This project developed slowly over several years. We were gifted a few walnut cookies (live-edge slabs) from our good friend Mark that he rescued from his property in south-eastern Kansas. We coated the pieces with a sealant to help slow down the release of moisture (with the intent of stopping cracks from forming). Once we were confident that the pieces had stabilized, we set off to flatten the slabs. Another friend/neighbor, Roger, was kind enough to let us use his custom-built router sled to flatten the pieces. This process took some time, created a lot of dust, but was both enjoyable and effective.
So, remember the part where I said this developed slowly… eight months later we finally got around to removing the bark and sanding the pieces.
Next step was to sand the edges of the piece to remove all the dirt and remaining bark fragments. This is one of my least favorite parts of any project as it produces an insane amount of dust and burns through sandpaper. With the discs smooth on all surfaces we decided to stabilize a large crack that had formed in the piece over the years of drying. To do this we used two pieces of white oak from a tree from Lecompton, Kansas. The outcome was better than we imagined.
The next step was to fabricate and attach the hairpin legs.
Finally we applied several coats of shellac an a thin layer of museum-grade poly-crystalline wax to help accentuate the natural beauty of the walnut. We couldn’t be happier with how this piece turned out. A heartfelt thanks to Mark and Roger for their individual parts they played.
Walnut Round Table
