When design strikes
Sometimes a board is just a board. And sometimes it's inspiration.Recently, I was meandering around one of my super secret lumber suppliers. I always enjoy flipping boards; you never know what you’ll find. Anyway, I lifted up a tarp covering what I presumed to be a pile of trash around back. To my surprise, I bumped into a particular board that spoke to me. It was a short but wide piece of walnut. Right in the middle was a bark inclusion; there was also some live edge, sapwood, and a couple of small checks. But the board was 49 in. long and 18 in. wide. To quote Smee from the 1991 movie Hook, “lighting struck my brain” and I had the unfamiliar experience of having an actual idea. This piece of wood needed to be turned into a coffee table.
So I rescued the piece from the pile, brought it home, and got right to work. The timing was fortunate because I had about a five-day gap in my schedule where I had planned to edit my backlog of unedited videos. But cranking out videos in an attempt to feed the algorithm beast is boring. I put that nonsense on hold and got to work.
I rarely get to design and build a project without input from a customer. Needless to say, I was excited to get going. I liked the shape of the top even though it was asymmetrical, so I wanted to keep as close to that shape as possible. I cut only what was needed off each end and cleaned up the two long sides. I’m not a big fan of poured epoxy, but in this case it was necessary as the bark inclusion was loose.
Being a “less is more” kind of guy at heart, I wanted a simple base. Straight legs, with bridle joints at the corners, are connected to each other with two stretchers. I kept the stretchers closer to the outside of the table in an attempt to add a little thickness. The top ended up being exactly 3/4 in. thick after flattening, which is a little thinner than I would prefer for a table of this size. I also recessed the legs into dadoes and made them a little wider than the top. This is a detail I have used on several pieces of furniture over the years. I really like it; it shows off the bridle joints and shows that some thought was put into how the top is attached to the base. The only other detail is a butterfly key securing a small check. The finish is Osmo, applied in a wipe on/buff off fashion, three coats on everything and four on the top.
Overall, I am happy with the table. My goal was to hit a balance between allowing the wood to be the design, while not being too sterile. The top will grab one’s attention and the small details I added will hopefully hold it. This was a blast to build, and as mentioned earlier, it fit nicely into a gap in my schedule.
This is a spec piece of furniture. I will try to sell it via social media, or maybe shop it to a few local galleries. This build will eventually be a video on my YouTube channel, if I ever make time to edit. Thank you for reading. I’d love to hear your opinion on how I did.
Live-Edge Coffee Table Plan |
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A Lesson in Butterfly Keys |
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Lively Bases for Live-Edged Tables |
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Suizan Japanese Pull Saw
Olfa Knife
Pfiel Chip Carving Knife
Comments
I like it, Mike. It gave me some inspiration for some smaller slabs I have sitting around.
I especially like the thought behind the base and that you didn’t just throw a slab onto some hairpin legs!
I love the design, especially the base. The bridal joint set into a dado is brilliant. I do hope you make a video of the whole process.
I like it and am glad you had fun during a break in your schedule to build it. I hope the fires stay away from your home and shop.
I too am not a huge fan of the epoxy trend but it certainly work out well here. Very nice piece, I love one board projects!
The top piece of wood is really beautiful and good eye to take it! The leg apron design seems wholly unrelated to the top and its figuration though...like two separate design stories. These are essentially just straight sticks. If you haven't already - maybe worth looking at G. Nakashima's tables to look at alternate ideas about how to use a leg system that supports and amplifies the top - so it all becomes a holistic design piece.
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