Winston Elliott Capstone

For My Capstone I created a live edge side table. These tables are special because they are generally made of one continuous slab of wood and sometimes the edge of the table is the actual edge of the tree. I knew I wanted to make something with my hands and because I am part of the SLA CTE engineering program I have access to the engineering shop. The Process for making a table like this started with creating engineering drawings to flush out your vision for the piece. Next I found a beautiful black walnut slab in a local lumber yard. I quickly got to work cleaning up the wood, removing dead wood, bark, and milling it so it was flat. Large slabs of wood almost always have cracks and holes which I’m choosing to fill with a black epoxy resin. The next step is to cut the slab down to the desired table size. In my case I wanted to leave one of the edges untouched to save the natural feel of the piece. Next is a slow grueling process of sanding the table in preparation for applying a finish. The finish I’m choosing to put on my piece is a Rubio monocoat, it provides protection while also looking incredible. The last step is to attach the legs, this can be done using threaded inserts, I chose to order black steel legs which will compliment the black epoxy running through the piece.

Through this capstone I learned an incredible amount about woodworking and some of the woodworking processes required to make a live edge epoxy table. It also opened a room for personal growth, learning about how I personally react and tackle big projects.