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Joining 4 triangular pieces of wood at right angles?

750 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  jbwcakh 
#1 ·
My dad is working on a "wish list" for his future coffee table, and at the top of the list is a live edge on all four sides, from the walnut we personally harvested. He's envisioning 4 triangular pieces of wood joined together, with the live edge of each triangle on the outside.

Now, I know that wood movement is likely to be an issue here. Is there any way I can make it work regardless? Maybe sliding dovetails, an open space in the middle, and an oil finish? My own coffee table develops new cracks every season due to my ignorance of wood movement when I started it, and now that I can actually produce decent stuff, I'm not going to put months of work into a doomed project. But if there's a way I can make it happen, I'd love to hear it.

How can I put a live edge on all four sides of a coffee table, without compromising the structural integrity of the piece?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Live edge on the outside helps.....

The movement will be pretty much equal away from the center, so I don't see an issue. I would use splines on the joining edges to keep the pieces flat.

Sometimes you have to be the one who tries it and then you become the "expert" who can say "yes, it worked great" or ..... not so much. :|
 
#3 ·
The movement will be pretty much equal away from the center, so I don't see an issue. I would use splines on the joining edges to keep the pieces flat.

Sometimes you have to be the one who tries it and then you become the "expert" who can say yeas, it work great or ..... not so much. :|
That's what I was thinking, too, except that the outside edges won't be getting longer or shorter. It's tough for me to picture, but it seems to me that what the movement has to go somewhere: When the wood expands, I don't see how the pieces won't pull away from each other somehow, as the pieces get wider (away from the center) but don't get any longer to compensate. And likewise, when the wood contracts, it seems as though it would all pull away from the center, leaving a gap right in the middle.

Then again, maybe it'll all balance out as long as I use an oil finish so any cracks won't show too badly.

Now to figure out if the resin river(s) he wants to include will make things easier or harder...
 
#5 ·
You may need to rethink your last post ......

Not quite certain what you mean here .......................... ?
 
#6 ·
"Live edge" tends to have a bit of a rustic flair(IMO).

I would embelish it, I see a lot of "bowties" used with live edge slabs to address cracks and embelish them.

Maybe design it so you have the 4 pieces with a "4 sided bowtie" that is in the center in a contrasting wood, and some bowties along each of the 4 seams/joints. Don't try to make the joints as tight, but make it more rustic.

Just some thoughts...
 
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