How to Choose a Live Edge Slab for a Dining Table

A live edge dining table starts with the slab. Picking the right one comes down to size, thickness, species, and how much work the slab needs before it becomes a table. Here is how we walk customers through it at the yard.

1. Start with the finished table size

Measure the room before you shop. A table needs about 36 inches of clearance on every side for chairs to pull out. For seating, plan roughly 24 inches of table length per person.

• Seats 4: 60 to 72 inches long
• Seats 6: 72 to 84 inches long
• Seats 8: 96 inches or longer

Most dining tables are 36 to 42 inches wide. A single slab that wide is rare and expensive, so many tables are made from two bookmatched slabs joined down the middle, or from one slab with a river of epoxy.

2. Buy longer and thicker than the finished size

Ends are often checked (cracked) and get trimmed off, so add 6 to 12 inches to the finished length. Slabs also lose thickness when they are flattened. A 2 inch (8/4) slab usually finishes around 1 3/4 inches, which is a good dining table thickness. Thinner slabs can work for coffee tables and benches.

3. Choose the species

• Black walnut: dark chocolate brown, easy to work, and the most popular dining table slab.
• Big leaf maple: pale with dramatic figure such as curl and quilt; harder than walnut.
• White oak: hard and hard-wearing, with a lighter, more rustic look.
• Exotics such as purpleheart or black heart: striking colour for feature pieces.

Our Wood Species Library compares hardness, colour and working notes.

4. Read the slab

Look at both faces and both edges. Checks can be stabilised with butterfly keys or filled with epoxy. Bark inclusions and knots add character but may need filling. Note where the slab is thickest and flattest; that is where your legs or base should go.

5. Plan flattening, finish and base together

Most slabs need flattening before finishing. We offer slab flattening at the yard. For finish, a hardwax oil such as OSMO Polyx-Oil is easy to repair and looks natural. For the base, 28 inch steel dining legs under a 1 3/4 to 2 inch top give a standard 30 inch table height.

See slabs in person

Every slab in our live edge collection is listed with its tag number. Call (780) 229-7681 with the tag and come see it at 4607 91 Ave NW, Edmonton.