Live edge Walnut tables

This was a particularly interesting job. The owners of a beautiful timber frame home wanted tables built as featured elements in a small living room. After searching for the right piece of wood they found an amazing slab of walnut from a lumber dealer in Margaree. At its widest, this piece was just over 40 inches and over 8 feet in length. Through careful collaboration with the home owners I laid out the rough shape of each table on the wood. Next came the scary part; cutting that magnificent slab in half with the circular saw. These pieces had to fit very precisely around the 8x8 posts of this home. The tables sit atop simple brackets and are finished with oil and wax. Although these pieces will never be reproduced I love working with live-edge wood and try to keep a supply on hand.

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Make a wooden wall hanging showing off where you live

Been wondering what to do with all those tiny scraps of wood youve been saving? Heres a project you can make in no time flat. Gather up a mixed bag of cut-offs or pallet wood, glue them to a board and cut out the shape of your home state, province or country.

Make your own and post a video!
Shoot a short video of what you made and post it as a video response to my video on YouTube*. I think it will be fun to see all the places people are woodworking.

Find a map that you want by doing a quick Google Images search, print it out, paste it on your boards and cut it out with a jig saw, scroll saw, or band saw.

I made my home state out of various scraps of pallet wood. The interesting thing about pallets is that the wood all ages differently, giving you different hues and colors.

For my second cut-out, I used a map of Brazil. I wanted to give a shout-out to my Portuguese-speaking friends in South America. Over the years of doing Woodworking for Mere Mortals, I have made friends with quite a few Brazilian woodworkers who I have found to be among the most creative people I know. Olá amigos! Obrigado pelo vosso apoio. (I hope Google Translate didnt just mangle that!)

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*How to post a video response on YouTube

If you have never posted a video response before, it is not apparent how to do it on first glance. On most videos you will see a comment box:







Click anywhere inside the box and you will get an option to post a video response:

From there, you can upload a new video or choose one from your own channel. 

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