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First post here, so hey everyone! I'm not new to wood working, but I am new to finishing these live edge pieces. Being new at something, I obviously picked a difficult first project. I purchased a 11' x 27" x 2" piece of live edge sycamore (8/4" thick) and now it's sitting in my garage. It's going to be used as our family dining table, so it's going to get a lot of abuse. I've read some other posts here about this, but I wanted everyone to weigh in after seeing the actual piece I have. I was thinking about putting some epoxy (the kind you just pour over the whole slab and trowel around as it self-levels....envirotek?) and then a few coats of poly over that. Obviously it needs some serious sanding and prep before the epoxy, but am I on the right track? There are a few interesting features on this slab:
1. A hole, with bark around all edges, like the edge of a crotch cut maybe, right in the middle of the table? I kind of like having bark in the center of the table, so if it's OK, can I epoxy over the bark? I also think I need to brace this feature from the other side with some counter-sunk brackets.
2. The lumber yards planer left some minor surface imperfections in the wood. There are "furry" areas roughly 1/16-1/32" lower than the rest of the surface. Can I just sand these and let the epoxy build them up level with everything else?
3. Some earthquake looking surface cracks in the heartwood. Once again, can I just sand and let the epoxy fill these in?
There is still some bark on this slab. Is a wire brush drill attachment OK?
Will the Enviro Tek epoxy "pop" the grain? There are some beeeeaaautiful features on this slab and I want them to really come through. The guys at the lumber yard said to use a tung oil finish. Good idea? bad idea?
Thanks!!!
1. A hole, with bark around all edges, like the edge of a crotch cut maybe, right in the middle of the table? I kind of like having bark in the center of the table, so if it's OK, can I epoxy over the bark? I also think I need to brace this feature from the other side with some counter-sunk brackets.
2. The lumber yards planer left some minor surface imperfections in the wood. There are "furry" areas roughly 1/16-1/32" lower than the rest of the surface. Can I just sand these and let the epoxy build them up level with everything else?
3. Some earthquake looking surface cracks in the heartwood. Once again, can I just sand and let the epoxy fill these in?
There is still some bark on this slab. Is a wire brush drill attachment OK?
Will the Enviro Tek epoxy "pop" the grain? There are some beeeeaaautiful features on this slab and I want them to really come through. The guys at the lumber yard said to use a tung oil finish. Good idea? bad idea?
Thanks!!!
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