www.woodworkweb.com/woodwork-t... : Natural edge furniture has a large appeal, and in this video we show how the natural edge is surfaced and the sides and top finished.
i love youtube for this kind of reason! I'm making a walnut live edge tv stand, and after 2 hours of sanding, i thought I'd look up to see if there was an easier way to sand the live edge...as soon as you mentioned the wire brush wheel, i could've kicked myself as i just walked by them in depot this very morning while picking up my sandpaper! well back to the depot i go,ha. great video!
Have you ever done a “water pop” on the wood prior to your first coat? I’m a real novice, but have done several live edge finishes where I sanded to 80/100/ or 120, lightly sprayed the piece with water, then sanded to the finer grits. The water pop raises the grain on a smooth piece, allowing the subsequent sanding (after allowing it to dry overnight) to make for a wonderful smooth finish.I had my doubts when I learned about it, but found it to be quite effective. Great information and well done videos. Learned a lot from watching them. Thank you.
Thanks for commenting, I knew there would be other out there who would have had similar experiences. I have not tried the steel wool/vinegar wash, great idea, I will give that a try ... thanks again Colin
Thank you! I have been trying to figure out why quite a few woodworkers take the edges off. I always thought "doesn't that defeat the idea of a live edge?" So I still don't wuite understand what to look for on the wood I buy. Thanks!
I discovered something similar too with some old redwood planks that were sitting outside for nearly 30 years. The exposed ends had a beautiful natural groove and grey color. I had to chop off one of the live edge ends to shorten the plank for a coffee table and was not sure how I would re-create the live edge. I used a wire brush and created the grooves along the natural lines and then used a steelwool/vinegar wash. turned out great!
Hi Greg ... yup, you are right, some very good questions. The cut ends were not "sealed" per se, but were given 4 coats of Osmo, which in a sense sealed them. I did not coat the underside of the top as I did not think it was necessary. Most of the moisture that is absorbed and expelled from wood comes through the cut ends, the flat surface breath very slowly and no matter how good it is sealed, the wood will still breath, it's really just a matter of how quickly. Thanks again, Colin
Yes, I applied Osmo to the live edge as well. The product is not well know, it;s from Germany and been around in Europe for quite some time, but only in North America for a few years, from what I know. I'm using Polyx-Oil 3054 Clear, Satin-Matt. I don't work for the company, and I don't get free samples from them, I just happen to love their product.
Hi Colin, I was wondering what you also thought about best way to get bleached gray look. I'm using true 2" thick old growth pine which has a nice natural reddish tint to it after using my planer and jointer to prep them. ( I'm building a couple dozen industrial desks for my client - he was thinking a grayish bleached look. I bought the Osmo and Trewax you showed for finishing.
Very good video thank you I'm about to undertake the building of a dining room table in oak planks and I'm going to finish the table the same as you did hope it turns out as well as yours
Thanks for sharing this. It looks great. My question thpugh is what process did u use to get the strait cut edges? Im building shelves w live edges but the wood is about 20 to 24 inches wide and im not sure how to get my first square edge. So everything is flush. Any suggestions?
Yes, you could maintain with a very light application of wax, maybe once or twice a year depending on the environment. If dry, a couple of applications would be helpful.
I've been watching your videos and we would like to know which Osmo you would recommend, there seems to be a wide variety to choose from. We did check our local Home Depot and Lowes and they do not carry OSMO. Thank you
Hey Colin, I've been using Osmo for a few years now but thought you could only use it on smooth surfaces since you need to wipe off excess so it wont get "gummy". Did you use the Osmo on the live edges? If so how do you prevent it from gumming up?
Very nice video, thank you. I don't understand how extra coats can dry with the oil in the product. It seems like the poly would get hard and not the oil. I know it does I just don't understand why.
Colin, this came out beautifully. I have a large 10ft x 3ft redwood board with a live edge, bark intact, that I will be finishing for a wedding project. How do I tackle the bark, in terms of finishing? Also, my piece has a lot of beautiful knots in it- would you recommend epoxy for those? Thank you!
Great technique Colin. However there are a few questions left unanswered. Like, what about the live edges and the cut edges? And what about the bottom surface? My thought would be that you'd want to seal the entire piece to minimize moisture transfer (in and out) to minimize the seasonal expansion/contractions.
Interesting... So do you apply the osmo to the live edges as well as the top or just the top? I've never heard of osmo before. Looked it up and the company with the name osmo makes several different types of finish. What is it that you're using here?
Hi Karen, it not actually a cloth, it's like a fine foam pad. You get them at auto supply stores, they use the material like a very fine sandpaper I believe. Sorry I don't know what it is called but comes in different "grits" which are different colors. If you get the white, that is what you use for this application. Hope I am making sense :) ... let me know if you need more info Colin
Philep Kalopetris I have tried that but my wire brush wheel always loosens in the drill chuck so it won't spin. I guess I need a drill with chuck that is more than hand tightening type ... thanks for the tip, I will try that some time.
Yes, I have had the problem of having the brush come loose too. I found that if you reverse the drill direction (if yours does that) it solves the problem
jacob04103 Probably not, but it depends how you attach the top. If you attach the top in a way that allows it to shrink, so with some sort of a moveable joint or fastening device, yes it is possible to do.
***** Hi Steve, I was a big Tung Oil fan until I discovered Osmo, which is now hard to get for me so I am using another, almost identical product called Saicos. Both Osmo and Saicos have a pleasant odour, they dry quicker than the Tung Oil I was using and harden quicker in my experience. You can re-apply over top of them if the finish gets marred over time, rather than stripping and re-finishing, and they are both designed for hardwood floors so very hard and tough finishes. To be honest I have never thought about adding a stain but I think I would make sure I tested it well before doing that. Probably safer to pre-stain or pre-dye the wood first. While on the topic there is one more product similar to both of these that you can get pre-colored, a product called Oli Natural Oils and Waxes. I have not tried this product yet but have seen results and it looks very promising. Hope this all helps ...
Ryan Leuty It's the Polyx - oil in satin Ryan. If you get it and use it, try it out on some test wood first to get the hang of it. It's imperative that you put THIN coats on. If you do that, you should be in good shape.
Where is the knife and chisel part to this piece? I would like to learn how to do this but you decided to skip an important that part in your DIY video. I really don't see the point in making a lengthy detailed video to help people learn but but do complete parts behind the scenes! Disappointing.
