Live-edge Walnut Countertop with Tom McLaughlin 

Thanks Denise, it is a beautiful piece of walnut, and always striking to see a piece like that come alive when applying finish!😎

Mark Keltie Thank you Mark, I'm glad you found the video to be helpful and inspiring. I'm sure your gum slabs will turn out great... I remember using that only once back @ 1990 when I was apprenticing in North Carolina. As I recall it ages to a nice light brown patina. My Best! Tom

Sambojobo Glad you enjoyed it, thanks! You may be interested to know I will show how to make a coffee table in a similar way with inlaid birds eye maple butterflies on an upcoming episode of public television’s Rough Cut with Fine Woodworking. If so, we will get word out to our mailing list followers on times and links to the shows at epicwoodworking.com Thanks again! Tom

marianna mayer Thank you so much Marianna! You can use either the original or the satin finish. The original is a little "clearer" looking and also a bit glossier. But I always like to do a final rub out with 0000 steel wool which knocks down the sheen a bit anyway (wait at least a week to rub it out and your results will be all the better)

marianna mayer Also, I find the satin finish rubs out even better, but naturally it will be slightly "hazy" with the additives to achieve the satin sheen. One other interesting thing about using Waterlox you can cut it dramatically, meaning dilute with paint thinner as much as 75% thinner to 25% Waterlox. When you do this, it wipes on very easily, but will require more thin coats. It works very much like danish oil when thinned even 50%, but will offer a much greater protection against water rings than Danish oil once you have a bit of surface build. My best advice is to experiment a bit on an extra piece of scrap. Presently I have a couple samples going right now, on Walnut and Cherry, to see how many coats of the 25% mix it takes to achieve a nice finish. There's nothing like walnut, I wish you great success with your project!

Nir Goshen thanks Nir! I used a tung oil based varnish called “Waterlox” in the satin sheen. Then when cured fully, rubbed out with 0000 steel wool. 👍🙂

@@EpicWoodworking Yhanks. Maybe one day I could find time to pay your school a visit.

Shawn Hett Thank you for your interest Shawn. Yes, it is an excellent finish for water resistance due to the primary tung oil resin. You might find some other information that will be helpful regarding Waterlox by seeing the other comments I made to the most recent questions. Hope you have great results with your project! Tom

Thanks for the response! I'll do some further research on the Waterlox. I didn't know Tung Oil by itself would be water resistant

I do lots of live edge pieces and the favorite finish is the oiled urethane from General Finishes called Arm-R-Seal, semi gloss. Goes on great and protects against liquids. The oil in the finish highlights the grain beautifully.

+NYWoodworker That's just what I like to hear! Thanks for watching. There's more to come!

Hi Jacob, thanks for your comment! Yes, that is an advanced project that was a private commission 3-4 years ago for which we have some video clips that will be posted at some point. I have some additional thoughts to share with you if you'll email me at info@epicwoodworking.com. Thanks!

Hi, sorry for the delayed response. It's called Praise the Invisible. Hope that helps!

Thanks Gary. I used Waterlox original for this finish. You can wipe or brush on. For this piece I cut the first coat @ 10% with mineral spirits and allowed to penetrate before wiping off. The final coat was brushed on full, and after letting dry several days, buffed out with 0000 steel wool for a nice satin sheen. Will be posting more videos soon!

Thank your for you rapid reply. I typically use Tung oil or Danish oil and I have yet to try Waterlox but your video has inspired me to do so. Looking forward to your future videos. Thanks again. Gary

Gary Thomson Joinery Thanks Gary, glad you enjoyed it!...so much fun we would do this for free wouldn't we?

Epic Woodworking I might even pay them to do it 😄

Yes Lee, that's it! Sometimes I buff it out with a paper towel after which brings up the sheen just a bit more, but the Waterlox, when cured thoroughly, runs out beautifully with the 0000 steel wool. Thanks for your interest! Tom

Thank you for watching and commenting Jack!

CharliePrep Trust me Charlie, that’s not a planer ripple, that’s just the strong curl in the figure absorbing the initial finish at a different rate. I hand planed and card scraped the surface to remove all traces of planer marks before sanding. Thanks for watching! Tom

That is not machine marks. It is fiddle back grain due to compression.

Andrew Dalisa How right you are about that Andrew, it was some beautiful walnut!

Thank you Gus, appreciate your words and support!

Bob Scruggs Thanks Bob, I love it too...The endless beauty and variety of the wood makes this craft never get old!! Tom

Please explain how you attached the live edge top to the base. I have a very similar project. Thank you

Chelsea Home & Leisure Ltd Thank you for your kind feedback!

Clyde Balcom Thank you!

Thank you for watching Lee!

Smoke eater I used a varnish called Waterlox (satin sheen). It is a tung oil based varnish that works very well. Or course you will get similar results with similar varnishes. Hope that helps! Thanks, Tom

Epic Woodworking Yes, I'm a novice and my wife mentioned walnut countertops, I don't want to screw this up, may end up nice or could be a disaster. I have some that's just about dry enough so we'll see what happens. Thanks brother👍

Smoke eater Sure, glad to help. One thing to keep in mind, not sure if I mentioned it in the video, is that you can cut the varnish with mineral spirits (dilute by adding approx 10 - 25 % mineral spirits, also called paint thinner), which makes it a little easier to use and it goes on in thinner coats, which is always easier to control when applying and leads to better results. Just test on a sample piece first and you should be fine...and your wife will be impressed👍

Epic Woodworking Right on brother! Thanks👍