Four sided rough end table

[Keith Harrell]

I have some wood I'm going to use to build a table with and both my wife and I agree it needs to be a four sided rough edged table.
I can only see two designs

Picture frame miter joints edges with a center of glued up boards.
Four triangles all mitered together.

This all sounds great but I won't have a straight edge to base the miter cut from.
The wood is about 16-18" wide and 2" thick and 8 feet long. The bark is off but the rough edges I would like to preserve.

The table should be about 3-3 1/2 feet square or 3 x 4 feet
Getting these miters cut at a 45 degree so it's close to a square or if a rectangle is easier I will go that way.
Has anyone done this or I'm I missing something real easy about this.

Help. Thanks

[Sam Murdoch]

I get it that you want to preserve the live edge all around, but you are asking for trouble. Problem 1) Nearly impossible to get live edge miters at 4 corners that align without looking like bad joinery, all misaligned, mismatched and certainly uneven. Problem 2) Your corners will always be open due to wood movement.

Consider making the 4 corner miter as you describe, but rather than bringing the corners together leave them apart x 1/2" or so all centered around a center with 4 straight edges. Even allowing a gap to the center piece. The gap will be a design detail. You could get a straight edge on one side of each of your live edge pieces and from that straight edge cut the 45º miters that you need. The boards and corners can be connected with exposed dowels or tenons or even metal rods all epoxied into position.

Make sense? Otherwise

Sam

[Matt Day]

Without considering Sam's point on wood movement, why wouldn't you have an edge to work with if you mitered all around with a panel in the middle? You only need one edge to make a miter cut, and that edge will be the one that glues to the panel in the middle.

[Keith Harrell]

I like the idea of a smaller square in the center as movement would be limited and I would have a edge to miter off.
I guess you are right about having a edge if I used the panel in the center also. I would and will have issues getting the outside edges to line up now I'm thinking about it as they will vary.
This is for a outside patio so movement will be a issue also. I really hate to square up this good looking wood.

[Keith Harrell]

I like the idea of a smaller square in the center as movement would be limited and I would have a edge to miter off.
I guess you are right about having a edge if I used the panel in the center also. I would and will have issues getting the outside edges to line up now I'm thinking about it as they will vary.
This is for a outside patio so movement will be a issue also. I really hate to square up this good looking wood.

This is the wood I'm using

[Sam Murdoch]

Keith, I'm back to my first post - if you prefer not to rip an edge off either edge - connect the planks together firmly but, loose visually, with some connecting rods/pegs/tenons of sorts, leaving a gap between. Also, either forgo the idea of returning the ends with more live edge planks OR do the same as with the long planks using open miters that are "simulated" or "approximate" 45º corners. Lay the cross planks over the side planks and transfer an approximate cut line to each. The cut can be achieved with a saw on a track or following a straight edge or simply cut by free hand with a hand saw or power saw.

I can see why you wish to preserve the live edge. They are really beautiful planks. Still, my choice would be to just run two planks along side each other with square cuts at each end. The 4 side live edge thing seems a little too chaotic to me. I could be wrong. It certainly might be worth doing at least one that way. If you don't like it you can just square of the ends with the result of a shorter table. Fun to have such problems.

Finally, another option is to just build a base that will support the planks in whatever configuration you choose without the need to connect the planks together at all - just let them be suspended apart by their base.

[Kenneth Speed]

I like Sam's idea of reinventing the trestle table but I'd put battens across the bottom of the boards to hold them in position.

I was thinking you could have a somewhat thin outer frame of live edge board that you'd ripped the center out of and glued back together and then have a center table top made from boards that are live edge on the ouside and glued together with the boards ripped from the outer boards. You'd have a live edge "island" table top surrounded by a frame that had both outer and inner live edges.

Ken

[Shawn Pixley]

How about using two of the planks as the main part of the top with a gap between? You then could mke two breadboard ends with a live edge. Just an idea.

[Brian Tymchak]

Those are some really nice boards.. I know this isn't in line with your original idea, but have you considered making 2 (or more) single plank tables (pretty much like end tables) instead of 1 wider table? Gives you some flexibility in that you can move the 2 tables together or apart as cirumstances dictate.

Re from the original post - This all sounds great but I won't have a straight edge to base the miter cut from.

If you were to choose to essentially cut 4 triangles to put together, I would draw a center line down the board that is parallel to the grain and measure/cut the miter based on that. You could consider doing some hand shaping, etc, to blend the corners to look more like they were "meant" to be together. But I also agree that the wood will be moving with seasonal moisture changes.

[Tom Scott]

I'll jump in with another option. I agreet that trying to have a live edge on all four sides is asking for trouble...and just wouldn't look natural to me.
I found this pic from a woodworker (in TN I believe) that does a lot with natural edge furniture...