Rice Live Edge Coffee Table
RICE LIVE EDGE COFFEE TABLE
This is my 2nd attempt at creating a live-edge slab piece — and my first attempt at doing a Nakashima-style table (or any sort of inlay work for that matter).
Dimensions: 50″L x 24″W x 15″H.
Finish: Hand-rubbed oil & wax — 5 coats of Watco Danish Oil, wet sanded up to 1200 grit, followed by 2 coats of Black Bison wax and the buffed to a satin gloss/sheen.
Handpicked this Cherry slab at a mill in Tennessee…I knew this thing was gnarly when I bought it, and that it would require a lot of work, but I also thought that the board had a lot of character and deserved to be salvaged (I got the impression that the slab had been sitting around the mill for quite some time and might have soon been destined for the scrape heap — I can’t believe no one else wanted a giant hole in the middle of their coffee table).
Striped Maple was used for the base and 2 butterfly keys.
Mortise + tenon joinery was used in constructing the table — no screws, bolts, or other hardware — and I completed most of the work using only traditional hand tools (only the two round tapered legs were cut/shapped using a power tool).
Thank you for your interest and for taking a closer look at my work. I’m constantly looking to improve as a woodworker, and would certainly welcome any comments or feedback you might have for me – on this piece or any one of my other gallery submissions here on FWW.
Additional photos on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SchefflerWorkedWood
Comments
I love it. Love those natural type of slabs, when they are done up they have real character, more so than the engineered pieces i think.
Rich
@Rich67 thanks! I certainly agree - sometimes it's the wood considered most "flawed" that ends up making the most beautiful piece.
Okay! This piece looks like it was done with a lot of feeling and visualization.
@DeereBoy - ha, It really was! Thoroughly enjoyed working on this project - with a slab this unique, it was easy to visualize/feel how the piece should look in the end. Loved the table so much that, instead of selling it, I swapped it with my old 'generic' coffee table and now get to enjoy the piece daily...and it only gets better with age!
My question: did you use the butterflies to close the split or did you placee them in situ to prevent propagation of the split?
My only criticism, and this is a personal esthetic, is I think the notched leg is too heavy and thick for this table. I would have used a thinner slab or two slightly tapered square posts, which would complemented the round legs.
@Telescopaholic - Hahaha. I'll give you a pass on the criticism...because I totally agree! That notched leg is definitely off, proportionately, and the one thing I immediately regretted after completing this piece. I'd desperately like to "fix" this if ever I have the opportunity (the notched leg is about 1.5" thick and should be 1" - 1.25" thick, max, to match the thickest part of the round tapered legs). I probably think about this every couple of months, whenever I see a pic of the table. So, good eye - you hit the nail on the head.
Also, to answer your question, I placed the two butterfly keys across that crack in order to prevent any propagation - and for aesthetics. The slab was dried to a very low moisture content, so the likelihood of it continuing to split was/is very low - but better safe than sorry, right?. Besides, I think the added contrasting detail really highlights this piece's character without distracting from it.
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