Live-edge Walnut Bench

Inspiration: I have watched a lot of youtube videos of people making river tables and turning previously unusable slabs into a beautiful table. I thought I could put a spin on the concept by making a bench that had as much live edge as possible, along with an epoxy filling. I am a student at a technical highscool, and I decided to take this challenge as my senior project because my shop teacher said I should at least try.

Supplies:

2 live-edge walnut slabs

dowel rods

2-step 5-minute epoxy (HORRIBLE DECISION)

Planer

Drill press

Sander (Belt and orbital)

Circular saw

Painter’s tape

Wood glue

Bar clamp

Shellac

Wax

Step 1: I planed down the slabs to decide the best grain orientation and what slabs would be turned into the legs and the apron. I rough cut the pieces and used my framing and speed square to get perfectly straight and 90 degree angles, I unfortunately didn't get pictures of the planed slabs.

Step 2: I figured out where I would put the dowel rods, cut them using the drill press, then used wood glue and bar clamps to glue the les to the apron.

Step 3: I carved out the crack in the top slab, made bowties out of maple, cut the inlays, and poured the epoxy. Once again, I completely forgot to take pictures of the before and after the bowties and epoxy. My apologies.

Step 4: I added the Shellac, then put it together and rubbed wax on it. The photo shows how much the Shellac makes the beautiful grain pop.

Epoxy & First time struggles:

I was only able to get my hands on an old $50 Home Depot giftcard, and I was only able to get the epoxy shown below.

I should have mixed it in smaller batches and taken the heatgun to it to make sure I got all the bubbles out, but I was scared I would get the combination wrong and it wouldn’t cure right if I did it that way.

Here are the photos of the finish product: