Making a table from a tree trunk is not a complex project but requires patience. First of all it will be necessary to find the raw material. If your neighbor is cutting a plant (as in my case) or you have a gardener friend you could easily find the raw material. As an alternative to the first trip to the mountains, visit a sawmill!
Cutting and seasoning
The wood, still fresh from the felling, will be cut into longitudinal slices to the fiber in order to bring out the natural concentric rings design of the wood. Maintain a cut thickness of at least 10 cm.
At this point, the long wait begins. Season the slices produced with the cut for at least two years in a dry and ventilated place.
If you see radial cracks appear not desperate, they are almost inevitable, but there will be a remedy.
Plan the plane
The upper surface of the table must be flat and soft to the touch and the rough cut made with the chainsaw will certainly need to be perfected, therefore, and the right time to try the electric planer.
With the help of a straight strip, study the surface to understand where it will be necessary to plan more to create a uniform plane. Run the strip over the sawdust from the planing occasionally. Where there will be no signature is the point where to plane. With this simple technique you will be able to obtain a good flatness.
You will have to eliminate every sign of the plane, creating a smooth and soft surface, free from splinters.
Cracks
Do not throw away the sawdust but knead it with vinyl glue and use this putty to fill the cracks.
Support
For the support use three feet, in this way the table will be stable. Fasten them with screws directly to the solid wood. In this case I painted them a beautiful green to match them with the furniture.
The total height is approximately 35 cm. Counting that the trunk is about 10 cm high. If the top is not level, place shims under the foot on the lower side before fixing it. They will be invisible when the work is completed.
Plan protection
I do not recommend leaving wood unprotected, it will get gray with dust and could stain. So it is essential that I paint it, or to obtain a natural-looking result, use linseed oil. A couple of generous coats will suffice to impregnate the wood. Pour the oil, spread them and then remove the excess.
Wax polishing
The final touch is a couple of coats of neutral furniture wax. It will protect the worktop even better by making it shiny while retaining the natural appearance of the wood both from sight and touch.
