# Please post pictures of your natural edge or slab tables



## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Hi everyone,

I'd like some ideas on how to build bases to match live-edge table tops. I have a few slabs of cherry burls and I'm not sure how to approach making the base. Any kind of tables would be great: coffee, end, sofa, hallway, etc.

I figured this is the best place to post this question on this forum, since many of you here have more appreciation for the natural stuff.

Thanks in advance, -SW


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Go over to the "projects" and there are a few over there.
Also I have mine in this section on a subject called "a saturdays walnut milling" (or something like that).


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

I don't have much of an imagination but these are what I've come up with.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Um, Some of those are quite nice.
The kitchen table is very log cabin worthy, and the odd ball 3 up from the bottom is nice.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

Heh, those all look fantastic. I think more complicated and "imaginative" designs take away from the whole idea of the raw natural edge and even having a fine finished edge on a slab like that. The heavy slab, the interesting grains in the surfaces, that's the features IMO that would draw the eye. Beautiful stuff.


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## DBird NJ (May 28, 2012)

This was a dual purpose piece I built for my parents as a Christmas gift. It can be either a bench or a coffee table whatever you need. I kept the legs simple because I did not want to take away from the natural beauty of the top.


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## darty (Feb 1, 2009)

I used a cutoff section of the slab for the legs. I also went simple with the legs.


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## Masterworks (Oct 20, 2011)

Here is a sample of a live edge stand up dressing mirror and a pedestal. The tikis on the pedestal can be changed out for other shapes and both are made from urban wood from the bay area.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Big Dave - those are some very nice tables. I like the "weight" in the designs, nice solid look. I really like the fourth one down, with dual slabs.

DBird - I really love that piece. You've sparked some ideas for putting the legs on an angle. Makes it visually "lift" the slab, particularly how it's so long an slender.

Darty - That looks great. Using the cutoffs gives great consistency in color. I also really like the "through trestle" design, and it works really well on this piece. That's a beautiful slab.

Masterworks - Love that pedestal and that's also a beautiful crotch piece.


Thanks, everyone. Please keep them coming; the creative juices are starting to flow! -SW


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Siberian elm that I picked up while ATVing. It was lying next to a fire pit in a makeshift camp site, being whittled away little by little for firewood over the years. We used the main trunk for the top slab, and one of the forks for the legs. I bolted it together with long lag bolts, and plugged the holes with curly maple buttons cut flush. As of now it's just oiled. The plan is to put on a poly finish & have a glass top cut for it, then use it as a computer desk.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

^^^ Beautiful table. I like how the crotches in the legs are doing different directions.


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## bob sacamano (Jan 24, 2012)

qbilder-
how did you do the joinery ? whats keeping it from racking ? i like the legs


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

q
Now that is about as live edge/surface as it gets. 
What did you fill the top with?


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

The joinery is 6" x 3/8" lag bolts with glue. It will rock a little if pushed hard enough, but it takes quite a bit of power to do so. I have a peeled juniper stick with a burl in the middle that i'm going to mount into the crotches to stabilize it. I'm still learning & have a lot to learn about furniture construction. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Sure is fun, though. 

The top isn't filled with anything. I'm going to spray some deft sanding sealer watered down with lacquer thinner over the entire table, then poly the top & legs. On top of that will be a glass surface either cut to the table shape or rectangle so it hangs over the edges, haven't decided yet. 

The table was an experiment just to see what it would look like with flip flopped crotches as legs. I had a free day & the logs laying around. They have been lying on the desert floor for eons & dry as popcorn so it was a safe bet to build with. It took all of about 3-4hrs from loading the logs to wiping on the oil. I have a load of nogal walnut logs to mill soon & think i'll use this simple design again. I really like it, momma loves it, and everybody who comes over comments on it. My ideas usually end in failure but this one worked out ok. Thanks for the kind comments :icon_smile:


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Oh 
from the angle of the top shot, It liooked like it was filled. Now I get that is is also rough edge. 

Simple sometimes is more appealing than complex when you let the grain speak for itself.


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

aardvark said:


> Simple sometimes is more appealing than complex when you let the grain speak for itself.


Thanks. And I agree. Tough to beat mother nature.


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

Here are a few all made from urban lumber


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

Those are some amazing pieces, Joe.....


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## bob sacamano (Jan 24, 2012)

joe-
what species is the bench ?


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Joe, those are all quite fantastic.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Nice design sense you have there, Joe.
What is the base on that dining table?


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

From the top down
Spalted Live Oak
Sugar Maple with Grape Root base
Playing with the new chain saw Sweetgum
Highly figured Eastern Red Cedar. The bench is currently on its way to San Francisco CA.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Grape root.
Thanks.
It didn't look like cyprus , which was my first thought, with you being from Fla. and all.
Love the gnarliness of it. (is that a word?)


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

You ever get to cut up any of the rosewoods or other exotics that grow in Florida? Have heard that just about anything that grows in the tropics around the world, can also grow in Fl.


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

qbilder said:


> You ever get to cut up any of the rosewoods or other exotics that grow in Florida? Have heard that just about anything that grows in the tropics around the world, can also grow in Fl.


All of the time...:thumbsup:

Blue Mahoe Talipariti elatum, (formerly Hibiscus elatus), Spalted NIP Araucaria heterophylla (not actually a pine) Silky Oak Grevillea robusta ( not actually and Oak) Misl. as marked


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Pretty stuff.
A fun stack to start with if I've ever seen one.

I personally have concerns with the toxicity of working with certain woods and try to keep basic. Especially with the dust, but even with the handling.


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

bob sacamano said:


> joe-
> what species is the bench ?


Eastern Red Cadar


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

aardvark said:


> Pretty stuff.
> A fun stack to start with if I've ever seen one.
> 
> I personally have concerns with the toxicity of working with certain woods and try to keep basic. Especially with the dust, but even with the handling.


The common ones that can be nasty to some people. Mango (sap), Silky oak (sap) and ear tree/monkey pod tree (dust), Of course some people could be allergic to any wood.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Yeah. 
I'm basically into northern woods. Oak/Maple/Walnut/Elm/Cedar/Ash (which is heavily available cheap, due to the ash bore infestation)
And some of the odd balls like box elder/mulberry/catalpa/apple/cherry/etc. 

I rarely ever purchase wood and do similar designs with rough edge and junk cuts that many loggers would just burn, due to bug infestation. I love wood that's chewed on or burled, and have 42" wide hollow logs for interesting projects.

The toxicity is low on these..


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

That blue mahoe is awesome!!!! Great color. 

Toxicity is a concern for me almost daily as I work with exotics. With the sawmill hobby, i'm trying to incorporate more domestic woods into the mix. Been cutting a tree here in the mountains that the locals call box elder, and the leaves do look like box elder, but nothing else about it is box elder. It's more like hard maple. I'd love to be somewhere like Florida with all those odd woods :yes:


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

Joe, I built this table/bench recently. It sort of resembles your first photo!

Bret


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Looks similar in concept. 
Also very nice.


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## Joe Rebuild (Nov 22, 2011)

Oh I like that! Good use of the "scrap" for the upright.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Beautiful bench, Bret. Might make me obsess about falling on it and impaling myself, lolz.


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## grizzman (Aug 10, 2012)

those are some amazing pieces, giving one the ability to choose something that will enhance there project.


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

wow - some mighty fine work in this thread, i am brand new here, ran across this thread and thought i'd contribute since mine are not quite exactly like any of the others. definitely stealing an idea or two  i am a rank rookie and have only made 2 tables before these, but this a matching set of Texas mesquite, the sofa table and coffee table slabs were milled in 1980, the rest (legs, shelves) a few years ago. i like this design as the shelf provides stability as well as extra useable space for a knickknack etc. each joint is mortice and tenon. have a nice stock of pecan with 6 mos to go and 2 slabs of elm with about another year, i hate the waiting game....


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

to clarify - the shelves are supported by sunken 3" deck screws to really draw it tight, then a dowel inserted to cover the screw and make it look like it is doweled all the way. for the legs, they are m&t into the bottom, then 5/8" dowels go 3 or 4" through the legs and into the bottom as support. the shelf was designed to be 2" longer than the legs at the table so as to force the legs out a tad and provide more side sway support. all seems to have worked pretty well so far


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Really beautiful pieces. Thanks for posting.


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

hers a small table i recently made - the top is 5/4 scrap off the edge of a pecan log, about 6 mos old, the base is a slice of pecan i cut 32 yrs ago, it dried perfect with nary a crack. the supports are 1"x1/2" oak, embedded and dowled. the top is warped from drying so i flattened the top and went with it, adds character, right? ;-)


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Very Nice.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

yellabret said:


> ..........., but this a matching set of Texas mesquite, the sofa table and coffee table slabs were milled in 1980, the rest (legs, shelves) a few years ago. i like this design as the shelf provides stability as well as extra useable space for a knickknack etc. each joint is mortice and tenon. have a nice stock of pecan with ....................


Nice furniture. In the first one, is the legs also M&T into the top? I've got a slab of pecan also that I've been meaning to use, but I just didn't have an idea on how to do the legs.

Thanks


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

@ Yellabret - that's a beautiful piece. I love how the big slab is has a very light feel to it, complemented by the small supports. BTW, love that the dowels are coming out of the pith on the bottom cookie. Nice touch.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

If you want to see my projects you can go to the "projects" section of my site and I give a short slideshow of each project and the 
"for sale" section has finished slide show pictures.

I do "live edge or bark on" tables and a few other oddities.

http://gnarlywooddesigns.weebly.com/

A question to all of you other artisans .
Who do you sell to?


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

djg said:


> Nice furniture. In the first one, is the legs also M&T into the top? I've got a slab of pecan also that I've been meaning to use, but I just didn't have an idea on how to do the legs.
> 
> Thanks



yes. i routered out the mortice, making it a tad wider than the leg, so the leg can go out at a slight angle to fit the shelf that is a bit longer than the distance between the mortices, forcing the legs out a bit and "locking" them so to speak. then from the inside, i set two dowels in each at a 45deg angle through the legs into the table for extra support. if thats hard to picture let me know and i'll take a pic. its not exactly pretty, but who sees it, right?


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

Streamwinner said:


> @ Yellabret - that's a beautiful piece. I love how the big slab is has a very light feel to it, complemented by the small supports. BTW, love that the dowels are coming out of the pith on the bottom cookie. Nice touch.



thanks - it actually is light, its not a big slab, just 37". i am happy with it considering it is a very warped piece that many would use for bbqing.


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## MagGeorge (Jul 5, 2012)

Magnificent pieces from nature. Nature has its way of taking care of us.


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

yellabret said:


> thanks - it actually is light, its not a big slab, just 37". i am happy with it considering it is a very warped piece that many would use for bbqing.


I like warped, ask my wife:laughing:. These are all beautiful pieces.


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