Logan’s Inside-out Live-edge Coffee Table

Viewer Project - By Logan Newman from Rochester, NY
Added on November 13, 2014

I found this beautiful piece of spalted Maple and decided to build a coffee table. I had a friend who wanted a live edge coffee table so I got to have some fun! The board was 7 ft long and 11 inches wide and I needed to cut it in half and join it with a spacer in the middle to get my friend’s desired width.

I liked the idea of the live edge table, but I also know that I like to put my feet up on a coffee table so I knew that a live edge spalted maple board would break under that pressure. Also, spalted maple has gorgeous grain along the edge and I didn’t want to lose that. I decided to take the board I had bought and join it with a piece of Chechen along the live edge. I cut a dado along the length of the board and then hand carved both pieces to ensure a good fit. The walnut legs are mortised into the top and the bottom is 1/2 lapped into the bottom shelf. The bottom shelf is spalted beech split down the middle with a walnut piece biscuit joined to the 2 pieces.

The overall size is 25 inches wide, 42 3/4 inches long and 18 inches tall. It was finished with danish oil and 14 coats of wipe-on gloss polyurethane.

Discussion

Phil C November 14, 2014 9:26 am

Absolutely beautiful spalting and great idea about the spacer in the top! What sort of jig did you use for creating the dado on the natural uneven edge?

Well done!!!

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James Woodward November 14, 2014 10:14 am

This is a beautiful piece. Well Done!!!!

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Patricia H. November 14, 2014 11:35 am

Really love this. This is beautiful and practical-great job. My problem with the live edge tables is that they look beautiful, but are dangerous. Babies and toddlers use the table edges for balancing, or can hurt themselves on the rough edge. Even teens going through the clumsy stages have hurt themselves falling in our den, so softer edges are the best.

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- Scott S November 14, 2014 7:53 pm
  
  Did you look at the pictures? This concern is negated by the fact that the live edge is on the inside. If you were to fall into the middle of the table then yes you could hurt yourself but any table will have that chance. All the outside edges of this are rounded over and smooth.
  
  All in all a beautiful piece.
  
  Reply
  - Mike (Woodsap) November 18, 2014 2:09 pm
    
    I am pretty sure that is why she called it “practical”. Live edge on outside = not practical. Live edge on inside = practical.
    
    Reply
- Bill April 8, 2023 10:52 pm
  
  The great thing about free will and choice is that we can make decisions on what we think is best based on our own taste. Interesting view
  
  Reply
Eric November 15, 2014 6:36 am

This is a beautiful table with woods that compliment very nicely. I think this piece will be timeless! A difficult accomplishment with three species. Nicely done!

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Johnny November 15, 2014 8:27 am

Very nice Logan. My second favorite piece of yours. I am a fan of you hall table you made as well. Thanks for sharing!

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Logan November 15, 2014 11:58 am

Thanks for the great comments! This is one of my favorite pieces as well – the spalting was gorgeous and my friend was really happy with it. Johnny – I keep thinking I need to revisit the style I used to create that table. I really liked that one as well and now I have people who would buy that from me.
As for a jig – I ran it through my table saw with a dado blade and then hand planed and chiseled to make the 3 pieces fit together. I used a jig to hold it upright, but that is it. The hard part with this was making sure that the 3 pieces were flush where the live edge blended into the dado. All in all, it came out really well and I was really proud to hand it over

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Nathan November 17, 2014 1:15 pm

That’s a beautiful table! The spalted maple looks fantastic and I like the look of the angled legs. How is the top affixed to the legs to allow movement?

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- Logan November 18, 2014 5:00 pm
  
  I used a mortise and tenon with glue, but the size of it allows the 2 outside pieces to move as necessary. I’ve foundbtgat most pieces this small I don’t have too many problems with.
  
  Reply
Jim May 6, 2018 4:15 am

truly a beautiful piece

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Logan’s Inside-out Live-edge Coffee Table

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