The Beginnings (how in the world do I make this happen!)
I have this very bad habit of getting hooked on an idea and that idea being stuck in my head until it gets created, especially when I spend too much time watching YouTube videos about things that I have no business trying to create. Between that and ADHD my brain is always coming up with new ways to make life harder than it should be.
This latest idea stems from a project I saw on creating a "river table" without the "river" as created by Addison with 1938 Furniture Co (see video on YouTube HERE). First, you have to remember that the new trend with tables over the last decade is using a live edge slab (a thick piece of wood that has the natural tree bark edge on the two sides) and cutting that slab long-ways down the middle just to then flip the live edge to the center and filling that center with epoxy
The green/blue inlay in this case would be the "river" epoxy, which if you don't know what I am talking about, epoxy is a mixture of two part goo that when combined hardens over a period of time into a glass-like, hardened plastic that both fills the gaps and seals any soften/rotten wood.
Don't get me wrong, epoxy can add beautiful dimension and color to a piece and allow you to utilize two pieces of wood without sacrificing that natural wood edge. But, in my opinion, epoxy is over used and adding too much is just throwing plastic at a natural product that is beautiful on it's own.
(not a table I built, but just google "River Table" and you can find numerous examples like this)
Is this table well built and absolutely beautiful? Yes, and someone apparently thought it was beautiful enough to create/put in their home. To me this is just stark contrast between wood and a man made product designed to cut corners and make life easier. To me, this is just slapping putting thousands of dollars of plastic between two pieces of odd shaped wood and making a square, anyone can do it and epoxy is REALLY, REALLY EXPENSIVE!
In the video, Addison was given a challenge of making a "river" table for his sister but their only rule is NO EPOXY. He then takes some contrasting color wood and cuts them into thin 1/8" strips to be able to bend them into the shape of the river. In the end the effect is the same as though he poured epoxy resin but instead of a pool of liquid plastic he uses the natural approach and the wooden strips become the river.
I don't have a bandsaw powerful enough or big enough to cut all the strips needed for my idea, nor do I have the patience or time to want to do that. But what if I can use the same concept and instead of bending the wood to match the natural live edge I use a center panel and cut a piece that matches the live edge of the wood geometry to make a similar effect and eliminate all the plastic.
I picked up a black walnut slab a while back for next to nothing with this idea in mind, where the slab was almost split down the middle with a giant bark inclusion that created a live edge on the outside and in the center. What if I can take that slab, finish "breaking" it so there are two pieces with live edges, and somehow cut a center piece out of hard maple to follow the natural edge profile of the walnut slab? I am not even sure I have the right tools or skill to pull this off, but one thing I do know is if I don't try I will never learn what my limits are...
Here's to the beginning
