Mother Daughter Projects

  • Blog
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Tools
    • Tool Tuesday
  • Maintenance
  • Improvement
  • Decor
  • Tech
  • Blog
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Tools
    • Tool Tuesday
  • Maintenance
  • Improvement
  • Decor
  • Tech

DIY for Homeowners

Who Knew Faux Live Edge was this Easy?!

11/30/2022

0 Comments

 
text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter!
An old board that had been outside for a long time became the inspiration for this project. The knot hole in it was epic and we thought it would made an interesting feature in a table, if only the board was live edge. 

Well, no worries! We just faked our way to a live edge using a couple of simple tools and a little time. Plus, along the way we discovered it was also fun to do!

Materials/Tools:


  • 12x2x4 Board (Home Depot)

  • Hairpin legs (Amazon)

  • DIABLO 4-1/2 in. 80-Grit Steel Demon Grinding and Polishing Flap Disc with Integrated Speed Hub (Home Depot)

  • DEWALT 20-Volt MAX Cordless 4-1/2 in. to 5 in. Grinder (Home Depot)

  • Makita 15 Amp 12 in. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser (Home Depot)

  • Drill (Amazon)

  • Jig Saw (Amazon)

  • Jig Saw blades, Bosch (Amazon)

  • Ridgid Orbital Sander (Amazon)

  • Ryobi sheet sander (Amazon)

  • Sandpaper (Amazon)

  • TYVEK Tape (Home Depot)

  • TotalBoat table top epoxy (Amazon)

  • Diamond Dust Epoxy Pigment Powder, iridescent blue (Amazon)

  • Minwax Clear Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner (Amazon)

  • Minwax Red Oak Wood Finish Oil-Based Wood Stain (Amazon)

  • Minwax Polycrylic Protective Wood Finish (Amazon)

The DeWalt angle grinder is essential in making a faux live edge.
Since we often forget what tools we use in a project, we took the time to stage them all in one area to reference them later. You're welcome. That jig saw and angle grinder are the stars of this show.
You can buy a 12x4 piece of lumber at the Home Depot for this faux live edge table.
I don't know why we purchased this board in the first place, but we still had it and decided we needed to do something with it. The actual width is 11.5 inches by 1.5 inches thick. Perfect for a small entry way table.
Cutting the faux tabletop to size on a Makita sliding miter saw.
We decided the finished table would be four feet long. We determined where we wanted the knot hole to be and cut the board to size on our Makita sliding miter saw.
Using a fresh Bosch blade, we used our Ryobi jig saw to cut a
Using a fresh Bosch blade, we used our Ryobi jig saw to cut a "live edge."
Perfecting the live edge with a DeWalt angle grinder and Diablo flap disk.
We finessed the edge with a DeWalt angle grinder fitted with a Diablo 80 grit flap disk. This was the fun part. And, yes, Steph, did let me have a turn!
Using the DeWalt angle grinder to fake the live edge.
We just sanded away until we achieved the look we wanted.
This Ridgid cordless sander is our go-to tool of choice.
Because the board was in such poor condition, it required lots of sanding. This Ridgid cordless sander is our go-to tool of choice.
Getting ready to pour the Totalboat table top epoxy.
Sanding is finished so now it's time to turn our attention to the epoxy part of the project. We started by laying down some Tyvek tape on the backside of the table top to prevent the epoxy from seeping through. This brayer insures good adhesion between the wood and tape.
I mixed up a bit of TotalBoat table top epoxy and painted this on to seal the edges of the knot holes.
I mixed up a bit of TotalBoat table top epoxy and painted this on to seal the edges of the knot holes.
Pouring TotalBoat epoxy mixed with Diamond Dust pigment powder.
I wanted the knot holes to look like tiny lakes so I mixed in a pretty blue pigment powered and poured this into the knot holes.
I used Behr pre-stain conditioner before applying the Minwax stain.
After finishing the epoxy pours, I sanded again before adding the finish. I used Behr pre-stain conditioner before applying the Minwax stain.
I added a couple of coats of Minwax water based polycyclic in clear satin to finish.
I added a couple of coats of Minwax water based polycyclic in clear satin to finish.
We used hairpin legs from Rockler.
We attached the hairpin legs and called this project done!
The finished faux live edge table.
Close up picture of the Totalboat epoxy in the knotholes on the faux live edge table.
Tiny lakes!
The finished table with the fake live edge. Mid century meet rustic.
We're not sure where this table is going to live, but it was certainly a fun, easy project to do. I'm ready to fake all the live edges now!

Please note: This is not a sponsored post. Total Boat did provide the epoxy for free.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP

Related Projects

Picture
DIY Display Stand
Picture
PVC Pipe Privacy Screen
Picture
Epoxy Coffee Tray
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    MotherDaughterProjects.com

    Mother Daughter Projects
    ​
    Steph & Vicki

    We're homeowners sharing our DIY adventures as we learn to maintain, improve, decorate, and ​use tech in our homes.
    Share your projects with us here:  
    ​#trylearnshare
    MotherDaughterProjects.com
Mother Daughter Projects, LLC ∙ est. 2015 ∙ Tallahassee, FL by Vicki & Steph ∙ Privacy Policy