The epoxy is very good at finding its way through the slab so I'll usually tape any voids on the bottom of the slab, as well. If I have voids that extend to the edges of the slab, I tape them with blue painter's masking tape to keep the epoxy from leaking out and to help maintain a flush edge. I add just enough to add color and create an epoxy that has a little depth once it cures. I don't use so much dust that the epoxy turns muddy. If you use a black dye, the epoxy often ends up with a blue tint that appears unnatural to my eye. The walnut dust makes for a nice, warm, dark brown color. For my slab, I mixed some walnut sanding dust into the epoxy to add color. In some cases, clear epoxy may be okay, but I prefer to color the epoxy to create a natural-looking filler. The epoxy creates a smooth surface without taking away the character of the piece. I've found that filling the voids with epoxy is the best way to deal with these defects. In my experience with working with large slabs, voids, checks, and other defects are part of the game and honestly, give a slab its unique personality. In this case, I actually decided to flip the slab and use the surface I had originally thought would be the bottom of the table as the top. While doing this initial sanding, I'll inspect the slab top and bottom. When using Mirka Abranet sandpaper with the Deros system, dust is simply not a concern. And honestly, I'm not sure that a better system could be made. The Deros with the Mirka dust extractor (also available as a complete Deros system) is the most dust-free sanding system I have seen. I have used a lot of sanders - both electric and pneumatic - in the past and the Mirka Deros sander is easily my favorite.
The goal is a nice, smooth surface with no hills and especially no valleys. It's important at this step to be careful to keep the slab flat by not letting the sander dig in and cause low spots. First, I like to start with a rough sanding to eliminate any witness lines from the Mega Dado & Planer router bit used in planing process. With the slab cut to size, getting it ready for finish requires a few steps. (You do have a set of handscrews in your shop, right?)
To hold the straightedges in place and secure the slab to the workbench, I used good, old-fashioned handscrews. I actually used pieces from my planing sled as my straightedges for cutting the slab to final size. For this I used a 7-1/4" circular saw with a strip of MDF used as a straightedge guide. The first step is to trim the slab to final size. I wanted to make sure that the tabletop was the star of the show and that the table would fit in with a modern or traditional decor. It also allowed me to remove some defects at both ends when cutting the slab to length.Īs far as the design goes, I decided to draw inspiration from the Shakers and create a simple base for the table.
#Cover desk edge to keep from rubbing off finish full
This dimension provided for a live edge down the full length of one side and a small section of live edge on the other. From a design standpoint, this presented a problem for keeping the slab whole, and in the end, I decided it was best to cut the slab down to make a long slender top measuring roughly 19" by 66". My slab, while a nice wide 32" at one end tapers at the other to a relatively narrow 18". With the live-edge slab flattened (Part 1), the real question is what to do with it? In my case, I decided that the slab is well-suited for a long, narrow table such as a buffet or sideboard in a dining room or, a sofa table.
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