When I first seen this 8'x54” at one end, 34” at the other, live edge slab of walnut, I couldn't help but to call it BEAST! It's just all around one massive slab of 118 year old walnut!

My clients who brought this two us, had a few ideas,

*They wanted it to be made into a desk for work☑️

*They wanted the two splits at either end to be filled with a jet black epoxy resin ☑️

They also wanted bowties for those splits
There wasn't too much concern for the finish, we would cross that bridge when we got there, and so the 3 of us carried it if a u-haul truck and two weeks later, the work on the BEAST commenced.
We ended up having to build an entire new flattening table just for the sheer size of the width at the largest end, 54”! And with the router CNC sled needing at minimum 4” extra on either side, we build ourselves a 65” wide 8’ long flat flattening table. Two sheets of 3/4” birch plywood sits on top of 2x4 framing and once it was checked twice for flatness, out came the BEAST to receive the treatment it's been waiting 118 years for! 118 years! Think about that, this walnut tree started life 3 years after the wright brothers first took flight, it was around for world war 1, the.GREAT Depression, the 2nd World War and was here when careless whisper by George Michael was first recorded in 84. All that history this walnut has been around for and here it was, in front the person who will wood either destroy its beauty or preserve it for many, much more years to come.
And preserve we did! We originally were going to use polyurethane as a topcoat finish but the more time I spent with this piece, I knew, it deserves a 1/4” thick layer of tabletop epoxy resin. And so after all the hours prepping this beauty for epoxy, we began with the seal coat follow by 2 flood coats all in the same day. I hope you all enjoyed my little read here, we don't look at wood as just wood around here, no, every piece has a story with it, whether it's seen immediately or after it's been sawdusting on you, a story behind each piece is lying in wait for it to be told, you just have read the grain and let your imagination do the translating.
Full video of the build will be uploaded our youtube channel in the coming weeks. Once we get this beautiful BEAST home, grab ourselves a couple selfies or 9, an MP4 and then we'll get this full video uploaded. Just search Fresh Brew Woodworks in any major social media, YouTube as well and we'll be what pops up! Don't forget to like and even better, l leave us a comment with your opinions on our work, good or bad, it's all clients and followers who make us better everyday with what we're accomplishing here at Fresh Brew Woodworks! Enjoy this brisk Friday readers! Thanks! 👍