Hey guys, I am Sarah. Every week I comb through hundreds of DIY videos preparing projects for our weekly Maker show, Maker Break. Along the way, I find some good projects… and some GREAT ones, And right now, I’m going to share them with you! This is Sarah’s Top 5 DIY Live Edge Tables
#5 – William Walker Company
William Walker Company gets us started with #5! Will was asked to make a live edge table for one of his friends and he decided he was up for the challenge! Using two massive live edge cherry slabs that he wanted to bookmatch he started shaving down the slabs. He took off about an inch using the router the router. He cut off the access slab he didn’t need then glued it together. Next he made the butterfly keys, verified the fit, and then glued and beat them into place. He filled the cracks with black epoxy, sanded it down, then finished the table top. Look at that color pop! Finally it was time to build the legs, and attach them to the table top. He makes this look so simple!
#4 – The Wood Whisperer
#4 is The Wood Whisperer! Mark started this video off by drooling over the options of slabs he had to choose from from a local woodworkers “Disney World” as he puts it! After choosing the walnut slab from the huge selection and got it home he starts filling in and repairing the small areas that needed attention. He shows you how to use CA glue for small repairs but he focuses more on filling in the imperfections with epoxy. Once the table top is prepped, he picked up some locally fabricated legs, figured out placing, and attached them using ¼” bolts. His advice I appreciated the most in this video is that you should keep the base pretty simple to not take away from the natural beauty of the slab!
#3 – Crafted Workshop
Crafted Workshop is #3! Johny Brooke collaborated with Miked from Modern Builds and Cresel from Makercise to make this out of the box creative version of a live edge table! First thing is first, they went to go pick up a huge red oak slab from a local slab dealer. The piece they selected had a couple large voids that would be perfect for their crazy idea of filling the voids with molten – Aluminum. Are you kidding me!? They used scrap aluminum and melted them down in a backyard foundry, which is also just awesome. Then they used trial and error and found the best way to pour and fill all of the voids. That is SO Gratifying to watch. They finished up the slab, prepped it for the legs and got it all assembled and completed! This is sick guys!
#2 – Rad Dad Builds
# 2 is Nick from Rad Dad Builds! Right off the bat Nick gets busy making both of his large slabs as flat as possible. He used his router to take off an 8th of an inch at a time and slowly worked his way through the material. Then he made the form he would need to pour the epoxy. Once the form was ready to go, he prepped the slabs for the pour, laid them in the form, securing them to be sure they didn’t move while the epoxy hardens and then mixed the epoxy. He chose a really dark pigment color for the epoxy which just makes the lighter wood explode with contrast! Finally he adds the metal table base and this project is complete! Nick, If you don’t want it anymore I am sure I could find a place to put it in my home! Just kidding, You can keep it. Awesome job!
#1 – John Malecki
Coming in at #1 is John Malecki. Mr.Malecki is known for making giant beast-mode projects and when it came to making a unique live edge table, he did not disappoint. Like most woodworking projects, he started with prepping the slab using a router jig and slowly taking a pass at a time, until he was happy with the slabs. He decided instead of using epoxy to fill in the river portion of this live edge river table he was going to customize an inlay piece of blue glass. He maps out where the glass will go, then moves onto cutting down the slabs to their final dimensions. Once he had the slab ready to go it was time to fabricate the steel legs. After collecting all of the individual pieces for this project it was time to put it all together and the final outcome is stunning!
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