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Project Information

This one has a ton of firsts for me:

1) epoxy as finish (Stonecoat Countertop epoxy)
2) gouge texturing
3) sliding dovetail battens
4) shou sugi ban
5) TransTint dye
6) black dye
7) floating top
8) slabs that have only dried six months, paired with kiln dried lumber (It's okay, I accounted for wood movement)
9) fuming oak
10) Dark Tung Oil

The top is made from quarter sawn Southern Yellow Pine (from the big blue box), tinted with TransTint Dye and finished with Stonecoat Countertop Epoxy.
The stretchers are Southern Yellow Pine, hand textured with a gouge. Dyed with black RIT dye and finished with rattlecan shellac.
The legs are hand cut red oak (water oak) that has been fumed in ammonia and finished with Milk Paint brand Dark Tung Oil.

Other than the glue holding the desktop boards together, all the other joinery is non-glued dovetails, condor tails, and sliding dovetails.

For way more detail and photos, jump to the parts that interest you. It is a long story with a lot of parts:
A) Intro - Floating top river desk planning
B) Epoxy river desktop with islands
C) Textured stretchers
D) Live edge slab legs
E) Assembly complete

How do I account for wood movement? The battens fit into sliding dovetails on the underside of the desk. These float free within the dovetail as the top expands and contracts. The battens also have another long dovetail that slides into the stretchers (not glued in) which fit into dovetails in the slab sides. As the slab sides contract (they were only 6 months off the tree when I made cut them) it will bring the stretchers closer to each other, but they are free to slide along the battens. Everything is free floating, when it comes to wood movement, but not so free floating that it will move apart by pushing on it.

Gallery

Comments

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That base looks great. I like the confluence in the top. Nice second pic of the fill up the leg. A fine desk, sir.
 

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Everything about this project is stunningly beautiful. For a first timer on these processes, you done guuuude!!!!!
 

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@woocox, thank you. Good eye on catching the fill on the side leg. That is a bit subtle in the photo.

@TZH Thank you.Much appreciated.
 

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wow you did a great job on this table,love your design and all the dovetail and detail work.also thanks for all the build pic's i think we all here appreciate that kind of effort.beautiful work.
 

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Thanks @pottz. I am always surprised when I finish a project by how many photos I end up with.
 

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I appreciate the bottom (legs, support, stretcher etc) but I REALLY like the top. A lot of forethought, planning and execution involved and it worked out beautifully
 

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Thanks @recycle1943 I like how the top turned out, but it kills me that now that my son is using the desk, the top is so covered with stuff that you can't see the river. I need to build a river wall so it can't get covered up ;)
 

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Impressive, the amount of shaping you did there. So well, I assumed I was seeing a live face that had not been shaped from a flat sawn slab! Great blog write up, I should have read that first.
 

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@woodcox Thanks, it was hard to mimic mother nature. The only one that had no shaping was the interior side of the slab on the left. That is actually the outside of the tree and had great contours all on its own.
 

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Beautiful design, Execution and details, Nice use of epoxy and making it unique instead of looking like a regular river table
 

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Hi Dick!
I appreciate the bottom (legs, support, stretcher etc) but I REALLY like the top. A lot of forethought, planning and execution involved and it worked out beautifully

- recycle1943
 

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@MJR Thank you.
 

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Absolutely supurb piece.
I can only imagine the man hours you put into this one.
Lovely build
 

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Thanks @anthm27 It was occupying space in my shop (and my brain) for about 6 months. I try not to think about the hours, that would take all the fun out of it ;)
 

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Beautiful! I love it!
 

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Wonderful work, a big work I can see.
Love the shou sugi ban, really impressed.
Big smile here.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

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@CapJudah Thanks.

@mafe Thank you my friend.
 

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Very unique way to mount the top. That looks like a flawless finish too. Nice work.
 

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Thanks @doubleDD I wish is was flawless but I think I am the only one that sees the flaws. ;)
 

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A lot of skill needed for this one - Kudos!
When you do the shou sugi ban -thing, do you notice any cupping?

I once used a blowtorch and wire brush to "age" a cupboard of sorts, and after few seconds of torching, the panel (i hadnt assembled the piece) started cupping like crazy. Horrified, I flipped it around and torched the other side to balance it out before it broke. Of course the material was very different: soft wood from a big-box store.
 
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