Walnut Slab Coffee Table - FINISHED!

That walnut slab has waited for quite a long time. It can wait a little longer. Heal quickly, Bill. :thumb:

You got that right, Vaughn! I talked with the surgeon and his male nurse about my shop and usual activity level when we discussed my life in general. Today at checkout, they both told me I should take it easy for a few days but using a sander shouldn't create a problem even with an initial lifting limit of five pounds that can ramp up to 15 pounds over the next 2-3 weeks. I guess that means I'll have to wait longer when it's time to flip the slab back over to put finish touches on the bottom! :huh:
 
Since last Wednesday (one week after my surgery) I've done a little on my slab each day, with Sunday off. I did a couple of passes with 60 grit paper on my pneumatic sander. When I went to 80 grit, I wasn't satisfied with the amount being removed, so I had Bobbie take me to Lowe's to get some mesh sanding discs. I got 80 and 120 grit. I don't know that they are more aggressive than paper, but they don't clog as easily and can be blown or washed out to refresh them.

Here's how it looked after 60 and 80 grit. Stupid me didn't get a photo after doing passes with 120! :huh:

TWS_13_S60.jpgTWS_13_S80.jpg


After the sanding passes with 120 mesh, I did two passes with 150 paper, then wiped on some tung oil/naphtha in a 1/1 ratio to get a better idea of how it looks. I'll let the oil dry out, sand with 150 again if necessary, then start wiping on the Arm-R-Seal.

TWS_S150-Tung.jpg
 
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UPDATE:

Finally, I have some major aspects of my slab project to show.

Since my surgery on September 13, I was restricted to how much I should try to lift. At the follow-up appointment with the surgeon on October 17, he said the main problem I will have going forward is straining a muscle - the surgical area will be fine. So, I flipped the slab over to finish some work on the bottom of the slab.


For reference, here's an image of my design drawing.

Table_Slab_OA1.jpg


I had previously applied several coats of Arm-R-Seal on the bottom. After sanding again to 220, I wiped on another coat and wiped it off. When it was cured, I worked on getting the leg assembly attached. After measuring carefully, I screwed two cleats to the bottom for indexing the base/leg assembly, then drilled eight positions for 2.5" screws to attach the assembly to the slab.

TWS_14a_btm.jpg TWS_14b_btm.jpg


Being satisfied with the bottom part of the project, I flipped the slab back over so I can finalize the top finish.
 
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FINISHED & INSTALLED!!!

Well, at long last, here it is! It's been one thing after another over the past year since a big hunk of Michigan chocolate made its way down to south Georgia, but I think I finally conquered it. Larry was great to swing by here to deliver one of his slabs and got me started on cleaning it up in March of 2017. I continued some cleanup on it, then had to remodel some of my shop to be able to work on the slab efficiently. Whatever - it was worth the effort!

TWS_16b.jpg

TWS_16a.jpg


In addition to wanting a nice coffee table, drawers are a great convenience for a variety of things.

TWS_16c.jpg

TWS_16d.jpg


For those interested in some of the final gory details, here it goes:
What you see is the third "final finish" I did.

In the first case, I rubbed on several light coats of Arm-R-Seal, rubbing it off after letting it soak in a few minutes, then I wiped on a thick coat and let it level out. Even after some rubout on it, I didn't like the overall appearance - too "plastic" looking. So, I sanded most of the finish off.

On the second try, I rubbed on ARS to fill in any thin areas of finish, wiping it off after a few minutes. As a final coat, I brushed on a heavier coat and let it level out, but still didn't like the look of it. Again, too plastic. So, I got real serious about sanding back to bare wood and starting completely over!

After taking extra care to making sure I had a flat surface again, I wiped on ARS, let it sit a few minutes and wiped it off. Five coats later, I had a much better result: satiny appearance but very tough.

Thanks for looking!!!
:wave:
 
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That came out looking great, Bill! It's always worth the time spent to get the finish you want. Glad to see you didn't settle for "close enough". :thumb:

I still have a beautiful slab of Michigan chocolate crotch wood waiting for me to tackle. I've got some ideas on how I want to do the top, but still pondering the base/legs. And of course still working on getting the room to work on it. ;)
 
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