Starting a new project today, based on a previous piece I built. The beech table shown here was the inspiration for the new piece, a commission from Greg in Roanoke, Virginia via Custommade.com. 

I was fortunate enough to find another beautiful slab of Copper Beech at Berkshire Forrest Products in Massachusetts. Its a really nice slab, and dead flat across its 48" of width! Its 2.5" thick, and will stay pretty much that way since I don't have to flatten this one. Unfortunately, its too big for Greg's room, so I have to make it quite a bit smaller. After numerous conversations and photos, I've come up with a road map to get me to the size that works for the room. Here's the full slab, followed by a detail shot of the cut line.

 The goal here is to make the cut from the center of the slab, look like its live, natural edge mate on the other side of the table. This will be done by following the grain, cutting at an angle that approximates the other side. After hemming and hawing for quite a while, I finally commit to doing it.

 Next, I trim the ends to the desired length and angle on the sliding table saw.

 The next step is flipping the top upside down, and removing all the loose bark. I do this with a combination of my deadblow mallet, and a small chisel on occasion to pry it away. Most of it falls off pretty easily with a couple raps of the mallet. I love the look of those worm tracks right under the bark.

Next I cover all the knots, voids, cracks etc. on the underside with packing tape. This will serve as a dam to keep the epoxy from running straight through when I start filling the voids from the top side. 

I flip it over, and mix up a big batch of the two part clear epoxy that I use to fill the voids. Despite my best efforts, its not foolproof, some will still find its way to the floor and onto my shoes. This is the first of what will be several applications of epoxy. I will add more each day until all the areas are filled and just proud of the surface. A torch is used to remove bubbles ensuring the areas are clear and void free.

 While the epoxy is seeping in, I mill some 12/4 walnut that will be used for the base.

That was a very good first day! I'm happy with the shape, lots of sanding to come.