Live edge Cherry bar top

[T Welsh]

I had a customer contact me asking if I had live edge slabs available,I told him yes and I would have to check and see what I had and in what specie and lengths.He explained to me that he wanted a live edge bar top.He came out and we picked a piece of Cherry and I brought it into the shop and laid it out with chalk,he loved it and asked if I could cut,plane,sand and finish it for him! We agreed on a price and here is what he got!

  This is the slab finished to 220 grit,the customer picked a 8'6" slab to be cut to 8'2" it worked,but there where some checking cracks that concerned me,so I had to add some butterflies to stabilize the checking from going any farther

  They came out well and I had to do 3 more smaller ones on the other end.We had talked about bar top epoxy and we settled for multiple coat of gloss poly.

     6 coats of poly later. The customer came and picked it up yesterday and was absolutely thrilled with the out come,he loved that I added the butterflies and left the 2 nails that I hit with the planner when I surfaced it(ouch) Just another way to make slabs pay for themselves and put some more money in a starving sawyers pocket ;D Tim

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I'm impressed Tim. That's an awesome slab and an awesome job you did getting it ready for sale.
Good Pics too. 

How do you put in your butterflies? I do the 'ol trace and chisel.

[Sprucegum]

Very nice indeed. Will the cherry darken with age at all?

[T Welsh]

I'm impressed Tim. That's an awesome slab and an awesome job you did getting it ready for sale.
Good Pics too. 

How do you put in your butterflies? I do the 'ol trace and chisel.

David, I cheated and bought a template,I had to buy a bushing and bit for the router and I was at the store and bought a plastic template as well. I have made them by hand and they turned out all right,but one slip and then you have to start over. This system is almost fool proof ( I did it) and right on the money the first time!

Very nice indeed. Will the cherry darken with age at all?

Sprucegum,Probably not much,its sealed in poly,so it will get no air or moisture and probably not change that much. The bench underneath the slab is made of Cherry and you can see how much it has darkened over the years

[clww]

That looks awesome!

[thecfarm]

Mighty fine looking.

[Mossyoak]

x 2 Great work.  Whats the width of the slab.

[ET]

Great job! Good score!  How many slabs do you normally have hanging around and are they kiln dried or just air dried?

[T Welsh]

x 2 Great work.  Whats the width of the slab.

The slab started off at 8'6"x24" at the widest point. I surfaced both sides and the final thickness came to be 1 and 7/8. It started as a heavy2" and I took another light past on the finish side and hit 2 nails on the front live edge side,look at the front middle of the slab and you will see them! I left them in there for conversation purposes. Looked to me like a No hunting or trespass sign,they where roofing nails!

Great job! Good score!  How many slabs do you normally have hanging around and are they kiln dried or just air dried?

ET, I usually keep about 5 to 8 slabs in the shop with another 5 or so in the lumber pile under cover! They are all 3+ years old and air dried,once I get more room in the shop I bring in a couple more slabs and run then through the planer and stand them up against the wall! They tend to sell themselves that way! Tim 

[jamesamd]

Sunlight+cherry = darkening
Very nice piece Tim,that bowtie is perfect

[Magicman]

It is understandable that the customer was happy.  You did a terrific job.   

[Leigh Family Farm]

Thats pretty slick Tim! Well done! Did you charge extra for the metal stain and nails since they add character?  ;)

[JohnM]

That looks great, Tim!  I have a question on the bowties (I've never made/used them).  How do you decide where to placed them in the split?  It looks like the one pictured is 6-8" from the end, roughly half the length of the split.  Is that the general idea, split (no pun intended but intended ;)) the difference?  Also, how deep do you make the ties?

[T Welsh]

Thats pretty slick Tim! Well done! Did you charge extra for the metal stain and nails since they add character?  ;)

I am still laughing Brian :D And if I thought I could get away with it I would! But the fact of the matter is that it cost me because I hit the two nail with the planer and now it has two nice little nicks in them that leave a raised spot on each board I run through it. Now lets see 4 sharpened planer blades at $40.00 + time to remove and replace and set them,lets say 2hrs at $20.00=$40 + gas back and forth to the sharpener at$20.00 Those two little nails just cost me $100. I am not laughing anymore! Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you! Tim

[T Welsh]

JohnM, When I play with wood two factors generally make my decisions,common sense and proportions. When I encounter a split/or end check as these where,they are already there and I can do nothing about that,but I can stop it from growing with a bowtie,with the bigger one I just went half way and looked at the template and chose a size that matched the area that I was working in at the time!

  This is the other end of the top! It had a crack that ran two thirds the length,so I spaced smaller ties along the crack until I liked the look at stuck them in. I make my bowties or butterflies as thick as needed these are a full 1" thick and really work to hold the crack from growing + for good measure I saturated the crack with glue until it dripped out the bottom and then clamped it and then laid the bowties out and cut them after a night of curing.Tim 

[beenthere]

But the fact of the matter is that it cost me because I hit the two nail with the planer and now it has two nice little nicks in them that leave a raised spot on each board I run through it. Now lets see 4 sharpened planer blades

Any chance to reset a blade or two just off a bit to right and/or left to pick up those two high spots?

[T Welsh]

beenthere, I have a 20" planer and I might be able to shift a blade to the left then the other to the right,and do the same with the next two. This is where a spiral bit head would come in handy! But once the blades have a chip in them I want them changed ASAP. This is the whole reason I bought a planer for,to do most of the finishing for me,and trust me I love my planer ;D Like I said before,it happens. I saw the stain and I should have checked it with the metal detector,my bad and it taught me a lesson :D. Tim