Guana-Coste Slab Table with Black Walnut Base

This project was the result of a request from one of my daughters for a kitchen table. I had never worked with heavy slabs before and I thought it might be interesting. I started working on this in July of 2019 and finished last month. Although I had the top flat, I forgot the bottom, so I had to rout out grooves to fit the four supporting arms. I discovered that Guana-Coste will not hold screws, so I used E-z Lock threaded inserts and bolts to attache the 50+ lb slab to the base. Very stable now about 80 lbs.

The table finish started off with a light coat of Watco Medium Walnut oil to bring out the character of the wood followed by an initial six coats of wipe on poly applied over a period of 4 months, with light sanding in between coats. That was followed with multiple additional coats, wet sanded to 2500 and finished with Meguiars’ lowest cut automotive finish compound.

At 85, I think I will stick to traditional hardwood and significantly lighter pieces.