Dear Design Geniuses (and otherwise clever people),
I have been working with a fun piece of walnut burl. Yesterday I used the drum sander to get the bandsaw marks off. It is now .22" thick (22 caliber walnut???). The double book-matched piece is 20" x 36" if I square off the ends, or 20" x 48" from point to point.
I am leaning towards making a coffee table or sofa table. I think I'll rule out a cabinet with Krenov style base, because .22" is too thin to stand alone as doors and I do not have enough to cover both sides of a substrate. (Stop me if I say something stupid - a lot of this is new ground for me).
I am thinking of using some MDF for substrate. I have some .2" mdf on hand, but I could get thicker mdf or baltic birch ply if that is better. For this thickness, I plan on using regular Titebond glue.
What base design would you picture with this piece? Smooth jointed like simplistic version of Maloof? Stickley style joints? Something else?
And then my biggest question is about trim.
I could easily trim it as a rectangular piece with walnut or a contrasting lighter wood.
I can't figure out how to take advantage of that live edge on the ends, since a substrate would show through. I could glue it to walnut and cut it to match the live edge, but the moisture / movement could be all over the place.
An oval trim might be nice. I would need to learn how to use templates to get the outer edge of the burl to match the inner edge of the trim. I'm sure that's possible but I don't know the technique.
Finally, I plan to seal any cracks with epoxy/sawdust paste or with super glue, seal with a few coats of de-waxed shellac, top with several coats of wipe-on poly, and then wax.
I am sharing all of these ideas because I seek your creativity, critique, and correction. I hope to sell it at a church scholarship auction and I want to get as much as possible for the kids.
Thanks
Brian