Reclaimed Doug Fir and Live edge Cedar coffee table $495.00

These 6 pics are more recent, a little better lighting and a tripod. I noticed that this post was getting some views, and that it still had the old pics up. I've been using this table in my living room, and it has stood up to beer and wine spills, dog fuckery, as well as everyday wear and tear. Still looks the same as when I built it a year ago. Super stout, heavy, and heavy duty.

The top for this table was a true 2x12 of doug fir 18' long. I pulled it outta the river and dried it out, as chronicled in older posts.

Awesome grays and pinks come out of  the fir when sanded or planed tastefully. 

A happy accident, one of my dowel rods, a reclaimed wooden ladder rung is visible in the end cut. 

Joining the table legs and the slab

So the first step of this is to predetermine the location of the leg mounts, I want to seal the bottom, but I'd like to keep the positions where the legs meet the table free from urethane so I can get a really good glue contact.

I think this layout works, kind of have to balance out the profiles since they are all unique.

Just taping off the leg locations, then will hit it with some sealer.

Brought it inside, mainly because once the legs are on, I won't be able to lift it or move it by myself.

I start with drilling the holes for the legs, starting with a small pilot hole and then working my way up to 1/2 inch.

I transfer the pattern to the slab and repeat the process.

I did a dry fit and then glue them all up and hammer into place. Each leg has a different profile, so they are all different.

Ready for the hammer.

I check each one for square to the slab, and add a screw here and there where it needs it.

Two down, two to go...

Ok, I got them all in place. I'm gonna flip her over and take a few quick photos and then put it upside down again and leave it clamped up overnight.

Tabletop Progress continued...

After applying a coat of urethane yesterday, I let it dry overnight and today begin the glazing process. This is the same treatment that I did on the driftwood shelves and I have a feeling it will become a trade mark of my reclaimed wood pieces.

After a liberal application of the glaze, basically pull it back off with a rag and let it hang out in the imperfections.

The finished product from one angle,

here's from the other side.

Tabletop Progress continued...

I let the slab sit all clamped down to the sawhorses for well over a week, nearly two, and injected all the seams with copious amounts of wood glue. There was same twisting and racking as they dried all the way out so now I have to address the glue blobs on the end. I decided the easiest and quickest way would be to square up and trim at least a quarter inch off each end. 

Then I resand with 150 grit to make sure the grain in the top is open and not sealed with glue.

Then I bring it back inside and hit it with a coat of whitewash.

After that is dry I hit it with a second coat. Meow I will let this dry overnight and the next step is a coat of polyurethane to lock the whitewash in so I can do my dark glazing over it, and then wipe it back so it only stays in the low spots.

 

Live edge red cedar legs for fir slab

Starting off with these two pieces of red cedar I saved from the river, they were originally one piece that cracked in half.

I'm going to split each piece in half to get two 15" coffee table legs for the fir slab. 

Set up a guide which will work for most of my lengthwise cuts.

This is the other piece.

After establishing my lengthwise cuts I plane the surfaces flat so I have a nice flat surface for the saw to sit on.

After planing and sanding we're looking pretty good.

Using the planed surface to establish square, I cut the lengths to 15", the slab is 2" so that will give me an even 17".

The grain looks awesome in these side cuts.

Sanded all the outward facing surfaces so the urethane will pick up on all the crazy color in these surfaces.

This is one side with a coat of sealer.

This is the other set.

Tabletop Progress continued

Started today off with a nice long hike along the river.

Knowing full well the punishment that waits for me at home. After running this hand planer for two or three hours I finally started to see some progress.

 

Once I got the top fairly flat I decide to trim the ends up square so I'm not wasting my muscle power on stuff that doesn't count. Using a level as my straight edge, I clamp it in place to function as the guide for my cut.

Then do the same thing to the other side.

 

Happy accident, the cut goes through one of my dowel rods on one end.

Still have a crown in my center piece so back into the fray with the hand planer. If I wasn't running a shoestring budget on this project, I would just take it to Creative woodworking and pay the 100 bucks to have it run through the slab sander. As it stands,I can't put any money into it, just my back.

 

Looking pretty good after sanding, I'm intentionally leaving some of the weathered gray tones in the two outside pieces. I'm going to do a similar treatment to what I did to the driftwood shelves project.

 Talked my neighbor Ben into helping me move it inside, it wants to stay clamped to the sawhorses in order to stay flat. He's also a carpenter and so is sympathetic to my aims. I'm gonna walk away from this for a few days and let it sit.