Step by step woodyworking

a claro walnut slab dining table

ok ... ive lost count ... this would be claro walnut slab table number ... hmmm ... 11? 12? more? ive lost count. anyway, they are all really fun and i will have another one coming out of the finish room this week for my upcoming svac show. this one is going to be crated and shipped to england, via boston or new york. its an easy breakdown and the base bolts together so everything can be shipped flat ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
as usual, we started with a slab from our friends at goodhope hardwoods in southeastern pennsylvania .. this one had a small issue, but we were able to work around it with a little judicious epoxy filling which youll see a close up of later in this post.
the client is an interior designer in london, and her client wanted a different shape, low to the ground for the table base. after a little model making (we sent one to england via fed ex) we got our deposit check and ordered the slab.
the slab arrived almost immediately and it was then that we learned that the house was under construction and wont be finished until may. so, we had a nice slab around for a few months and well keep it around maybe one more week to show it off and then into the crate it will go and off for a cruise.
we had our new base pieces cut at a.l. melanson in rutland, and jim drilled and tapped them, polished them up and made em black and then finished them with a little clear coat.
underview of the bases bolted onto the table ... RIGID ...
we stuck a few of our ladderbacks into the picture to make it look like guests were arriving ...
thats the hole in the front left corner ... we mixed small chunks of claro walnut in with the epoxy so it almost looks like a little burl rather than a solid color fill ... we used a knife grade epoxy from eastern marble and granite supply for the main fill and a little touch up and leveling with other epoxies and sawdust mixes ...
there were 5 butterflies total .... pretty good for a big slab like this ...
in this picture, you can also kind of see the filling of the ant spot you can see in the raw slab photo. all in, all done ... well be adding the base to the next one this week after we make a couple of deliveries to empty things out a little ...

the three photos below are from previous blog posts that you can find by clicking the category claro walnut slab tables off to the right there.