# Slab coffee table



## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

Never posted before. This is a coffee table made from some discarded walnut I took out of a burn pile. I really liked the imperfections in the slab. I used spalled maple butterflies on the cracks. I'm really just looking to get some feedback about the table because it is my first attempt at anything like this, and I REALLY enjoyed it.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

What idiot was going to burn that?????


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Err, that's some gorgeous wood and you've made a fine table. The irregular shape of the top really flows well. The legs are innocuous at first, but the more I look at them I begin to enjoy their intricacies. Top notch.:thumbsup:


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## gomez11811 (Jul 29, 2012)

That`s incredible, I`m hypnotized. Is it for sale, If I had that I would throw away my tv and stare at that....


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## Da Aardvark (Oct 11, 2012)

Nice work.
What is the finish?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That slab is very nice. Looks like the first scab that the sawyer cuts when slabbing a log. The finish and the bowties look great. How did you attach the legs to the base? Looks like it could be a great bench as well. Nice work and welcome to wood talk.


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

Da Aardvark said:


> Nice work.
> What is the finish?


I used spar varnish for the durability


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

gomez11811 said:


> That`s incredible, I`m hypnotized. Is it for sale, If I had that I would throw away my tv and stare at that....










































Thanks for the comments, this is another table I just finished. It's walnut also but has 1000+ year old redwood between the legs as an accent. It was sprayed with lacquer and then I machine rubbed the finish, it came out like glass.


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

Dominick said:


> That slab is very nice. Looks like the first scab that the sawyer cuts when slabbing a log. The finish and the bowties look great. How did you attach the legs to the base? Looks like it could be a great bench as well. Nice work and welcome to wood talk.


That's exactly what the slab is. A guy my uncle knows has a wood mizer and he gets logs from a tree care company (I think). To attach the legs I chiseled out the top and fit them in (and glued). It is very sturdy. Thanks for your compliment.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Very nice!!!


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

very awesome. spar, can you apply by brush? does it self level?


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

SSSHHHHH.....If they find out we burnpile dive they'll start hiding it. 

Thats a beautiful table...very well executed...love the....FLAW....placement.

Have a Blessed and Prosperous day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

gideon said:


> very awesome. spar, can you apply by brush? does it self level?


You can apply with a brush but I recommend thinning it down first. Spraying is the way to go.


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

This table is a great example of the difference in a builder and craftsman/artist....a builder says this board has a knot/defect and throughs it aside.....a craftsman/artist says WOW this would make a wonderful piece.....Don't get me wrong, there is times we need that straight clear board, LOL...I still need my straight walls when building....mmm come to think of it, I have built curved on purpose.

This is a great piece:thumbsup:.

Have a Blessed and Prosperous day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

on the first table, how did you attach the top to the base?


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## Da Aardvark (Oct 11, 2012)

My home has some curved walls, but don't do it. 
Bending T-111 siding ain't fun.

Agree, there are craftsmen that use straight grain and fancy joinery. Not my style either.
I opt for the Gnarly.


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

gideon said:


> on the first table, how did you attach the top to the base?
































Both tables have the legs attached in the same way. I chiseled out the bottom of the table, but in the second table I also inserted maple dowels through the outside of the top, through the legs and back into the table. You can see the dowels in the photo included.


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## Broken Bat (Sep 4, 2012)

A couple of really great looking tables. Very nice work.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

wow, really interesting and very cool.

so you chiseled out recesses and the legs fit snugly in to the top. did you use glue as well or was the fit good enough to hold?

also, with the dowels, did you drawbore them or do they go straight through? what type of bit did you use to get all the way in there? 

sorry for all the questions but it looks like you've figures out the answers to some things I've been wanting to do. not that I would copy you.

I did something kind of similar with some rails


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## Jarrett 824 (Nov 9, 2012)

gideon said:


> wow, really interesting and very cool.
> 
> so you chiseled out recesses and the legs fit snugly in to the top. did you use glue as well or was the fit good enough to hold?
> 
> ...


Your table looks very cool, I like it a lot, do you have more pics of it. To answer your questions; when I chiseled out the recesses, the legs did fit snugly but I still used glue, the stronger the better was my thought on these tables, I made them to last longer than myself. Because of the natural edges used on the legs and the top, getting the proper shape to chisel was time consuming. The drill bit I used was just a regular wood boring bit from sears. I drilled them with a power drill so the holes were not a perfect fit at the entrance. To fix that I made a wedge and hammered it into the end of the dowel to split it and widen the end. That worked out well and goes great with the style of the table. I am pretty new to wood working so I will admit I didn't know what "drawbore" meant, but I looked it up and no I didn't do that, I just drilled it all the way through however I would like to use the drawbore in the future. Thanks for the interest.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

this is the build thread for the table i made. it all started with a small pair of matched pieces and you know the rest.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/working-new-walnut-coffee-table-43403/


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