Hi all, I’m new to this website, and also new to woodworking for the most part. I have embarked on a live edge coffee table project after seeing a few Nakashima pieces at a relative’s house. I have a slab of Sycamore with a nice large crack in it that I will span with some butterfly joints.

I am just starting this project, and am in the process of planing the slab down, but I have begun to think about the finishing process for the table. It’s going to be a functioning coffee table in my living room, so drink glasses/beer bottles will be placed on it (sans coaster). Is an all oil finish going to be enough for the table? I dislike the “poured a bucked of shellac on the table” look I have seen on some other tables, and I’m also not sure what to do about the large crack (it goes all the way through the slab). Any advice would be appreciated by this newbie!