Rob’s Natural Edge Slab Hall Table

Viewer Project - By Rob
Added on August 10, 2010

I’ve been watching/following your show for some time and enjoy all the information that you provide. I’m also a fan of David Marks and sure enjoy the interviews you’ve conducted with him. Here are a few pics of a recent project that I completed for my wife for a present. The wood has a bit of a story. It came from a Big Leaf Maple tree that was taken down due to the owner’s perceived risk that it might someday fall on the house, as if. At any rate, I was offered the trunk section that measured about 6.5′ in diameter by 13′ long. A massive chunk of wood to say the least. I had to fend off the fire wood mongers who were attempting to carve it up like some kind of fresh kill on a mountain hunting expedition. So after working the logistics of moving it, I had it slabbed and then dried. I know have had most of it in my wood shed waiting for the right projects to come along. I recently retired from the US Navy and live on Whidbey Island WA. I have been woodworking in my spare time for about 5 years.

Discussion

Strolgen August 10, 2010 8:11 am

I wonder how someone sand a rough edge like this to get a nice and even finish… In the few projects I have completed so far, if the surface are not dead flat I’m asking for trouble.
This looks like a very heavy piece!

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RB August 10, 2010 8:19 am

Very pretty grain. I’m glad that you kept the lines clean so that the focus would stay on the grain. It’s a gorgeous piece. I’m sure that your wife loved it! Thanks for sharing.

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- Jim Jones August 10, 2010 1:47 pm
  
  Ditto what RB said. The top is the focus as it should be, and the rest of the table adds to its appeal without distracting from the top. The top is what you see notice when you first see it, then you see the nice legs and stretcher. Very nice, appealing creation.
  
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kentuckybill August 10, 2010 8:44 am

Very nice…

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Rex R August 10, 2010 8:44 am

Very nice piece. I really like the lamination that you did on the crossbeam of the support and the contrast of the different wood.. Thanks for sharing.

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medfloat August 10, 2010 9:41 am

Nice table. The natural color and the contrast of the tressel are very appealing. What (and how) did you do to the front edge of the table to remove the unwanted material while retaining the natural edge?

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- Robert August 11, 2010 9:15 am
  
  Thank you all for your kind comments. I’ll attempt to answer some of the questions that have been posed. First off the natural edge is well,, the exterior of the tree’s trunk just beneath the bark. After I had the tree slabbed with a Lucas Mill slabbing chainsaw mill, I used a pressure washer to peel off the bark which left the natural edge exposed and relatively smooth. Sanding of this edge was really only required where the maple forms burls and creates these little pointed nodules. They are quite sharp and have to bee smoothed down. I used a sanding wheel that is similar to a flap brush. It attaches to a drill and basically has dozens of sandpaper strips that are attached to the center. It really enables you to get down into the nooks and crevices on a piece like this. Someone posed the question of how the top is attached. I used loose mortise and tenon construction. There is no glue or mechanical fasteners that hold the top. It’s held in place by its sheer weight. The mortise and tenons serve to keep the top placed correctly on the legs, in case you were to bump into the top. The stretcher is maple laminated with walnut and held in place of course by the wooden wedges. I felt it was a creative way to hold the base together and makes it a snap to move or even ship the piece. The finish is 5 coats of Arm-R Seal Satin from General Finishes, followed up by a coat of wax using 0000 steel wool. It’s glassy to the touch. Oh, also I used some clear epoxy to fill in the bark inclusions on the top surface.
  
  Rob
  
  Reply
  - medfloat August 12, 2010 7:22 am
    
    Rob,
    
    Thanks for your reply but most of all thanks for sharing your creation.
    
    Dan
    
    Reply
Paul D’Errico August 10, 2010 10:28 am

Agreed. Great design concept with the complementing colors in the stretcher. It really carries over the color from the tabletop. How did you sand that rough edge, some sort of foam sander?

=paul

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Tom (wizer) August 10, 2010 10:37 am

Awesome. I love it!

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Mark August 10, 2010 11:22 am

The edge gives the whole piece a lot of character. It looks beautiful.

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- Jack Guerrazzi August 11, 2010 5:47 am
  
  Looks as if the natural edge will cause discomfort to the back of someones upper legs. The piece is indeed beautiful, but not utilitarian.
  
  Reply
  - Jack Guerrazzi August 11, 2010 6:41 am
    
    oops! it’s a table
    
    Reply
Heath August 10, 2010 11:54 am

That is really beautiful!

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runningwood August 10, 2010 1:50 pm

Beautifully done, nice work.

How does the top attach to the base ?

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- Stu August 10, 2010 2:56 pm
  
  Same here – Biscuits or honkin’ big mortise and tenon?
  
  Reply
PickeringMike August 10, 2010 2:06 pm

That is one awesome slab! I can’t imagine the hours at prepping that edge for finish.

Hats off to you!

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mark williams August 10, 2010 3:21 pm

This is great. I really like the design and the way you stayed true to the wood. What is the wood type used as the contrast of the cross beam?

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Benjamin Roesler August 10, 2010 3:24 pm

To think, somebody wanted to turn that into firewood! Very beautiful, glad you saved it.

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Jay August 10, 2010 3:49 pm

The tab is beautiful. I can’t imagine how much the original trunk weighed. I had a cottonwood cut down that had a trunk about 3.5 feet in diameter. And when the felled the trunk of about 12 feet long hit the ground so hard that it lifted my wife of 120 lbs out of her chair located in the back of the house. Moving that large of a piece must have been a challenging problem. My trunk was cut into 3 pieces, and the still had a task of loading onto a truck.

Again thanks for sharing the pictures.

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Cliff Bramlett August 10, 2010 4:05 pm

Very nice! My wife and I thought that with that much maple to work with a cross-section of the tree turned into a large round table would be worth doing too. To see that tree’s history in that fashion would have been impressive.

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Marilyn August 10, 2010 6:02 pm

Looks like the perfect addition to a Whidbey Island home! Very nice. I went to the dentist and his newly remodeled office had counter tops made with an uncut edge with some very nice wood.

I’m starting to think he’s charging too much.

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spamfilterman August 10, 2010 6:32 pm

very nice. I’d love to get ahold of some slabs like that.

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Donnie Gaskin August 10, 2010 6:58 pm

A stunning piece and I agree the top sets it off as it should. The natural edge is a syle I really like. Beautiful wood. Thanks for posting.

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Claude Stewart August 10, 2010 7:27 pm

It’s beautiful.

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Paul August 10, 2010 9:16 pm

What a great mix of color, texture and size. Be very proud of your work on this piece.

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Kyle Hill August 10, 2010 9:43 pm

That’s gorgeous how did you manage to finish the rough edge of the table?

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Janice Horne August 10, 2010 10:00 pm

I might have to think of making a smaller version for my house. Thanks for sharing!

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Shaun August 10, 2010 10:14 pm

Wonderful piece. I have a few pieces similiar to yours – natural edge about 20-22″ wide. How did you choose which face to put up? How did you get the natural edge so smooth?

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Ben H August 11, 2010 5:08 am

Flat out Awesome. Great Job!

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ShawnR August 11, 2010 7:08 am

Great job, love the fugured grain on the top. Congratulations on your retirement from the Navy. Thanks for your service to our nation.

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Matt August 11, 2010 10:40 am

That is a fantastic table – great job getting the wood and preparing it for projects!

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Tom Schara August 11, 2010 1:13 pm

Well I can tell you first hand that this table is a work of art. The wood and the craftsmenship are awesome. When you see it you wil see that more than work went into it, there was also a lot of love. This man builds from his heart and makes sure that what he builds is first class. I can say these things as I’m the very proud father in law.

tom

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Philip Shie August 11, 2010 2:14 pm

Very impressive work… beautiful table.

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steve hupp August 11, 2010 5:26 pm

Very nice and beautifully done.

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BuilderBill August 11, 2010 8:16 pm

Rob,

That’s a sweet table, I love the slab top and legs.

To my eye, IMHO, YMMV, etc., the only thing I find distracting is the stretcher detail. To me, the stretcher is ‘way too long and the wedges need a bit more protrusion on top. If it were me, I’d cut the stretcher off on the same angle at about twice the width of the wedge and make the wedge an inch or so longer at the wide end.

Like I said, that’s just MHO, blah, blah. Maybe try it on paper or in SketchUp and see what you think.

All in all, a very sweet piece. Congrats!

Best!
Bill

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Darrian August 12, 2010 10:12 pm

I know just about everyone has said it but I’ll say it again, it’s a beautiful piece. Thanks so much for sharing, I’m sure you’re wife loved it.

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Frank Kovach August 14, 2010 1:35 pm

As everyone has already said, it is a beautiful piece. I had one question for you. Why did you use your method of attaching the stretcher? It appears as if the only thing holding them in place are two opposing wedges. Why not use tenons which would have the added effect of shoulders to help with keeping everything straight? I’m just exploring ideas here, not being critical, just learning by hearing other people’s ideas on how or why to do a particular thing. And by the way, I’m a 12 year Marine, so Semper Fi.

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- Robert August 15, 2010 8:48 pm
  
  Frank,
  
  I used the opposing wedges first for practical purposes. They just pop out, the top lifts off the loose tenons in the top of the legs and it’s ready for easy moving/shipping. I don’t plan on moving it soon but when it’s time, it will be a snap. Secondly the wedges are for style. I like their simplicity too. There is actually a shoulder on the inside of the stretcher. It’s very difficult to see but it’s there none the less. I think it measured about 3/16″ thick. Thanks for your continued service to our nation! I’ve always held the Marines in very high regard. You guys were always so much more disciplined than us Sailors!
  
  Reply
Dan Drabek August 16, 2010 5:03 pm

A handsome project, and a nice story to go with it. Looks like you’ll never need to buy maple again.

I have a woodworker friend who lives on Whidby Island. Beautiful place.

DD

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Paulg October 29, 2010 3:07 pm

Stunning work. Love the flairs in the grain. What was the finish?

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Dave M November 28, 2010 1:45 pm

Stunning.

Congratulations on a gorgeous table and for fighting off the wood burners. (Heathens).

Inspiring.

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George Baty November 28, 2010 8:05 pm

Looking for 72×42 live edge kitchen nook table. I like the metal support brackets as seen in Langley in retail store. Please contact me. I also have a stump on property that might work for shorter tables.

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Rob November 28, 2010 9:42 pm

George, you can contact me at 360-929-7466.

Robert

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jacquelien December 25, 2010 7:36 am

Wow that is really nice. I do the same thing with large cedar trees. I make them into benches. Would you be willing to sell a slab of the wood. I would love to make something in other than cedar.

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jacquelien December 25, 2010 7:38 am

Sorry my email is jacq803@hotmail.com

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Mina June 17, 2011 5:29 am

It is more of a work of art than a woodworking piece even thought it is constructed with flawless precision from my point of view.

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Sondra December 9, 2011 1:22 am

Your table is beautiful. I was wondering how long I need to wait after I received my 12′ log before I can work with it. Also, you mentioned that you had it dried. What did you mean by that? Did you have to take it to someone?

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Robert December 11, 2011 1:07 am

Sondra, thank you for the compliments. I would say that you need not wait any amount of time to slice the log into slabs, provided that’s your intention. Once it’s slabbed, you’ll want to place it in a covered area, with good air flow and out of the direct sun. Depending on how thick the slabs are, you’ll want to let it air dry for as long as you can. As much as a year or more would be ideal. After that, you’ll want to have it kiln dried by a professional. Once again, the slower the better. Slow drying will prevent most checks and cracks that tend to occur when you rapidly dry wood. Some will occur, but they will be minor in comparison. Hope this helps!

Robert

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Brian January 14, 2012 9:19 pm

Nice work. I too live on Whidbey Island. Where did you find that hunk of wood? Do you have any left to spare/sell? Would like to get together to share some tips and stories.
Brian.

Reply

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Rob’s Natural Edge Slab Hall Table

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