My journey into making slab tables started back in around 2012 when I bought a 70mm thick piece of very old oak off an eBay seller in Lincolnshire. Not having much in the way of tools/techniques I simply sanded the cupped and twisted slab before treating it with danish oil.
It was mounted on top of some legs I fashioned out of a half moon section of an elbow of oak I also bought at the same time …..amazingly I got both for under £50
.
Over the years I’ve attempted to sort out the twist & cupping with a long plane getting it to a reasonably flat state. This weekend I decided to put the slab onto my milling table and finally get it properly levelled.
it took a couple of passes on top & bottom to sort it![IMG_1074.jpeg IMG_1074.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143842-0053fb8cc0b91b96346f0a55cbce9971.jpg)
here is the start on the top surface …shows how much in reality it was twisted.
![IMG_1075.jpeg IMG_1075.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143843-cdeb456b88869ae9959612aedc4d5fbf.jpg)
and after a full pass
![IMG_1076.jpeg IMG_1076.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143844-3b117772df694f3cde2b076eeb03dd2b.jpg)
here it is after levelling most of it prior to repositioning to level the other end
![IMG_1077.jpeg IMG_1077.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143845-612a83b21801cb0d92891267a0a7e2e5.jpg)
this shows how both sides were higher than the centre.
After some work with my monster Wolf belt sander then orbital discs I got it down to 400 grit and gave it a quick coat of the white spirit/tung oil/satin varnish mix
![IMG_1080.jpeg IMG_1080.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143846-db1dcd70f3c80a07d31e3a4cba8ab766.jpg)
still some work to do to eliminate the fient lines from the spillboard cutter and then I’ve plans for the legs.
More to follow
It was mounted on top of some legs I fashioned out of a half moon section of an elbow of oak I also bought at the same time …..amazingly I got both for under £50
![Beaming face with smiling eyes :grin: 😁](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f601.png)
Over the years I’ve attempted to sort out the twist & cupping with a long plane getting it to a reasonably flat state. This weekend I decided to put the slab onto my milling table and finally get it properly levelled.
it took a couple of passes on top & bottom to sort it
![IMG_1074.jpeg IMG_1074.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143842-0053fb8cc0b91b96346f0a55cbce9971.jpg)
here is the start on the top surface …shows how much in reality it was twisted.
![IMG_1075.jpeg IMG_1075.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143843-cdeb456b88869ae9959612aedc4d5fbf.jpg)
and after a full pass
![IMG_1076.jpeg IMG_1076.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143844-3b117772df694f3cde2b076eeb03dd2b.jpg)
here it is after levelling most of it prior to repositioning to level the other end
![IMG_1077.jpeg IMG_1077.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143845-612a83b21801cb0d92891267a0a7e2e5.jpg)
this shows how both sides were higher than the centre.
After some work with my monster Wolf belt sander then orbital discs I got it down to 400 grit and gave it a quick coat of the white spirit/tung oil/satin varnish mix
![IMG_1080.jpeg IMG_1080.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attachments/143/143846-db1dcd70f3c80a07d31e3a4cba8ab766.jpg)
still some work to do to eliminate the fient lines from the spillboard cutter and then I’ve plans for the legs.
More to follow