All slabs are sanded to a fine smooth finish. Even though live edge slabs lend your woodworking project a natural, rustic look, you still need to finish them. If you have a live edge slab that you want to finish, first, peel off any bark in 6 to 8-inch sections using a rounded chisel. Wood slabs are ideal for counter tops, bar tops, tabletops, benches and more! Our slabs are kiln-dried to provide maximum stability and to eradicate any insects. If you work across it, you may gouge the surface and leave marks. Should the live edge face up or down on a table? Scrape the fibers off with a nylon or wire brush. After the coat is dry, sand it with 500-grit sandpaper and repeat 2 more times. Last Updated: June 20, 2019 The flaps typically only have sandpaper on 1 side. After letting the slab dry, apply 1 coat of shellac and let it dry again before sanding with 400-grit sandpaper. How much you sand the edge is up to you. For more tips, like how to fill in any voids on the surface of your wood, read on. Live Edge Wood Slabs. You don't need to finish sanding both the top and bottom faces. {"modules":["unloadOptimization","bandwidthDetection"],"unloadOptimization":{"browsers":{"Firefox":true,"Chrome":true}},"bandwidthDetection":{"url":"https://ir.ebaystatic.com/cr/v/c1/thirtysevens.jpg","maxViews":4,"imgSize":37,"expiry":300000,"timeout":250}}, SONY WF-XB700 Wireless Bluetooth Sports Earbuds Earphones Blue - Currys, SHARK DuoClean Lift-Away NV702UK Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner Grey & Purple, GREY SPRUNG MEMORY FOAM DIVAN BED SET MATTRESS HEADBOARD 3FT 4FT6 Double 5FT, Mountain Warehouse Food Flask With Spoon - 650ml, Stainless Steel Food Container, WORX WA4043 Hydroshot Rotary Brush Accessory, Jimmy Choo Illicit Eau de Parfum 100ml Spray For Her Women Ladies - EDP Perfume, Shark Anti Hair Wrap Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner AZ910UKT - 5 Year Guarantee. You can sand these off or leave them on for a cool effect. If you want to apply a finish to both sides of the wood, do the top and edges first, let everything cure, then do the bottom. Look for slabs that are at least 2 inches (5.1 cm) thick. We are The Lumber Shack, a family owned and operated online Live Edge slab supplier based in Iowa. Take these into consideration when picking your slab. Online stores are a great place to purchase unique slabs made from rare varieties of wood as well. Next, sand the surface to the smoothness you want and vacuum up any dust, or else you might end up with a messy finish. Elegant spalted ambrosia maple presents a highly colored piece of wood because the fungus causing the spalting provides an orange or yellow tone to the piece. Some hardware stores rent them out. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. You can see our current inventory of large slabs for making bar tops, tables, desks etc. If you choose to leave the voids hollow for a rustic look, skip past this entire section. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Finish-Live-Edge-Slabs-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Finish-Live-Edge-Slabs-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Finish-Live-Edge-Slabs-Step-1.jpg\/aid9734201-v4-728px-Finish-Live-Edge-Slabs-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"