# English walnut cookie slab coffee table



## brown down (Feb 26, 2014)

I told Mike1950 I was going to start working on a coffee table for my parents.

this slab was the base of the tree of a very old/large english walnut. its 42 round and about 4 -5 in thick

this slab weighs a ton lol. 

I have to add quite a few dutchmans in it to strengthen the slab. since its end grain and not face grain, the rings want to let loose.

the pics are of the bottom side of it. I figured since it has been a while since i have done these, starting on the bottom and getting back in the groove was the best option. 

I am finishing up a jewelry box for my mother made partly out of curly spalted fruit pear which is the type of wood she chose for the dutchmans. i am going to dye them to make sure she likes the contrast...

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## ironman123 (Feb 26, 2014)

Jeff it looks like you will be busy for a while. That was a pretty good size tree. I am glad you are finally getting close to finishing your Mom's jewelry box.

Ray

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## brown down (Feb 28, 2014)

slowly getting more and more time in the shop. I had to dry more wood to finish her box. I just have to assemble the last drawer.

This slabs gonna take some time. I have to mill somehow, a decent amount off the top to level it??

I added a lot of dutchmans on the bottom side. some were 9" long 
I was wondering if anyone has ever put ducthmans in end grain before? I am trying to do as few as possible to this. I want the strength but only have them as an accent not taking the focus off the slab!

Are there any other joints that would work?
here is the topside. just rough surfaced with a belt sander
thats my 3 foot straight edge

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## SDB777 (Feb 28, 2014)

Had you thought about using a router to level the slab?

Plenty of YouTube video's showing the design of the jig to do this....




Scott (those are some big 'dutchs') B


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## brown down (Feb 28, 2014)

yea I have heard too many horror stories when it comes to that! Two machines I have the upmost respect for are the table saw and a router!

I will be honest tho It may be my only option aside from a floor sander and that would take way too long!! Any good links of ones you have built or look solid?

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## woodtickgreg (Mar 1, 2014)

I have used the router technique for leveling slabs and it works great, a little slow but effective.


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## brown down (Mar 9, 2014)

The one on the end blew out on me. something wasn't square or plum to the other

I have forgotten how much fun these can be and also how frustrating they can make a beginner!

By far I am no professional, but I will share with those who haven't tackled these, what I have learned to do and not to do when cutting dutchman's

after you cut your dutchman's MARK top and direction in which it faces. nothing worse than after you have started cutting and go back and check your fit and you have to spin it 4 times to figure out which direction it now has to face. It can become really frustrating when they are cut almost to size and if not marked properly , all it takes is one side being off and the joint is failed! These have to be as precise as possible! There are tricks that you can do to fix the gaps, but the less you have the better. I always go for a seamless gap, just as anyone doing dovetails or any joinery would want them to look like. It not only looks better, but the joint is much, much stronger.

your chisels have to be surgical! doing one dutchman, I may touch my chisels up 3-4 times!

first after you cut your dutchman and mark it, it has to be plum or slightly undercut. I prefer a slight taper, allows for glue and much easier to drive e home

a good square is a must!

when I first tackled these, I chiseled out EVERYTHING. Not anymore. I drill out as much as I can now. It takes me about ½ - 45 min to cut an almost flawless bow tie when in the beginning it took me at minimum 1 ½ -2 hours a pop!

you can do them with just your chisels and a drill, but i did get a router hand plane and man does that make it fly!
you want to start by taking your plumed dutchman, lying flat on the crack or boards to be joined. HOLD DOWN FIRMLY! take a razor or very sharp knife and trace the outline of the dutchman onto the surface.

once you have those marks I will take a pen/sharpie/pencil depending on the timber, and go over the line I traced into the wood!
Carefully drill them about an ⅛ of an inch off that line

This is where your chisels have to be razor sharp
Holding your chisel straight up and square to the line but not on the line , taking only 1/32 cuts! start cutting out the excess
This is when you have to be extremely precise! there are three on this piece that I will be replacing due to the fact of a gap I don't like being visible.

Once you get these cut almost to the line, I will take my router plane or your chisels and flatten the bottom. The bottom isn't as crucial as the sides, but to get a proper fit you want as much flat and square/plum as possible

I have learned that getting one side of the dutchman cut perfect, than tapping it down in minutely and than tracing and or fine tuning the side that is cut already a bit to make ALL the sides match the lines you scribed

once you get an absolute tight fit with just a few SOFT taps, just enough to secure the key. Take out your multi square and make sure the sides of the tenon part of the key, is square to the top. once you get the entire piece square you want to undercut slightly for the key. Makes driving it home much easier!

This is the time to Pray lol, its a lot of work to find out you failed. Take your time. Don't get discouraged, you can always cut that failed one out and add a slightly bigger one!! this is an extremely efficient joint and can add a lot of contrast to any piece!!!
















The one on the end is the one i have to figure out how to fix. It was punky around that area.I just glued temporarily back on the chunk that blew off. completely makes the outer dutchman worthless as a joint!!!!!!!!!????????

I had to do some on the side which were a challenge, and i will get pics of the up soon as I can!

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 1


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## ironman123 (Mar 9, 2014)

Jeff I done wore myself out just reading this and looking at the photos. You have ONE BIG project going there. Thanks for the quick bowtie tutorial.

Ray


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## brown down (Mar 10, 2014)

once i get the last few bow ties in, it should be easy from there. I am gonna rent a big floor sander which shouldn't take long!
I have to find a base but that shouldn't be that hard whenever the snow decides to melt! still have a few feet of snow up there! 

I did find a great video on how to do these. when I first learned these, I had a hard time finding good video references. this video just shows how to do them!


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## brown down (Feb 18, 2015)

What is a good finish for this slab? I have two coats of boiled linseed oil and going to be putting my third coat of sanding sealer on it shortly. will poly work? I have many more coats of sanding sealer to go yet at least 4-5. the last pic is with the second coat of sanding sealer 


 

 

 

copper inlay in the small cracks and voids

Reactions: EyeCandy! 2


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## brown down (Feb 18, 2015)

coat of sanding sealer! I would like to put something that pops the grain but not as shiny! thanks for the help and input

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## davduckman2010 (Feb 18, 2015)

looks awsome jeff a lota work

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## NYWoodturner (Feb 18, 2015)

Nice work Jeff! Cant wait to see it after final coat. Hell it looks great like it is.

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## woodtickgreg (Feb 18, 2015)

Is your sanding sealer just a shellac based sealer? Thinned with alcohol and dries really fast? If so you could top coat with a oil based poly and rub out with 0000 steel wool to kill the gloss. The linseed oil and sanding sealer has popped the grain all that it will, now you want a good protecting top coat. jmo

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## brown down (Feb 19, 2015)

I use a 50-50 mix of alcohol and poly, dries quick depending on how thick you put it down!! When the wood gets wet you can really see the figure and color changes in this slab but as soon as it dries it isn't as visible. wondering if I should go with something a little shinier maybe semi gloss? has anyone used that epoxy you pour on the top? bars use it a lot I can't think of the name!


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 19, 2015)

That epoxy coating is cool, but I don't know if you can put it over a poly finish? I think the stuff is called mirror coat? I know woodcraft sells it.


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## Mike1950 (Feb 19, 2015)

Being end grain You are going to have to get it to stop sucking up the material. I would cut the thinner down until you start to get a build...... I hate epoxy finishs- they look like a 1/4 inch of plastic on wood- why? cause that is what it is.........


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## brown down (Feb 20, 2015)

I have about 5-6 coats of sealer on it and it was enough to fill the end grain. I have one coat of poly on it but think it needs a few more! I agree that those finishes look thick. up where we used to go fly fishing up pine creek, there is a bar that has that finish on it and is hands down the coolest bar. in the top they have flies sealed into the top. I have a friend who used it on the top of his bar and didn't do it right now has bubbles and a lot of flaws in the finish!

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## Mike1950 (Feb 20, 2015)

If you want more shine try Arm-R-Coat


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## brown down (Feb 26, 2015)

and finally finished! glad I can finally cross this one off the list!

Reactions: EyeCandy! 2 | Way Cool 9


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## Mike1950 (Feb 26, 2015)

LOOKS great- What did you end up with for finish?

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## Kevin (Feb 26, 2015)

Jeff that turned out very very nice. Excellent job!

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## brown down (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks guys! I kept putting sanding sealer 50-50 mix of alcohol and poly until I had a good seal on it. which was about 6 coats or so. I wet sanded between each coat to 1000 grit. the final two coats were sprayed poly semi gloss.... not a big fan of super shiny but opted for the extra shine over satin which showed the grain real well. If I counted right its about 110 years old but that was a few beers so my count could be off a bit

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## davduckman2010 (Feb 26, 2015)

brown down said:


> and finally finished! glad I can finally cross this one off the list!
> 
> View attachment 72502
> View attachment 72503
> ...





brown down said:


> Thanks guys! I kept putting sanding sealer 50-50 mix of alcohol and poly until I had a good seal on it. which was about 6 coats or so. I wet sanded between each coat to 1000 grit. the final two coats were sprayed poly semi gloss.... not a big fan of super shiny but opted for the extra shine over satin which showed the grain real well. If I counted right its about 110 years old but that was a few beers so my count could be off a bit


beautifull pieces jeff congrates well worth all that work

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## ironman123 (Feb 27, 2015)

Jeff, those are absolutely fabuloso. Love the natural shapes and the butterflies look great. Your parents are surely proud of your work and of you.

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## NYWoodturner (Mar 1, 2015)

Jeff those are sweet! The finish came out extremely well.

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## Aurora North (Mar 30, 2015)

Jeff, you're a beast dude. Those tables freaking kill it!

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## David Van Asperen (Apr 13, 2015)

Fantastic and informative. Thanks
Dave

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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