Here are some photos from my latest weekend project:
Before tackling this project I read a lot about how to preserve live wood slabs. It left me with conflicting views on the timeline. Here are the steps that I took... but by no means is this the "correct order"
1. I bought the maple stab from community forklift (my favorite non profit) in Hyattsville MD for $154. They cut the slab for me, leaving enough room to make two pieces (a bar top and coffee table).
2. I removed my outer bark using a chisel and hammer (I left some of the inner bark and cambium on the slab)
3. Sanded my piece down for hours until smooth with the Ryobi Corner Cat sander
4. removed all excess debris with mineral spirits and allowed wood to dry for 24 hours
5. Preserved underside and top coat with linseed oil, allowed slab to dry again for 24 hours
6. I installed my 17 inch hairpin legs from Philly fabrication to the underside of the table https://www.etsy.com/people/kyleedward
7. Coated the top of table with Minwax Mahogany stain
8. Allowed stain to dry before adding another coating of linseed oil (I didn't actually like the results of the minwax stain until I added the linseed oil. The oil really helped to bring out the details again in the wood).
8. Lightly sanded the top coating of the table, before applying three layers of polyurethane finish
