Chuck Darney
07-10-2009, 1:23 PM
I have a slab of black oak taken from a tree 6 or 8 years ago. It has been sitting protected since then. It's about 45" by 28" in an irregular shape and is about 6 " thick. Fortunately the piece is relatively flat and I should be able to "plane" it completely flat with a router and sled. I was thinking of resawing the piece to half its thickness. One of the pieces would be made into a coffee table. The other piece would be sawn in half to make two "matching" end tables.
I want to leave the edge live (except where the end table pieces are cut). Before I start working with this piece I have some questions about working with the slab.
1. Should the bark be left on or removed? It seems pretty stable but I wouldn't want it coming off after the project is completed. Is there a way to stabilize or treat the bark in some way to keep that from happening?
2. If I need to remove the bark, how is that done so that the edge isn't made "too good"?
I hope I'm not tackling too much of a project here. Any suggestions from folks who have worked with slabs like this or perhaps point me to some good resources would be very helpful.
Thanks...Chuck
I want to leave the edge live (except where the end table pieces are cut). Before I start working with this piece I have some questions about working with the slab.
1. Should the bark be left on or removed? It seems pretty stable but I wouldn't want it coming off after the project is completed. Is there a way to stabilize or treat the bark in some way to keep that from happening?
2. If I need to remove the bark, how is that done so that the edge isn't made "too good"?
I hope I'm not tackling too much of a project here. Any suggestions from folks who have worked with slabs like this or perhaps point me to some good resources would be very helpful.
Thanks...Chuck