I finally finished this live edge table with bookmatched walnut slabs. I’ve been working on it for nearly a year, it feels good to have it completed and sitting in my living room. It is my first large furniture project, and I’m not in a hurry to do another.
There are maple dovetail keys to keep the large cracks from spreading, and turquoise inlay in the knotholes and smaller cracks. The base is 8/4 walnut and maple. I plan on growing plants through the hole in the center of the top, there is a shelf for this purpose below it.
Finished with Arm-R-Seal (an equal mix of satin and gloss) over Waterlox Original. I gave up the Waterlox after a number of blushing and pooling problems.
I was only able to complete this thanks to my woodworking friend Kurt. His drum sander saved me after about 10 hours of hand planing only got me through one face.
Here is the full build album: http://imgur.com/a/DHttO
And my favorite picture from the build, jointing with the low angle jointer plane: