I was going to post this in another thread but think it might be good as a thread of general information DIY about how to get into working with live edge slabs.
dreadi, sportsdad, Pablo and more WaGunners have posted up pics of their quality results. I think that anyone who applies a bit of care to a live edge slab can end up with a heirloom quality piece that gets passed down through generations.

Here is a PDF : Success with Large Slabs

https://www.reclaimedbarnsandbeams.com/ ... -Slabs.pdf

Also a helpful website : How to work with natural edge slabs (Wood Magazine

There are several things in both the PDF and the article that don't agree with my experiences, but they are good info anyway.

I had a very old friend since passed on (retired carpenter lots of timber framing) who told me a theory that he said was fact... I was doing a lot of milling for timber framing at the time, and was vexed by big timbers developing cracks as they dried. I said something about how they need to be kiln dried (and even then cracks can develop) before building with them.
He scoffed. "Do you think that they kiln dried the big timbers in the middle ages and even a hundred years ago when they built cabins and lodges in the mountains? They don't need kiln drying. You cut them to size, let them surface dry, then use an oil type seal that slows their drying. Build with them green, allowing for natural shrinkage and settling. They won't crack."
I still don't know if he was correct, but he was a wise old bird in many things, so my doubts are all based on my experience with my own methods. I haven't tried his "seal the moisture in and let it dry through osmosis" method.


So with this thread I cave to the ball kicking that MadPick administered regarding my boycott of the DIY section.
Thank you in advance for not kicking me in the balls anymore.
And thank you for the DIY Section after my years of begging, whining, crying and bitching. And please eat less cruciferous vegetables.

I thought the splitting was the result of the outer layers shrinking more than the denser inner layers. The trees grow faster today than they did back then (new vs old growth) and have more sapwood when they harvest them. Trees back then had enough heartwood that they could cut huge beams out of just the heart, without any sapwood.

When I need a really nice beam that's going to be left exposed I order from this place:

http://disdero.com/

They will cut beams that are 'free of heart' and kiln dry them. I think the biggest that I have gotten from them is 6x12. With being all sapwood they dry at an even rate and are less likely to split in the kiln.

If you do have to buy a post/beam with a mix of heart and sapwood look for one that doesn't have the pith in it (the very center).

I had forgotten about that difference between the olden days and our fast growing and marketing situation today.
Excellent addition to the shrink/split knowledge. Thank you.

The pith of a log will almost always crack along what is called a wind stress. Many trees have the wind stress cracking already before the tree is felled.

Here is a decent PDF about how wood splits, cracks, and checks.
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/7w62f9397

And one more : http://hardwoodinitiative.fpinnovations ... lications/ - there are two articles on hardwood checking under "Manufacturing Process Analysis"

Those two reports are aimed more at the commercial market, but they can be understood by the hobbyist also. I like the detail.

Well, here's the old school "Drying Hardwood Lumber" by the USDA Forest Service.

A friend and customer sent us these photos of how they put to use the wood that they bought a few months ago.

Start with a Maple log, make one nearly flat side, then slab for shelving. She wanted it as rustic and rough as it came right off the mill.


It wasn't quite that simple though... hah She wanted me to flatten one edge after she chose them, so I had to shim and shimmy those slabs back into order and lined up. Because the edge that had to rest on the bed of the mill was not even, I shimmed them up until they were all lined up like the log that they came from, then took the smallest amount off that I could to maximize the shelf size.

A late addition (the night before their first day of business) this Red Alder slab was sanded and finished for their reception table.


These two pics are of their new barber shop before it was finished... Grand Opening was today.
The Maple shelves are on the right, and in this one you can kind of see how the shape of the log is preserved in the shelves. It is more striking than the two pics of the shelves suggest.

Spoiler: show

That's a fine looking shop! Those pieces complement it very well!

Wow, Mike. That really looks great! I love the shelves!

Do the shelves have some kind of finish or protectant on them?

We are headed down to their shop next week to give them a late Grand Opening Present (let's call it a GOP) and I'll report back on the finish. It's a bit of a drive and we were swamped today or we'd have been down there.

My comment about "more striking than the two pics suggest" is from the owner. I haven't been there to put hands on, but it looks like they are just exactly as they were when they left here. Maple bark has "hair", and the closest of the shelves pics looks like the hair is still attached, even hanging.

Really cool! Love the fact that the live edge is so alive, you can see spiders still hanging off of it. :)

I pivoted my initial plan with the two big Doug Fir slabs I got from you, PMB. Currently I am going to be working on turning them into a dining room table. After some talk with Sinus211, and some google-fu, I think I will be putting the live edges in, and filling with resin. That way we have a nicer edge to sit to, and its not quite as rustic. Also, gives a killer look and conversation piece in the center of the table.

Looks good!

I'm stumped by my walnut slab.........and was thinking of joinery.........please do tell!!

Make sure everything is kiln dried. Moisture kills beautiful live edge tables and resin pours. I try to get my wood to a 8 or below moisture content. Wood constantly moves and a lot of people don't think about that or know about it.

I'm on these guys mailing list and got this ad today. Might interest somebody here. Also a good idea for a DIY jig.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/email.woodsmit ... aign=15095

I saw this and thought of PMB

Waste of brass! haha

I am still looking for an update from Jager... I think he said he was going to do something like that with his two from the 1639 slabs.