A Contemporary Live-Edge Dining Table - Installing the Top

Everything about this piece revolves around supporting (both literally and aesthetically) the live-edge top.  We spent nearly two hours comparing several options at the hardwood supplier, deciding whether we wanted one wide slab or a bookmatched pair of boards that would net the required width.  A good rule of thumb is that a dining table should be between 30"-36" wide and allow 24" along the long dimension per person.  As this table will fit a small dining room we are opting for a slightly narrower width.

The customer fell in love with a slab that runs the full gamut of the black walnut colour palette - from blonde to gray, to purple, to deep brown.  The inclusion of sapwood is a personal choice that I fully support since it adds to the dramatic nature of the top.  This particular board has a large, stable knot in the center that not only creates a focal point, but generates a fair bit of figured grain.

There are many great tutorials on the web about how to flatten a top, so I won't go into too much detail here.  My experience is that these single slabs have a predominate concave/convex side and there may be some rationale about which should face up.  Our decision, however, was based entirely on appearance.  This meant that the underside (where I start the planing process) was the convex side.  I start with a scraper to remove any gunk, and plane at a 90 degree angle and toward the middle from each side with a 5 1/2 plane until I am taking shavings (more like fine splinters) from about 95% of the slab.  It is then generally time to resharpen, set the the plane to a finer cut, and then plane with the grain.  With the use of a straight-edge and a pair of winding sticks you can trust your eye to get it very close.

While I leave a planed surface on the underside, I eventually sand the top since the juxtaposition of a very fine top surface with the rough-and-ready live edge creates some nice visual tension.  I plane the top with the usual process and fill the void within the knot with dyed epoxy.  After sanding through the grits to 320, the top is ready to take its finish of Danish oil and paste wax.

Affixing the top to the base is the greatest engineering challenge.  I suspect that the top outweighs the base by a factor of about five to one, so any minor slack in the joinery becomes magnified.  I register the top along its center line with 1/2" oak pegs set into the frame. . .

And install four brass inserts into the underside of the slab. . .

These are attached to the base in slots that allow for a significant amount of seasonal wood movement.

I also attach thin leather pads along the mating surfaces to minimize any squeaks under normal use.  Hidden adjustable feet also help to stabilize the table regardless of the floor.

I'm very happy with this table, and with its semi-modular construction and easily renewable top, it should serve the customer well through the years.