May 1, 2012by Kristin Jackson96 CommentsBuild, Decor, DIY

DIY Live Edge Table

I told you all that I was sooo inspired by last week’s “I Love It” post that I made one of the items.  Did anyone guess it was the $25,000 Live Edge Tablle?!?  I have been lusting after these tables for some time now.  Pairing them with the right pieces can lead to some gorgeous outcomes. But that price tag!!! I have seen them for less, but still way too much for my pocket.  So we decided to do what we do best… make one.
After our outdoor glass table crashed last week we knew we immediately had to make a new one.  Now that it is warm out, we try to eat outside as much as possible.  That is kinda hard to do on a table with no top…  just sayin.
Since the base was in great condition we decided it would be best to keep it & create a new wood top.  We looked at a picnic style tops, solid tops… & we ended up with a bit of a combo.  We pieced together two large pieces of wood with a narrower one down the middle.  
Oh yeah… didn’t I mention we were adding a built in ice bucket?!?  More about that in a minute.  To attach the wood together we used our old faithful method of applying Liquid Nails (weatherproof) down the side of each board, place them all together & secure with some scrap pieces that are also glued & screwed.  Once you flip over the top you simply sand down any edges that aren’t flush.  This gives you a strong and sturdy top.
For our ice bucket, I really wanted a long narrow trough…but the “x” in the base it wouldn’t allow it.  Knowing that it had to have some length to it, I was able to find an oval bucket at Homegood’s.  We traced it on to the top {centered of course} & then cut it out with the jigsaw.  The hubs had the brilliant idea to uncurl the buckets rim so we could hammer it flat onto the table top.  This covered up any places where a jigsaw may have messed up { cough cough }.  We added screws around the interior perimeter of the bucket into the table opening to keep it secure.

Now comes the fun part… The EDGES!  I pulled out our belt sander.  And let me tell you this thing is for real.  It really could tear up a piece of furniture, which is not usually the intended goal, but it worked perfectly for this.  There is no science to this part, just go at it with all you’ve got.  Remember you can always go back & make any of your cuts deeper… 
Once you are happy with your edges, it’s time to stain.  I always start with a pre-stain conditioner first.  This will allow you to avoid a blotchy stain application.
The stain really brought the table edges to life.  To seal the table I coated the entire table, top to bottom, with Man’O’War Marine Spar Varnish.  Seriously, I coated every nook & cranny of this thing starting with the bottom.  It wouldn’t make any sense to simply coat the top, as the base would be still be exposed to the natural elements as well.
Since we were using pine boards I applied 4 coats of Marine Spar Varnish, sanding down with steel wool in between each coat.  This is honestly the longest part of this project because of the 24 hour drying time.  The table itself was literally constructed in an afternoon.
After all the coats were dry, we attached the top to our base.  The hubs came up with yet another brilliant idea… Gosh he’s good to have around.
He took some thick metal braces & screwed them into the scrap wood .  The piece overlapping the metal than acted as a vice and clamped the top to the metal base.  This top is not going ANYWHERE!  & of course our Project Manager was there to supervise.
Now all that’s left to do is start enjoying dinner alfresco again!  With a chilled beverage of course.

The ice bucket could have numerous functions.  Besides an ice bucket I am seeing oysters on the half shell, sinking in a floral arrangement & wouldn’t this have been handy for the crayfish boil we had a few weeks ago?!?
I did pay close attention to any knots in the wood & tried to work around them, as if that is how it would have naturally formed.
I am really proud that our inspiration was this…
& we ended up with this!
L I N K I N G   U P   T O:
Home Stories A to Z
Remodelaholics
Tip Junkie
Beneath My Heart
Miss Mustard Seed
Serenity Now
Thrifty Decor Chick