Hall Table

[Mark Ketelsen]

Walnut with rosewood butterflies.

[Jim Rimmer]

I'm not a fan of live edges but that is a gorgeous table. Nice craftsmanship and great design.

The live edge does cast some interesting shadows, though. :)

[Prashun Patel]

Really great table! I'm a BIG fan of live edge done right (as if I'm any kind of authority :o). I've been thinking about putting the LE on the center as you've done. I think it's a great combination of elegant and organic.

Am I right in thinking this is inspired by FWW's "Float the Top" hall table?

What was your finishing schedule? Looks like you added some color to the walnut.

[glenn bradley]

How fun. I really like the "floating" top design.

[gary Zimmel]

One more thumbs up... Well done Mark.

[Gordon Eyre]

The side view is elegant and yet you have nicely incorporated a live edge plank for the top. I am impressed and yet I don't know I would have thought of using it in that manner. I like it and think you have crafted a unique and beautiful piece.

[Pat Barry]

Thats an interesting concept for the live edge, but in my house the inevitable table runner will cover it all up.

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Mark, I really like floating top tables as well as live edge, you did both very well.

[Mark Valsi]

Very elegant design, and great craftsmanship ! Good Job !

[Dale Osowski]

I like it, looks fantastic!

[Mark Ketelsen]

Am I right in thinking this is inspired by FWW's "Float the Top" hall table?

What was your finishing schedule?

Yes - inspired by FWW artical.

Finishing: I had lots of difficulty getting an accurate color representation in the photo of the top because of reflected light. (I should take it outside on a cloudy day and try again.) The side photo is more representative of the actual color. Top is a richer brown than the photo shows, with lots of great contract around the crotch (by the way, this is a single board not two boards). Here is another table made from the same flitch using the same finishing schedule with more accurate colors:
264377

The finishing schedule sounds more complicated than it is. It's a Jeff Jewitt formula, and I've used it for years with good results:

1) golden brown Transtint dye (1/2 oz : 1qt water which is 1/2 the normal concentration)
2) garnet shellac (2# cut)

3) home-made glaze (1/4 C BLO + 1/4 C gel varnish + artists oils: 1/2 t vandyke brown, 1/2 t burnt umber, 1/4 t deep azo red) brush on, wipe off.
4) Waterlox Original rubbed out w/ 0000 steelwool and Bison Wax.

[John TenEyck]

Walnut? I did a double take. It looks like cherry to me. But it's beautiful no matter what wood it is. That's a unique take on using live edges. Turned to the center like that it appeals to me more than most live edge tables. Very well crafted and finished.

John

[Gus Dundon]

I love the authenticity and simplicity you have achieved with this piece. Really well designed and made.

[James White]

Yes - inspired by FWW artical.

Finishing: I had lots of difficulty getting an accurate color representation in the photo of the top because of reflected light. (I should take it outside on a cloudy day and try again.) The side photo is more representative of the actual color. Top is a richer brown than the photo shows, with lots of great contract around the crotch (by the way, this is a single board not two boards). Here is another table made from the same flitch using the same finishing schedule with more accurate colors:
264377

The finishing schedule sounds more complicated than it is. It's a Jeff Jewitt formula, and I've used it for years with good results:

1) golden brown Transtint dye (1/2 oz : 1qt water which is 1/2 the normal concentration)
2) garnet shellac (2# cut)

3) home-made glaze (1/4 C BLO + 1/4 C gel varnish + artists oils: 1/2 t vandyke brown, 1/2 t burnt umber, 1/4 t deep azo red) brush on, wipe off.
4) Waterlox Original rubbed out w/ 0000 steelwool and Bison Wax.

Nice work!

Are the two dark areas around the big knots filled? What did you fill with and did it shrink any after finishing? I have used tinted epoxy like this. But after about a month it shrank some and is a slight depression. Not unacceptable. But I would like to improve this.

James

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Elegant, very beautiful and incredibly unique! I like it! Well done Sir!

[Matt Meiser]

Very cool!

[Mark Ketelsen]

Nice work!

Are the two dark areas around the big knots filled? What did you fill with and did it shrink any after finishing? I have used tinted epoxy like this. But after about a month it shrank some ...

These voids were filled with System Three MirrorCoat epoxy. This epoxy marketed as a "bar top finish" and is formulated to have a very long working time once mixed. This is so it will have time to completely level itself when poured on a large surface (like a bar top). This property was great for this application, because there was a network of voids in the wood, and the epoxy was able to seep through and saturate the inards of the slab which enhanced the structural integrity.

I masked checks, knots, etc. on the bottom surface and then poured MirrorCoat into the major voids on the top surface until they were filled. I thought I was done, but when I looked 15 minutes later, the voids were half empty. I had to add epoxy several more times over the course of the next couple of hours. This epoxy takes a good 24 hours to cure and I found that even longer is better before using a cabinet scraper or sandpaper. The table is a few years old now and there has been no shrinkage or other issues.

[marty shultz]

Very nice table. You did a great job!