01
American Black Walnut
Air-dried slab / Oil Finish
The definitive live edge timber. Wide slabs, dramatic sapwood contrast along the bark edge, and heartwood that lightens from chocolate toward honeyed brown over the first decade.
Furniture — Live Edge Dining Tables
Live edge dining tables,
one slab at a time.
A live edge table keeps the outline of the tree it came from. We build ours from single air-dried walnut, white oak, and hickory slabs — checks stitched with hand-cut butterfly keys, edges worked by hand, and a blackened steel base fixed so the slab can breathe. Every table is different because every slab is. Current lead time is 12 to 16 weeks.
How a live edge table is built
(01 — 04)01
One slab, chosen first
A live edge table starts with the board, not the drawing. We select air-dried and kiln-finished slabs for figure, for the line the bark edge draws, and for what the checks and voids will do once the piece is under a room's light. The slab dictates the length and width of the finished table — not the other way round.
02
Butterfly keys and stabilisation
Natural checks are stitched with hand-cut butterfly keys in a contrasting timber, set across the grain so they hold the fissure closed for the life of the piece. Voids are either left honest or filled with a clear pour where the table must stay wipe-clean. Nothing is hidden; the repair is part of the design.
03
Steel bases and exposed hardware
Most of our live edge tops sit on a blackened steel base, fixed with slotted hardware so the slab can move seasonally without splitting. That hardware is specified deliberately and left visible — a quiet contrast to the raw edge above it. Where a client wants an all-timber piece, we cut a trestle base with wedged through-tenons instead.
04
Hand-rubbed oil finish
Four coats of house-blended oil and wax, burnished between each and worked well into the bark edge. The finish sinks into the wood rather than sitting on it, so the edge keeps its texture and the top can be repaired at home instead of being sent out.
Three timbers for a slab top
(01 — 03)With a live edge piece the species decides the drama as much as the colour. If you would prefer a square-edged top, see our handmade dining tables or read the guide to choosing hardwood.
02
White Oak
Slab / Fumed or Oil
Harder and paler than walnut, with a stronger ray fleck and a straighter edge line. The most stable option for a very wide slab that has to stay flat across the seasons.
03
Hickory
Slab / Natural Oil
The most energetic grain we work with — sharp light-to-dark banding and exceptional hardness. Best in a room that can carry a busy surface.
Cherry, ash, elm, and one-off figured slabs are available by request for custom live edge commissions.
Commission
Commission a live edge dining table.
Tell us the room and the seating count, and we will source candidate slabs and send photographs of each before anything is cut. Timber samples and a drawing follow. Current lead time is 12 to 16 weeks.
luke@greatplainswoodworks.orgWrite to the studio