Chris H Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 This is my first project journal, though I have read many of them, and figured it was my turn to contribute instead of just benefiting. This is probably one of my favorite sections of this forums, and usually one of my favorite places to kill some time when I have it. Background on this project: I normally surf Ebay for figured lumber for pen making. I typically buy a small slab and then mill it into blanks myself. A figured blank from a woodworking store (Rockler, PSI, Woodcraft, ect.) usually runs $5-$10 a blank for 3/4" x 3/4" x 5". I can typically get >1" x >1" x >6" for around $1-$2 a blank, when I mill it from larger stock. Cost varies wildly by species, but on average, it nets out to pretty good savings. While shopping for pen blanks, I found an auction that was clearly not posted by a person with a heavy knowledge of either lumber wood or ebay (maybe both?), so I flagged it to watch and I was able to get it for below asking price. The piece was poorly photographed, so it was a bit of a gamble, but from what I have uncovered so far, it looks like a decent find. My wife doesn't care the look of live edge tables, so I may be selling this one when I am done, but that will depend on how the build goes, and if I am able to change her mind once she sees it finished. So, it's not being built for a client, but I don't know if it will end up with one in the end. My initial design inspiration is from a table that was in FWW a while ago. I like the design of the legs on the FWW table, but I am not sure if I want to do the same thing or not. I would love to hear recommendations for the legs. I was playing with the idea of getting some maple scraps from the local mill and doing natural log/stick leg(s). That will depend if I can find some that I like for a good price (hoping free if they are scraps). This piece is roughly 22" x 20" x 1.5", Maple Burl. I started to knock off the bark, and cutoff/repair a couple of corners that go damaged in shipping. (it was poorly packaged) After I hit what will be the bottom of the table with about 15 secs of sanding just to get a look at the grain to see if I should just chop the piece into turning blanks, or if I wanted to move forward with the table build. The grain looks like it may be interesting, so I have decided to move forward with the build. Finally, last night I just used some thinned CA to seal up some very small checking. The piece is very dry, but I didn't want to take the chance that the humidity in my basement workshop would expand any of the checks. I will have two voids that need to be filled. My plan is just to fill with a clear epoxy, but here again, I would love to hear some suggestions and experiences. I have seen a couple filled with stone like turquoise etc. I am not sure I would be able to pull that off well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Sweet! I've not done a live edge piece, so I'm looking forward to watching this one. I'd dig around for some Nakashima pieces for design ideas...if I were in your shoes...if you like Nakashima. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Ah Eric....you are a bad influence. See, the first inspiration had simple legs that would have been easy. Then again, what's the point of an easy project! I have very mixed feelings on Nakashima's work. Some of it I love, and other pieces are really don't care for. I really like the simplicity and elegance of her "Cluster Base" table. I will have to play around in Sketchup a bit and see if I can get something I like. I haven't ruled out a branch base yet, but this one is gaining traction. Thanks for the for the reference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I believe I have the design of the legs that I like. Here is the SketchUp file if anyone down the road wants to do something similar. Maple Burl Live Edge Table V01.skp I planned and sanded the top to 120 grit. Photo's are wetted with Mineral Spirits to show figure. Curl will pop more with finishing, but I think this gives a good idea of what the burl will look like. I also stabilized and filled the voids prior to sanding. I left the fill about 1/4 below the surface so I could figure out what to do with it. I am debating between trying a stone inlay, like turquoise, or just using a tinted exopy, maybe just black. Either way, the void was too big to just fill with epoxy, so I mixed in some sawdust on the larger one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey Chris, Really looking forward to seeing how this one goes. That timber is really dramatic! The "live edge" scene is new to me and a find it quite intriguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillaume Breton Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey Chris, Really looking forward to seeing how this one goes. That timber is really dramatic! The "live edge" scene is new to me and a find it quite intriguing. me too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 WOW!! That is some awesome burl. That's going to make a nice looking table no matter what legs you put on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Well, good start to the holiday weekend. Hopefully lots of time in the shop this weekend. I started last night by rough cutting the lumber for the legs. It was a night of ....oops. To start, I cut the dado too wide on my leg pieces. Then I realized that when I did my Sketchup I was working on an assumption that a coffee table would be about 17"-18" tall. Of course I got the brilliant idea to actually measure a few of the many that are currently in the house. I found the ranged closer to 20"-24" tall. Considering I had already goofed up the legs once, I didn't have enough stock to re-cut the legs a third time adding a few inches. Thankfully I hadn't yet cut the tenons for the legs to mount to the feet, so I was able to make a design modification to add a few inches by moving the bracers up under the table top, rather than through the legs. Here are the rough cut parts dry-fit, prior to sanding. I have also started testing some turquoise inlays in some scrap wood to see if I like it enough to fill the two larger voids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted March 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 The last few days I have been able to get a couple hours in the shop each day. I started the turquoise inlay in the voids. After giving the glue 24 hours to setup I sanded down the turquoise and applied the first coat of oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Wow! That turquoise really pops. I bet malachite(rich green color) would look good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Sorry, it's been a busy few days, so I haven't gotten much shop time. I was able to get the second pass of GF topcoat on last night. Because the weather is warming up in WI, all the snow is melting, and the humidity in my shop has gone through the roof. So it took over 48 hours for the first top coat to setup, so it is now drying on the main floor. I had to put it in the bathroom because we have cats, who would walk all over it if I didn't have it locked up. It's the guest powder room, so hopefully management won't get too upset with it there. No one really uses it unless we have company anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted April 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 So, it's been one heck of a week. I have been quarantined to the board room at the day job, running training all week, so I haven't seen the light of day in about 4 days now. Compound that with the boss lady traveling for work, so I am a single parent this week. Long story short, not a lot of time in the shop. So....where did I leave off? Ok, after completing the first set of legs, I wasn't thrilled with the results. I didn't care for the stock, the joinery was sub-par and the length was less than desired. So, back to the drawing board. I did like the shape and design adjustments made, so I kept that. I also had some scrap Walnut laying around from another project, so I thought I would give that a try. If it turns out the original is better then I will just go with it, but I thought, two choices is better than one. Here's to hoping it doesn't end up five choices! The burl has about 6 coats of topcoat on it, and should be ready to go. The leg piece are cut and pre-finished. I don't want the high gloss on the legs that the table top has, so I will be finishing it with an BLO mix, and then some satin topcoat. Here's to hoping I will have a finished product at some point this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted April 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 WOO HOO!!!! Finally finished. It only took 2 sets of legs to get to a look I was happy with. I learned a lot along the way (primarily, that I need to invest in a new table saw), and definitely fell in love with Big Leaf Maple Burl. The journey was worth the pain points, and I would recommend "Live Edge" work to anyone interested. The biggest time sink is the massive amount of sanding...most of which needs to be done by hand to get into the tight places. Finishes: Everything was wiped down with BLO|Shellac|DNA blend, and then wiped on several coats of GF Topcoat Urethane. The legs/base have 3 coats of satin topcoat, while the top has ~6-8 (lost count) coats of gloss topcoat, followed by a few layers of wax. Critiques and comments welcomed! I hope to build another, after this one sells. So any ideas, changes, or recommendations are greatly appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillaume Breton Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 i to love burl ! wow... only thing i think i would have made diffrent would have been to get these legs tighter and closer to 1 another. would have made the top look heavier and lighter at the same time i think. might have used "walnut colored" epoxy instead of blue to match with the legs. but i still love it ! gj ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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