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A local Sawyer saved this sequoia tree from being disposed of in a chipper. I bought a set of book matched slabs and made a big dining table or conference table out of them. I stored the slabs for a while until they were dry enough to work with.
Using a circular saw, I made sure the joint in the middle was straight and met up nicely. I used a Festool Domino to align the two halves and glued them together. There was quite a bit of work to do with a router flattening jig on both surfaces. Probably the most fun part of the build was cleaning up the edges of the table. I used an angle grinder with a 36 grit flap disk to, basically, power carve the edges. I left most of the natural curves and ended up with a rustic and beautiful shape. I filled knot holes with two part epoxy, then there was a lot of sanding. After marking the surface with pencil lines to track progress, I sanded with 80 grit, 120 grit, 180 grit, and finally 220 grit.
When I was happy with the surface, I cleaned off the debris with compressed air and a tack cloth then applied 4 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in Semi-Gloss using a foam brush. I lightly sanded between coats with 400 grit sandpaper on a rubber block. After the final coat, I sanded with 500 grit and buffed the surface with a wax/oil blend. When the finish was dry, I turned the table over and attached the industrial metal legs.
The final table is 8 1/2 feet long, 42 inches on the larger end with a natural taper to 35 inches on the other end. I am very pleased with how the final look came out. It is a fantastic looking piece of furniture!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUuebtnA9P0
1st Place - Woodworking Video - 2017 GF Design Challenge
