Building a Live Edge Slab Table

Tables built from live edge slabs are very popular, and very beautiful. George was lucky enough to get an amazing hackberry slab in his shop and, with a little help from Triton woodworking tools, he turned it into two lovely tables.

One from two

The slab we started with was long enough that it could be cut into two tables; one a low coffee table, the other a higher side table. One of the cool features of this build is that instead of making a straight cut through the slab, George cuts the slab in two using a jigsaw. The resulting organic shape creates a “puzzle piece” effect that makes it obvious the two tables started as one large live edge slab.

Tools used

A jigsaw was used to create the curve, and then it was time for sanding. Because of the size and weight of the slabs it was easier to take the tool to the work, rather than the work to a tool. Triton’s portable spindle sander took care of the curves, and their random orbit sander wrapped up everything else.

Legs

One of the easiest and fastest ways to get legs under a table is to use hairpin legs. The coffee table we built is on 14” legs, and the taller side table is on 28” legs.

Cleaning up slabs

If the slab you’re starting with needs some TLC (flattening) before you start making a table out of it, you can do that work with a hand-held router and shop-made jig.

More info

For more information on Triton Tools visit the company’s website.