywood. Do not glue the boards together as that will allow them to move without splitting. Install the apron by screwing to the plywood---those can be glued. You can then install the 4"x4" legs---which can be made by gluing pieces of the wood used for the top together---as long as those pieces are clampoed for 24 hours---if the clamps are not used, the glue will not hold. Taping with duct tape is NOT a clamping alternative. C clamps, pipe clamps, or bar clamps can be used. Screw through the apron to fasten the legs and also make an angled support piece that in screwed to the side and end aprons and touches the leg on the inside. Screw that support piece to each apron piece and the leg. You may have to fill gaps in the table top---wood filler will work but there will be cracking eventually. There is a product called Stain Putty---I get it at HD and Ace Hardware stores. It is a powder and is made into a paste by adding the stain used on the project---so the color match is very close.

Have friend who was redoing her kitchen--she likes blue and for while throught she might try Labrador Blue but much too strong a color to go with the other colors in her open kitchen/breakfast/den... she went with uba tuba green (the verde was too expensive). She has white cabinets and tile flooring and wanted very little movement... she thought about Kashmire Gold but with white cabinets and tile her daughter told her it was too bland... We bought granite to put into house we own and were getting ready to sell...thought with the market so dead 3-4 yrs ago even more than low price having upgraded kitchen and baths would be better selling point... so I picked NVG to go with medium dark oak cabs (original) and a light tan new larger format tiles, and tan walls...they look good but they are not striking...that kitchen as no long runs except for bar counter behind sink and it is not really focal point of kitchen.... thought in THAT kitchen having a strong pattern was more distraction and jumpy look...so went with NVG... in MY house with a long raised counter top behind sink and long island a more dramatic pattern would have been good focal point...but I didn't get to make the choice.... so it is not just what the colors are of the elements...but also the "runs" of the countertops you will have... short, broken runs separated by appliances or cabinets to me says use a less dramatic, more even pattern for several reasons....but I am not kitchen designer or artist... I bet your choice will be great---but I do see your point about building a kitchen around the Lapidus...I loved that pattern when I was shopping...