A Different Approach to Live Edge Furniture

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]See all these slabs here? I've been hoarding them for about seven or eight years. And today I'm going to do something crazy. I'm actually going to use one of them and make something with it. Those slabs have been living right outside my shop, glaring at me every time I go in and out of there just begging to be used. But there just hasn't been a good opportunity for me to use any of them until now. I needed a new coffee table. And this walnut slab was the perfect size. Well, it was the perfect width. I had to trim its length a bit and really didn't want to lose any thickness. So, I was hoping I wouldn't have to flatten it. But, of course, there was indeed a slight twist to the slab. So, I'll need a slab flattening jig. I've never worked with a slab this large before, so I needed to make a brand new jig. There are already a ton of tutorials on how to make a slab flattening jig here on YouTube, but basically, you need to build a long platform for your router that's longer than the width of the slab that you want to flatten and make a large cutout in the bottom. so a router bit can pass through. Then screw on some sides that will keep the router centered over the cut and provide stability to the base, keeping it nice and flat. The most important part to this is to have a flat surface to reference already. When I built my workbench, I put a lot of time and energy into making sure it was completely flat so I can do stuff like this. I just hot glued some shims in the gaps under the slab directly to my workbench until the slab wasn't rocking anymore. Now, the platform for the router needs two rails that are also completely flat, and these need to be taller than the slab you're flattening.

[00:01:33]So, the router will be lifted up off the surface of the slab. It's important that these are the exact same height. So, I squared up one board, then split it in half and clamp those two rails right to my workbench. To prevent the router platform from coming off the rails, I tacked on these stopper blocks to the bottom at both the front and back. Then installed this giant flattening bit in my router. And we have a problem. I made the rails a bit too high. So the bit couldn't reach the slab when plunged to full depth. So I lifted the slab up by adding a piece of plywood under it. made sure to hot glue the shims under the gaps again and started the super messy process of flattening this slab. I started with the bottom first and not sure if you can tell on the video, but initially the router is only removing material at the high points, like the parts where the shims were placed. Then with each pass, I lower the bit slightly and more of the surface is made flat. I think this took me like four passes to get the bottom flat. Then I could flip the slab over to flatten the top. This time shims are not necessary because I just flattened the bottom, so there shouldn't be any more gaps that cause it to rock. This is a very tedious and dusty process. I wouldn't say it was fun at all, but it's completely necessary and satisfying to see a flat surface when you're done. Next time I may do this outside, though, because every surface of my shop was covered in a fine dusting of walnut.

[00:03:06]Once flat, the board gets cut to final length, and I could sand out all the marks from the router bit, which wasn't too bad at all. Now, I need to figure out what to do with the knots and the voids and the crack. And obviously, the typical answer would be to just throw some epoxy in there, but I don't want to do that. So, I always really like the idea of a patch, but a couple years ago, I built a desk where I did geometric patches to cover up some knots. And the internet hated it. So, I still really like the idea of a patch. So, I'm going to try to work out some new ideas that I have in my head, and hopefully I can figure out something that the internet doesn't hate. All right. I normally don't record my brainstorming process, but figured it might interest at least one of you. So, here goes. I took a picture of the slab and brought it into Fusion where I could adjust it so it was the actual size of my slab. Then, I created shapes that could cover the knots and some of the voids. Then, I sent those shapes to my 3D printer so I could see what that would actually look like if I did this on the slab. And I hate this, but this idea will actually help me fix something later on. So, I'm glad I tested it out. Next, I scoured by scrapin and found this offcut from a project I made about 5 years ago.

[00:04:27]H, this could be cool. I think this is just a little bit too busy for what I'm going here, but this is a really cool idea for something in the future, I think. Then I just stared at the slab for a long time and I was noticing how stripey the grain looked in this particular slab. So I grabbed some cut offs that were made from thin strips glued together. And now this was starting to speak to me. These chunks were too loud for this project, but I've been hoarding these thin strips of walnut for years and thought it could look cool if I made the patches using thin strips of the same species to mimic that linear look that's already going on in the grain. The goal is not to match the grain completely. It's just so that it has a similar vibe. So, I ripped those strips into narrower strips that I could glue up into multiple blanks that have different patterns on them. I was able to get a total of three blanks from those strips. Then, I could clean them up and plane them down to about a/4 in thick. So, they are ready to become patches. The first one was easy to place. I just had to cover one big knot in the corner. But for the rest, I used scraps of plywood so I can visualize the placement and how big they needed to be before cutting them up. Once I was happy with how the plywood looked, I would cut the actual patch and put it in place.

[00:05:49]This was actually very timeconuming, not labor intensive at all, just a lot of staring at the slab thinking without doing any actual physical work. To install them, first I procrastinated for a while. Then I used double-sided tape to make sure the patch didn't move at all while I marked out the edges with a marking knife. Then I set a pattern bit in my router so it would cut a pocket that's slightly less deep than the patch is thick and used these four pieces of 1/4in MDF to create the perfectly sized template by lining them up on the knife marks. It's always so scary to plunge into an expensive piece of wood you've already spent a lot of time working on, especially for an idea that I'm not even sure I'll like. I totally understand why people gravitate towards black epoxy for filling knots. It's the safe choice. You know, it'll work and it won't be controversial, but where's the fun in that? So, I'm taking a risk here and I hope it'll pay off in the end, but who knows? Routing out those pockets did not take a lot of time at all. Potentially the most timeconuming part of this would be to square up the corners, but I have a corner chisel that makes a really quick work of this task.

[00:07:04]I chamer the bottom corners of the patch so it'll go in easier and did a test fit without pushing the inlay too deep where I wouldn't be able to get it out. Looks good. On to the next one. This process was pretty repetitive, but with each one I learned something new. Like instead of just trusting the marking lines, it's better to use the actual inlay as a guide to place the surrounding templates. And once I got over the fear of routing the first pocket into my beautiful slab, it all went pretty quickly from here. How long did that take? 4 minutes, a little bit less.

[00:07:39]Not bad. I know some people are going to be upset that I'm covering up the craft grain in this area, but extending that clean linear look with the striping on the inlay was just the look that I was going for on this piece. And for this inlay where the end will be exposed, I didn't chamer the bottoms because I don't want any gaps exposed on the end.

[00:08:02]It's the fit. Some more lessons I learned as I went. I realized I didn't have to use the marking knife around all four sides. I could place three pieces of the template around the inlay and I only needed to mark one end. Then I could remove the inlay and place the final piece down on that line. A lot of times I get comments like, "If I had all those tools, I can make that, too." But this next clip will prove to you that even if you have the right tools, you can still mess up.

[00:08:35]Somehow, I didn't notice that the corner chisel wasn't registered in the correct location before hammering down. How did I mess this one up so badly? Whatever.

[00:08:45]>> Not the end of the world since I was planning on layering up these inlays anyway, but still super annoying when you mess up. Adding glue to the pockets to install the inlays brought a whole new level of nervousness on top of every step that came before it. But I mustered up the courage and just went for it.

[00:09:03]I think that's pretty good.

[00:09:08]Well, after the nerves wore off on the first one, the rest of them went pretty seamlessly and it was a very satisfying process for the exposed patch. Remember, I don't want any gaps there. So, it needed to be clamped down at the edge to really seat it in position. I set in the patches so they were slightly protruding from the top. It's easier to level this small surface area than to have to remove material from the whole top in case they went in too deep. I use two of the feet attachments on my 6in-1 jig to lift the router up off the surface and set the bit so it's just above the tabletop by placing a piece of paper under the bit when setting the height. And here's another example that shows it's not the tools that make the project, it's the person using them. I got a little lazy and tried to clean up both of these inlays with one setting of the 6 in1 jig, but didn't realize the feet would fall off the edge of the slab.

[00:10:18]So, the bit dug into the inlay and made a divot right in the middle of it. I was able to quickly adjust the jig on the fly to complete flushing up the rest of it. And I'll have to come back and deal with fixing that later. Since I used the paper to set the bit, there's a tiny sliver that needs to be planed away.

[00:10:37]Then I could work on the next layer of inlays.

[00:10:43]These inlays get installed the same way as the others, which is a quick process to do just one of them. But this whole layering technique takes a really long time because you have to wait for the glue to dry on the first layer to apply the next layer. Again, another reason why people gravitate towards epoxy. It's easier to do, but I think this is more fun. And so far, I'm really liking this layered striping effect I'm creating.

[00:11:11]My original plan for this end inlay was to just cover up the messed up corner and the crack that's running to the end, but I messed up with the router.

[00:11:20]Luckily, I planned ahead and made extra blanks of glued up thin strips when I started and found one that was long enough to cover both of my mistakes. To finish off the layered look in the center of the slab, I added one more thin patch to cover up some thin cracks that weren't going all the way through the slab. And the patch process is complete. Now, time to work on cleaning up the rest of the slab. I did my best to knock off any loose bits in the crack and sanded as much as I could. When working with slabs, it's really all just about finding the flaws and fixing them however you feel works best for the project. On the end grain, there was one of those loose top layer crack situations. Again, I could have done a patch, but chose to just glue it back together with thin CA glue and almost glued my clamp permanently to the table.

[00:12:13]>> Hi.

[00:12:14]>> Then I got to working on the edges. I'm working with a slab because I like the live edge look. I want to keep it as natural looking as possible. So, instead of sanding the edges, I used a nylon flat brush that you can use in your drill to remove any excess bark and dirt without changing the shape of the live edge at all. All those bug holes look really cool to me. So, I wanted to preserve them as much as I could, and this worked really well, but it's kind of gross when you find something inside the bug holes.

[00:12:47]Those edges just needed a light sanding, and now it's time for more inlays.

[00:12:52]Typically to structurally reinforce a crack on the slab, people do dovetail inlays to span the gap. The shape of the dovetail key helps prevent the crack from widening even more, but I didn't think that a dovetail shape would look good on this particular top, so I went with a simple rectangle shape. I'm certain the glue is going to be strong enough to hold the two halves of the crack together. I cut the mortises the same way as the previous patches, only this time they weren't wide enough to use my corner chisel. So, I had to use a regular chisel. And I planned ahead and made these inlays the same width as one of my chisels, so it was easy to clean it up. I decided to go with sapili for these inlays just to give a slight contrast and put lots of glue in there, then bing them into place. I also cut mortises on the underside off camera, and I really rush those since they won't be seen, so they're super gappy. Once dry, I flushed them up with my sixin- one jig. This time, being super careful to make sure I set it up correctly and didn't gouge into my hard work. Then I plain them completely flush. I made the mortise for this large one off camera and was running low on double-sided tape, so I didn't use enough. And the template slipped.

[00:14:12]This is exactly why I keep all the offcuts handy while I'm working on a project. I was able to cut a super thin sliver of end grain of the band saw and then glue it into the gap. This was a piece cut directly from the slab. So that grain match should be pretty good.

[00:14:27]I doubt anyone is ever going to notice this. Now for all the bug holes, remember I'm trying to avoid epoxy here.

[00:14:34]So I went with plugs using cut offs from the slab. I tried my best to match the grain color when drilling and cut them loose at the bandsaw. Since it would be hard to place a brad point bit in the wide hole, I used a drilling guide block instead, then glued in the plug. Before setting in the plugs, I actually debated doing full patches here as well. I'm not sure if this was the right decision or not because the grain isn't a perfect match, but it's good enough. For the long bug hole, I decided to experiment with that oval idea I had earlier for covering up the nuts. After drawing the shape on the computer, using a picture of the slab as a guide, I was able to 3D print a template in just a couple minutes, and I realized the radius of that curve wasn't big enough for the small flush trim bit. So, I slightly modified the design, then set that off to print. Now, the bit will be able to get in those curves, and I can use the template to route out the shape. I debated making another smaller 3D printed template to make the mating plug, but realized since I already had the digital file of the shape I drew out, I was able to load this into my Shaper origin to cut the plug on there.

[00:15:44]Then I could cut it loose at the bandsaw. I'm really happy that I decided not to do this for the knots and cracks on the whole slab, but I'm glad I thought of it because I think it's a really cool way to get unique shaped plugs for weird situations like this.

[00:16:00]Okay, all the flaws in the slab have been dealt with. It was a lot of work to get to this point where I can finish sand and put on two coats of Osmo. I had no idea what those stripe patches would look like, so this was a really exciting moment for me.

[00:16:15]I'm sure you guys will have your own opinions on these stripe patches.

[00:16:19]Strangers on the internet are never shy about how they really feel. I personally love them. I just think it looks so unique and I feel like it tells a story way more than black epoxy ever could.

[00:16:32]They're not trying to disappear or pretend the defect was never there. They highlighted instead, turning what would normally be hidden into part of the character of the piece. And I just find it super interesting and it was fun to do. Moving on to the base. Before I even cut the slab, I took a picture of it and brought it into SketchUp where I started playing around with designs. All I knew was I wanted a shelf between the legs to hold books and magazines. So, I started playing around with shapes and then added angles and other small details until I landed on this. I thought this was it and I was all set to build this.

[00:17:10]Just for fun, I redrew it up in Fusion 360, then brought it into Bamboo Studio where I could reduce the size and set it off to print. Okay, now that I'm seeing this in the real world, I don't like it anymore. So, there's just something off about the shape of the legs. Like, at the bottom, it gets too narrow and the shelf height is just not working for me.

[00:17:30]So, back to the drawing board. I drew up a few more designs, then set them off to print in my Bamboo Lab H2D, which is a giant 3D printer that has room to fit all these models on one plate. I also printed the shape of the slab top. And now I was able to test out how these different bases would actually look in the real world. Sometimes 2D designs like from SketchUp don't translate well when you create them into 3D objects. So this really helped me nail down the final design. And it actually didn't take me long to pick my favorite from this bunch. This one was the clear winner. Compared to the first one, the outward angle of the leg just makes it feel more sturdy and more grounded. And the height of the shelf, I think, just looks better. It's really crazy how I didn't notice that I didn't like the features of this one when I was looking at it on a flat computer screen. Only once I saw it in the real world did I notice the flaws in the design. I am 100% going to be designing and prototyping all my future builds this way. Yeah, I'm going with this one. So, since I drew all those models in Fusion, I was able to create a DXF file that I can use for laser cutting. So, I swapped my H2D into laser mode and cut the templates on/4 in thick MDF. Yes, the same machine that I used to 3D print those models is also a laser. I had to break up the template into four parts to fit this laser, but that's what's really cool about the H2D. It's compact yet has so many different functions. So, if you don't have room for a big laser in your shop like me, having this amazing combo machine is the perfect solution. It also has the capability to cut vinyl. So, it's three machines in one. It's pretty cool. All I had to do was glue the parts together with CA glue and the template is done. For the material, I'll be using 8 quarter walnut that I got from Woodworker Source, my favorite place to buy lumber. And right now, they're having a huge summer clearance sale, so I picked up some other goodies for future projects. I cut the material to rough length, then flatten one face, squared up one edge, brought all the parts to the same thickness, then cut them all to width. Now I could figure out what size the middle connecting piece need to be. And I kind of just guessed that a 5° angle would work. Then set up a stop lock and did a test cut on scrap plywood. When I brought in the material, it wasn't totally covered by the template. So I adjusted the stop block and cut the tester piece again.

[00:20:02]This time it looked like it would fit.

[00:20:03]So I cut the actual work pieces to that length with those angles on the ends using the stop block I set up. Then I was able to trace out the shape of the base on all the parts so I can mark out where some dominoes will go and then cut all those mortises on all the parts.

[00:20:21]Trying to think of a reason why I shouldn't glue this up yet. Now I can't think of a good one, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one.

[00:20:32]All right, let me just do it. I'm always a little hesitant before adding glue because it's permanent. So, I try to slow down and think through every step before committing to something I can't undo. And doing a glue up with the angles like this isn't complicated at all. I just needed a scrap cut off with the same angle to put in between the clamps. And it was great. I just said that I like to think through every step when I'm building, but sometimes I miss something. I made these templates the exact size of the base that I want, but I'm going to cut an angle at the top and bottom so they'll be split out a little bit. So, the top part of the template should have been made slightly longer to accommodate that angle that I'm going to cut. At least I cut it now before I cut into the wood. So, I was able to place little extensions at the top. I find I get the cleanest result when I flush trim in stages. So, I used a small flush trim bit to take off a very small amount of material to get the perfect shape going and then repeat this process on leg number two. I debated spending the time to swap out to a thinner bandsaw blade so I could get in those curves more easily, but decided curve cutting was the way to go because I hate changing the bandsaw blade. I flush trim leg number two with a small bit against the template. And now I could take the template off and swap to a longer bit to finish cleaning up both of the legs. Now the ends of the legs need to be cut at a 15° angle. I thought about lots of ways to do this, but making a jig at the table saw seemed like it would be the safest and most accurate. I was able to use the template as a guide to perfectly position the legs where they would be cut in the exact same spot on both parts. Before nailing down those pieces that created the shape of the leg, I ran that bottom MDF piece through the table saw with the blade already at a 15° angle, so I knew exactly where the cut would be on the jig, and it was easy to place the template at the edge, knowing it was in the perfect spot. to cut the matching angle on the other ends. I thought I didn't need a jig because this cut was referencing the first cut I made, but I think it would have been safer if I would have used one because there would be more surface area against the fence. And now you can see what I was talking about with the angle before.

[00:22:48]I needed to extend the template so this top part wouldn't get messed up when trim routing. Definitely glad I caught that when I did. All right, time to have some fun with joinery. I'm going to attempt to do a tusked through tenon to join these legs together. And I've never done the joint before, let alone at an angle. So, I had a lot of figuring out to do. I thought I would be able to use a straight edge at the top of the legs to mark out for the mortises using a guide that I 3D printed, but I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to perfectly match the mortises on both legs this way. And I was regretting not cutting the joinery into the original template that I made. But I still had the drawing infusion, so I was able to make a new template that I could add some joinery to. This way, there's a better chance the mortises will be placed in the same spot on both parts.

[00:23:39]For now, I just rough marked with a pencil because I'll be drilling holes first and I'll need a drilling guide block to do that. After drilling the size hole I needed, I cut the same 15° angle as the legs off the top. then carefully drilled a couple of holes straight through the legs in that little rectangle that I marked out. Just in case you were wondering, yes, it was very scary for me to make that first hole in the legs. But to make it a little less scary, I was drilling holes that were smaller than the mortise needed to be. So, the mortise needed to be 3/4 in wide. And to make it a little less nerve-wracking, I drilled 5/8 holes just in case I didn't perfectly place my drilling guide block. Earlier, I just roughly marked out with a pencil where the mortises will go. Now, I need to mark exactly where they will go. So, I placed scraps that represent the tenins in the mortises of the templates with double-sided tape. Then, carefully remove the template and marked out the tenins with a marking knife. Now comes the hard part, chiseling the rest of these mortises at the correct angle all the way through to the other side.

[00:24:46]Usually, when working with thick material, you would mark out the mortises from both sides, then chisel from both sides until you meet in the middle. But figuring out the layout of where the mortises would end up on these already shaped parts with angles involved on the other side did not sound like a good time. So, I just used that angled block I cut earlier as a guide to keep my chisel at the correct angle going all the way through the cut. There was an MDF board acting as a backer to keep the back side of the cut as clean as possible. But even if I did mess up, the back side of it won't really be seen because of the shoulders of the tenant.

[00:25:23]I feel like I was really out of practice with my hand tools. So, this step took me a while. Like it took me a good couple hours to get all four mortises perfect, but it was really satisfying when I was able to get a tester piece all the way through the joint and it was sitting at the correct angle. Like I said, that maple piece was just a tester piece. Now I have to actually cut and prepare the stretchers. This miter saw station is the best thing that I've added to my shop in a long time.

[00:25:53]Especially with the slide stop where I'm able to set the length where I want, then slide it out of the way when I need to square up the opposite end of the cup before cutting to final length on multiple parts. The ends of those stretchers will become the through tenins. So to get the length of them, I placed the tester piece back in. Placed it so there was about 2 in protruding from the leg. then marked all the way around the tester piece. Now I can use those lines to get the measurement I need and transfer that to my actual work pieces. I brought a 15° angle down the sides and then brought that line across the bottom. You can make the tenins with a single blade, but it's quicker to do with a dado stack. So I set one up to the height I thought would be good to create the tenon and did test cuts until that block fit the width of the mortise.

[00:26:42]Once the height was good, I set the miter gauge to 15° and set the stop so the blade was in line with the pencil marks I made earlier. Then made the cut.

[00:26:52]I flipped the board end for end, pushed it up against the stop, and made another cut. For now, I'm only establishing that first cut on all of the pieces and only on one side of the tenant. Because of the angles of these tenins, I have to readjust my miter gauge 15° in the opposite direction to make those initial cuts on the other sides of the tenins. I did have to adjust the stopwalk a bit to get the blade to line up with the marks I made. But once set, I could make all four cuts super fast. Then I could move the stop lock out of the way and clean up the rest of the cut, creating the tenant. I did this for both angles on both sides. Just an FYI, when setting the blade height, I set it so the tenon would be very tight, which would leave room for sanding away the saw lines and dialing in the perfect fit. These stretchers were slightly thicker than the mortises were tall, so I trimmed down one face so it matched the size of the mortise. I was actually planning on using a thicker material for the stretchers so I could make the top and bottom shoulders bigger to hide the backside of the mortise better, but this was the material that I had. Like I said, each tenon just needed a bit of sanding to get them to fit in the mortises. There was a lot of back and forth until I got the perfect fit. With all the joints fitting well, I can do a dry fit of the whole thing. And it always amazes me when the things I have pictured in my head start to become objects in the real world. It was so cool to see how solid the whole base felt without anything extra. Oh boy, that was fun.

[00:28:29]But these through tendons need something to keep them in place. That's where these tusks come in. I tested out some measurements with paper to see what size and shape I liked, then mark them out on some sili. From the research I've done, 5° is the ideal angle for the front of the tusk. If the angle is too steep, it'll cause the tusk to come loose and that would defeat the whole purpose of the joint. That being said, I went with seven degrees because I thought it looked better than five. Using a stop block at the crosscut sled, I cut this block up into strips that were the same size as one of my chisels. Then I cut a 7° wedge using the miter gauge that I could use on the sled with a stop lock to cut the tusk to final size. Super easy to make these. The hard part is the angled mortise that they'll go in. I placed a tusk next to one of the exposed tenins and marked the top and bottom lines on the tusk. Then I can use those lines on that one tusk as a guide on all the exposed tenins to mark out where the front of the mortise will go. And I also made marks all around the tenon where it meets the outside of the legs. Like I said earlier, I've never done this joint before and adding the element of the angled legs made it a bit more complicated for me to figure out. But once I saw all the pieces in the real world, it totally made sense how they would fit together. The marks I made using the tusk for the front of the mortise just needed to be brought to the top and bottom of the stretcher. And the lines I made for the back of the mortise where it meets the leg needs to be set back a little bit. I eyeballed this aiming for like 3/32 or an eighth. It really doesn't matter just as long as it's behind where the leg will actually be. Then I used a wheel marking gauge to mark out the edges of the mortise on both the top and bottom of the tenins and cut a knife line into the pencil lines I made so a chisel can easily reference the ends of the mortise. I used a forner bit that was the width of the mortise to clear out most of the waste. Then began chopping away at those angles to clean up the rest of the mortise. By making the tusk the same size as one of my chisels, I just had to hold my chisel between the knife lines and keep removing material at an angle until I got the knife lines on the ends.

[00:30:49]I debated using an angle guide like I did on the mortises for the legs, but I was able to see the lines I marked on the edges easily, and I could just eyeball the angle pretty well. The back wall of the mortise does not need to be perfect at all. It only needs to be behind the leg, giving clearance for the tusk to pull the stretchers in tight.

[00:31:10]The front, however, needs to match the angle of the front of the tusk exactly.

[00:31:16]I still just eyeballed it, but took my time on this side. After cleaning up the sides a bit, it felt really great to slide that tusk right in there.

[00:31:27]These mortises were so much easier than the ones in the legs. Each one only took me about five minutes to perfect. And before I started this project, I actually thought this was going to be the hardest part of the build. I thought dealing with the double angle was going to be way harder than it actually was.

[00:31:45]Anyway, with the tusks in place, I noticed they would look better with an angle cut on their tops. So, I cut a 15° angle on all the tops using a wedge and a stop lock. And for the bottom, I thought a 7° angle looked good. So, I cut that the same way on all the parts.

[00:32:01]Then I lightly sanded all the corners just to knock them down a bit. To add to the stability of the piece, I thought it would be wise to connect the stretchers to each other. So I measured the space between, then cut some more walnut that will fit between them using a stop block at the miter saw. When I first got my 3D printer, this was one of the first prints that I made. It's a dock for the Domino, and this was my first time that I'm actually using it. I found this file on Maker World where you can literally find everything you'll ever need to print. So, even if you think you can't get into 3D printing because you don't have the technical knowhow to design objects on the computer, there are already millions of designs that people have perfected out there for you to print to use for your shop or your daily life. I don't know what took me so long to put this print to use, but I'm definitely going to use it more often.

[00:32:52]Gluing this up was pretty straightforward. Nothing too exciting happened here, but I was concerned that the joinery wouldn't fit anymore since these two stretchers are no longer independent parts, but there was nothing to worry about. After a test fit, I added a big round over to shape the legs, and I could work on cleaning them all up. I dug a little too deep with the bandsaw blade when making those curve cuts, but this little detail sander helped get rid of those lines pretty quickly. And then there was still a ton of hand sanding that I needed to do. I also added a 15° bevel to the ends of the exposed tenins. And now I can work on the shelf that will go on those stretchers. My camera died in the middle of this glue up, but I'm sure you can assume how it went. Then after it was dry, I cut the shelf to length and began the shaping process. After all the precision involved in making those angled test tenins work, I just didn't want to think anymore and wanted the shelf to have an organic shape to it.

[00:33:51]So, I freehand drew on some curves, then cut them at the bandsaw. The star of the show on this table is the live edge top and I guess the tus tenant. I really didn't want this shelf to add any visual weight, so I wanted the shelf to be as thin as possible. I was able to plane it down to about 5/8 thick, but I still wanted it to disappear even more. So, I struck a line down the center of the edge and used a spoke shave to get the edge to that line. then extended that edge towards the middle of the board to feather it out and make it appear as though this board is super duper thin.

[00:34:31]After all the thinking that was involved in getting all the joinery perfect, this was such a nice little rest bit. It's so calming to use this bow shave. I really had a lot of fun just creating an organic shape that looked good to my eye and I really love the look of creating the super thin edge. I totally want to make a whole table that has this edge detail. And the shavings that come off of this make the best fire starters, so I keep those. After a bit of sanding, the shelf shape is perfected, and I can figure out a way to connect it to the stretchers. I counterbore some large holes at the drill press on the underside of the stretchers. Then place the shelf on top where I'll want it, then clamp in position. Now I can drill a hole straight through the stretchers into the underside of the shelf using a bit that's the correct size for some threaded inserts. The shelf is super thin, so I needed to order some shorter threaded inserts, but all good. Now I need to figure out how to attach the legs to the slab top. Initially, I thought I would make long stretchers that connect both legs that would be dovetailed at the tops, preventing the legs from being able to pull apart. But after feeling the base with just the through tenins in place, I didn't think that was necessary anymore. So I decided to just go with metal mounting plates that I designed and sent to a metal manufacturing company to make for me. I didn't realize how long these would take to arrive. And I wanted to finish this table already. So I had to get creative.

[00:36:03]Since I already had the file I designed for the mounting plates, I figured I could 3D print a version of them that I could use for my marking and measuring until the real ones arrived. And printing these totally saved the day where I was able to lay them out on the legs to mark out where to drill holes for the threaded inserts and then install them. Now I can assemble all the parts. The tenins just need a little persuasion with some clamps and I could lightly tap the tusks into place. Then I bolted my 3D printed temporary mounting plates into the threaded inserts so I can get these installed on the top. But before I do that, just for fun, I wanted to see how strong and sturdy this table would be. Even before screwing the mounting plates in, this is so super strong. I definitely did not need to do that whole dovetail stretcher idea. With the base in position, I marked out the temporary mounting plates and created another one of those four-sided templates. Again, I made sure to place them a quarter inch away from each end of the line I marked out to allow for wood movement through the width of the slab and about a sixeenth away from the edges just to give me a little wiggle room. I used the MDF and the 3D printed plate as a guide for setting the depth and cleared out a pocket that will hold the actual metal mounting plate that I'm waiting for. I repeated the same process for the second one and used the 3D printed plate as a guide for where to drill holes for the threaded inserts.

[00:37:33]And I also drilled relief holes on either end that are deeper than the heads of the bolts I'm going to use.

[00:37:41]Then I installed the threaded inserts.

[00:37:43]While the slab was upside down and I was still waiting on the metal mounting plates, I decided to add a little custom detail with my logo to the bottom. I quickly designed a decal in bamboo suite and milled up some thin sapili to put in my H2D, then pressed start. It's so fun watching the laser work. I'm totally going to make a bunch of these so I have them on hand for future builds.

[00:38:08]I was able to use the circle that was cut out from the decal as the template.

[00:38:12]But I think for future decals, I'll make a different template for a better fit.

[00:38:17]Just like saws, lasers have curves, so I'll make a template with a slight offset, keeping that curve in mind for the future. This still looks super cool, though. And I love that I'm able to add these custom little details to my projects. Thanks to my Bamboo Lab machines. So, huge thanks to Bamboo Labs for sponsoring this video. All right, all the hard work is done. Time to finish all the parts. Same as the top, I use two coats of Osmo, waiting a day between coats. The mounting brackets finally arrived, so it's time for final assembly. And this was the easiest assembly I've ever done. I love how this base turned out. I didn't actually share the whole design process with you guys.

[00:38:57]Like the reason for the scoop at the top was to visually act as a bridge that's connecting both sides of the crack and so many other little details. I'm just really proud of the design and I'm also super proud of the execution in the joinery. This was complicated to figure out in my mind and also physically demanding on my hands. I'm keeping this piece, but I'm curious. How much do you think I would be able to charge for a table like this? I have an idea on my mind, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think. I also love the patches. I may or may not have put some clickbaity title in the thumbnail about not using epoxy or something like that. Sorry if I did, but the point of this was just to get people to think outside the box. I just see the same table over and over and over again, and I want to try something new and encourage you guys to do the same. Black epoxy looks good in walnut knots. I get it. It's easy. It works, but sometimes the safer option isn't the most interesting one. When looking at these patches, you can immediately tell that a person deliberately made these design decisions and worked hard with their hands, and it doesn't feel mass- prodduced. You can actually see the thought process and craftsmanship in it. Every stripe, angle, and fit was chosen on purpose.

[00:40:15]And I think that human element gives the piece way more character. But if you like using epoxy, you do you. I was worried that the joinery in the legs would be hidden by the top, but you can totally see it and I love it. The tus tenon is such a fun joint and was actually way easier than I thought it would be once I managed to make the angled mortises in the thick legs.

[00:40:39]Definitely worth the effort in my opinion, and I'm going to use this joint again for sure. The shelf was also a requirement. I was sick of looking at books piling up on our old coffee table.

[00:40:49]I needed it to be utilitarian, but didn't want it to detract from the rest of the design. And I think thinning out that edge really helps with that. It looks super cool. I just think the whole table looks really cool, and I'm super proud of it. And for a final test in its strength and stability, yeah, I think it'll survive, my kids. I hope you guys enjoyed. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you on the next