# Help me design a live wood desk



## NOLAwoodwork (Feb 21, 2012)

I want to build a desk with a live wood surface look. Unlike most you see, I don't want the live wood piece to be the entire surface. I am going for a look similar to this. 










Obviously, I do not want to use concrete like they did here. I am going to use sinker cypress. Being from South La, this is easy for me to find. I want to leave it natural colored and contrast it with a darker wood. I don't think using plywood is going to give me the look I want. I was considering going with hard maple, stained with an ebony color. Any opinions on how this would look?


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## 2lim (Aug 30, 2009)

You could easily ebonize a piece of maple to border your sinker cypress.

I will say(from experience) that getting the irregular edge of a live edge piece of anything to mate with the corresponding edge, is very difficult. It involves using a couple of jigs, a router, some sanding and a whole lot of patience/atention to detail.

The reason a lot of people border with concrete, is that they can pour a non shrink mix around the live edge, and not have to worry as much about joinery.

Best of luck!

Simon


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