new maple display slab.

recently acquired a 10 foot piece of beautifully figured maple.  laying out the plank to make best use of grain, and natural edges,  I am hoping to get at least 4 display slabs of different sizes and shapes from this wood.  pictured below is the first and largest piece cut from the plank.  about  6 inches of the edge is natural.  the rest has been created with tools.

best wishes,   sam

new slab blank just cut from mother plank    6 inches of natural knobby edge  trying to copy mother nature  creating interest all the way around.  sanded ready for stain, edges and top first coat top[/url ]first coat bottom  more color contrast edges  grain closeups[/url[/url[/url  several days dry time.  then finish coats.  more pictures, then.

beautiful grain, lovely, wish I had a tree impressive enough to display on it.

thanks leo.  appreciate your comments.  sharing  pictures after first of many  coats of lacquer. the beauty of the wood exceeds expectations.

best wishes,   sam



grain detail. left, center, right side.  [/url[/url

That's a beautiful piece of wood, and a very nice end result. Hoping you'll share some pictures of the other pieces as you get to them.

J

Did you use a bandsaw or a planer?

Thanks

Frank

thanks, J and frank.

yes, I will post other slabs in the days ahead. the wood was already rough sawed into planks about 1 inch thick. I had the vendor run it through his big planer several times to level the surface and acquire the desired thickness. in fact, I'm having the remainder of the plank further planed to .5 inch so the thickness is in proportion to the smaller slabs in the making.

best wishes, sam

Aloha' Sam... 
Awesome wood and even better craftsmanship!
Your bed of nails, and edge detail have answered two of my needs,
great ideas! first time ever seen nail bed! will be very useful for me!
Great pictures and effort to share your talented crafts with us newguys.
Thanks for the close up pictures on finishing edge way to look more natural.
I now thanks to you have a drying tool to make and carving technique to try,
as a beginner I appreciate your tips on methods used... 
stonener
*seeing possibilities*

happy to share. good luck with your projects.

best wishes, sam

mahoko

the first slab  taken from the mother plank measured 37" X 14"  1.0".  pictured below is the remainder from which additional pieces are planned.  tentative  ideas for additional slabs are sketched on the wood - trying to use what remains to best advantage.  additional shots with captions follow the process from start through the first coat of stain.

best wishes,   sam

about 7 feet of wood remains.  some slab forms are drawn with a marking pen  

 before any cutting took place,  the plank was planed from 1 inch down to 1/2 " thickness so the new slabs would be thinner and lighter.  after drawing and redrawing different shapes on the wood, the harvest was 5 new slab blanks of various styles and dimensions  the most time consuming/difficult process is to create interesting

margins. as new ideas pop up, I try them out.  some work, most do not. the current edge design I like-until something better comes along.   here is a before margin texture and a couple of afters [/url[/url

next comes torching and wire brushing the edges,  then sanding flat surfaces with 4 grades of  sandpaper,  then a coat of stain.

ready for staining.

stained  [/url

more later

Great results...will be a nice reference for folks looking for advice.

thanks, john

best wishes,  sam

the newest batch of display slabs received a first finish coat of lacquer today-additional coats go on in the days to come.

best wishes,   sam
[/url[/url[/url[/url

the slabs are far enough along to call them finished.  posting individual pictures and dimensions for reference.
interested?   send a PM.

best wishes,   sam

#1  large elongated slab.  26"X15"X0.5    #2  Largest slab.  37'X13"X1.0     #3  large oval  25"X11"X0.5     #4  small free form  11"X7"X0.5   #5   med.free form  12"X7"X0.5   #6  small elongated   17"X4"X0.5

Sam, beautiful work and great tutorial. Thank you for sharing this!

thanks todd. these are available, if you know anyone who is interested.

best wishes, sam

Hey Sam!
you set the bar high! results clearly show the level of your expertise... 
your overwhelmingly awesome results will be difficult to duplicate.... 
But your great step by step instructions are truly inspiring to say the lest... 
I will give it a try and get back to you with my results... 
stonener
*learning to fish*

wish you success

best wishes, sam