Project: Walnut Coffee table from crotch slab

[ihistand]

Hello all, My name is Ivan, I am new to the makerspace. Thought I’d post a quick note about my upcoming project that is a long time in the making.

The final result will be a coffee table. The source slab is a crotch from an american black walnut I brought down from my home in Virginia about 12 years ago, and cut with an Alaskan mill. It’s about 28" wide at the widest, and 52" long. Here’s what it looks like, in my garage:

Here’s what I’m thinking needs to be done:

1. Flatten the slab. It’s a bit twisted, about half and inch. This seems like a good CNC job.
2. Fill in holes with resin, still thinking of a color.
3. Finish off the live edges in some way, I’m thinking hand chisel it.
4. Design and build a base. Lots of things running through my mind here. My latest thought is three legs diagonally and crossed in the middle, sort of like a folding camp stool (but not folding)
   5, Final finish

I’d love to hear any design ideas, and am looking forward to woodshop certification to get started on it.

And, on that note, is there any schedule for certification classes? I’d need both the basic one, plus CNC.

I’m looking forward to working with everyone!
–Ivan

[jottwell]

Welcome to DMS. Woodshop basics will be the easiest to obtain, however the holidays might slow that down a bit, try not to be discouraged. The CNC class is offered around once a month based on instructor availability. You will need both the classroom and then schedule the demonstration portion to get certified.

Another option you might have would be to find someone that already has CNC access and ask them to flatten your piece. You may want to do all the work yourself, which we understand.

On to your project…

How do you plan to attach the legs to the top?

Have you thought about a light colored butterfly in the split prior to epoxy?

That looks like a fun project!

[jottwell]

Since this is your first post, search for “green dot” on the forum and fill out the template to get the green dot next to your name. It will denote you’re a DMS member and grant access to DMS posts.

[TBJK]

How thick is your slab? That may make a difference if can go on the machine or not.

And Welcome

[ryan]

Welcome! That’s a nice slice. Mixing dry coffee grounds with epoxy resin looks pretty cool in walnut. It give more depth than just a tinted resin. I’ve also found that a light touch with a wire wheel brush in a drill works great for removing the junk from a live edge and still keeping the shape. A chisel might be needed for the more stubborn parts though. Good luck, post progress pics!

[ihistand]

The slab is 4" thick. I think it’ll have to be milled down to about 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 to be flat and level.

I like the coffee grounds idea, I’ll have to experiment with that.

[HankCowdog]

Mixing dry coffee grounds with epoxy resin looks pretty cool in walnut.

I had good results doing this with mesquite as well. I used a large wood knot scrap and coffee grounds mixed with resin around the edges to fill the bottom of a hole without it looking like I filled it. The texture looks very similar to bark.

[ryan]

just make sure they are super dry or you will get bubbles. I used grounds that had already been used, microwaved them between paper towels until they seemed dry, left them in a paper bag for a couple days. Fresh grounds might work but I like coffee.

[HankCowdog]

I used coarse-ground unused coffee.

The underside WIP:

After adding resin and some turquoise: