
I would love to have one of those live edge tables (someday...)
@Aaron56 Lovely!
Did you notice the clear epoxy I poured in there? 3rd picture down shows the cured but not yet sanded epoxy in it and the picture below that shows it just before the actual clearcoat was shot on the entire top.
That particular epoxy is known for being the most clear stuff that can be had (looks like you poured glass if done right) and good grief it is expensive. Gets hard as a rock when cured as well...
I did 2 small test pours before doing the actual top to make sure I had things sorted out correctly for my conditions. First test piece I messed up not having enough hardener (it took several days to dry and never really got as hard as it should have), 2nd test piece I messed up by using too much hardener as it got so hot it actually heated the wood causing it to sweat air bubbles which then got forever trapped in the clear but now solid epoxy! Looked like a glass of water with an alka seltzer dropped in it that then got instantly frozen in time!
I stunk up the break / dog room for a smidge over a week doing my epoxy stuff in there.
Was the cleanest and most well climate controlled room I had there so it became the epoxy pouring / curing room!
The entire time that stuff was curing it had a specially trained Doberman standing guard over it to make sure nothing got near. If a single fly had somehow managed to get inside that room it would have been instantly homed in on and snatched out of the air before being spat out somewhere on the floor so I could see the kill when I came back inside the next time...
That girl had a strict 'If it flies - It dies' policy and was darn good at backing it up!
Dog bone stuff to lock movement / splits in place for the long term are plenty strong enough to do the job without needing any metal stuff hidden in the wood if done right.
Not a fan of steel rods and such if I can help it but...
Steel stuff in there is cheaper because it makes things easier - Not so much because it makes anything stronger.