Wood Barn

Our newly clad living area needed a large coffee table that would complement the warm tones of the new wall. We visited the sawmill again and selected a lovely slab of local Beech. We decided it would remain rough sawn for me to sand but they were to tidy up the live edge with a draw knife. They also had to cut the slab to a 1400mm length, the width was perfect being around 750-800mm. It was already a lovely, chunky 35mm thick.

A couple of weeks later they dropped off the slab and I was able to start work on it. I used a belt sander at 60 grit to even out the saw marks. This was quite a quick process but I took care not to gouge out too much in any one area by keeping the sander moving at all times.

I only sanded one side, the top, which took no time at all. From the belt sander I switched to a 100 grit using my electric orbital sander and then increased that to 120 grit, finishing with a 180 grit. I’d read that a few of the finishes I’d looked at recommended going no higher than this. My understanding is if you go to 240 or higher, the pores in the wood become too small to soak up the protective oils properly.

The next task was to protect the wood. I used Osmo Polyx-oil on the bottom of the table but didn’t like the result as it seemed to alter the appearance too much for my taste.

For the top and sides I chose Osmo Top Oil which left a more natural finish in my opinion. I used it sparingly for the first coat and allowed it to fully dry. I then used a very fine grit sand paper and gently wiped over the surface by hand to remove any lifted fibres. I did this twice more applying 3 coats in total.

I wanted chunky industrial style legs and settled on raw steel ‘X’ shaped I found on Etsy. These were available to order in any size and very reasonably priced. They are simple to position and attach with pre-drilled holes. Given my inexperience, I was very careful to pre-drill the holes in the beech to the correct depth so as not to burst through the top and ruin my new creation!

I probably could have bought a table like this for less than it cost me but I wouldn’t have a table that is both unique and bespoke for our needs. It also wouldn’t be so stylish. The beech slab cost £250 (inc live edge and delivery) and £50 for the steel legs. £300 for a perfect and beautifully crafted table.