Hello,
This is my first live edge slab. Making it from Black Walnut and have lots of questions, but would like to start with the bark. I like the look of this sanded Bark, but am concerned with it separating in the future. We have removed most of the bark, and sanded it down. These slabs are 125 in x 25 in x 3 in. If I finish it with epoxy or something similar, will the bark hold? I know the bark expands differently that the hard wood. Any help would be appreciated. Here are a few pictures to show my project.
Replies
No photos?
Sorry. They were too large. Will reduce them and post tomorrow.
No photos included in your post. Full disclosure - I have limited experience with walnut live edge and bark, so I might be way off base here. But that has never prevented me from having an opinion. I see bark left on for turning bowls and agree it looks great. The same thing would apply to countertops - it would look awesome. But would it perform well? In my opinion, just the idea of leaving it on for a kitchen sounds risky. A kitchen is an area that gets lots of traffic. I would expect lots of rubbing, bumping, etc. by people and objects. Do you have stools that will bump it? All that will tend to knock it loose. Will it snag the clothing of your family and guests? What works for a bowl on the shelf might not work in a kitchen.
Proceed with caution.
Thanks for the comments, it’s is a basement wet bar and not a lot of traffic like a kitchen. No bar stools can’t hit it due to foot rails. Sanding smooth so no clothing snags is the plan.
Reduced the pictures. So you can see the bark.
What's left on there is not really bark. If it feels solid after sanding it should stay on after finishing. IMO it would be a shame to cover that nice slab with a layer of epoxy.
If you use an oil finish and something flakes off in the future it would be 2 minutes with a rag to do a repair.
Exactly as MJ said.
For a kitchen countertop?
Kiln dried slab?
It’s Air Dried and my moisturizer reading so 9.6 to 11.5 overall. There are a few spots at 13.8, so I will watch those before Planing.
Also, basement Wetbar counter top. Lower level counter with sink will be granite. Not daily use but will have drinks and beer cans sitting on during parties. Lol
Wow, that edge is really beautiful.
Agree, that’s why I would like to save it.
I did walnut countertops for my office exactly like yours. I kept the live edge and finished with lacquer. Those color variations are just thin "onion skin" layers between the sap wood and the rough bark. I'm not worried at all about them shedding. I don't think they will, but if they do, no one will notice. I agree with MJ - don't get out the epoxy for this. The live edge gives it a natural look and while epoxy has its place, it is anything but natural. This is not a place for a thick coating for a finish.
I am also no expert on this, but did a black walnut bookcase awhile back. I was initially disappointed in that I thought I had come up short after I milled the lumber, as my last piece-a shelf-would be just a smidge narrow if I ripped off the rough edge which had a strip of bark. I changed my perspective and thought it might add some character to leave that short strip of live edge.
I gently wire brushed it until no loose bark was left, then burnished it with 0000 steel wool. I finished with garnet shellac. It is now one of my favorite pieces.
That looks great, thanks for sharing. Based on all the input I will leave the thin layer of skin on the edges where I can.
I’ve done several slab pieces out of cherry and ash and have left the edges just as yours are shown. Beautiful look! Sanded smooth with about five coats of oil/varnish mix sanded in. These edges get a lot of traffic (people love touching and running hands over them) and have held up for years. Keep the natural beauty of the wood! For my table, I had a piece of glass custom made that matches the wavy edges and looks awesome and does a great job protecting the slab.
That’s great to hear. Thanks for sharing.
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