Tree Slab Lounge Table With Rgb Led Lights

A while back, I was in a lumber company for a job and during the lunch break I suddenly saw a large circle standing in a dark corner. On closer inspection it turned out to be a large slab of a tree about 1.8 m wide! When I spoke to the owner of the company about it, it turned out that it stood there for more than 20 years. He saw that I was interested and asked if I wanted it, as it was of no use to him and was actually in his way...... YES PLEASE!!!!! I didn't know yet how I was going to move that large piece of wood to my workplace, but you can't pass up an opportunity like this! And a few phone calls later, and I had some friends and a big van available. After a few months thinking what i could do with it, I decided to turn it into a lounge table for a covered patio. It was heavy and to big for inside the house.

It wasn't a difficult project and I think most people with a little bit of material can also make it.

here are the necessary materials:

1. A big tree slab about 12 cm thick

2. Beam 10x10 200 cm long

3. Flat iron beam 4x0.5 200 cm long

4. Iron square tube with inner dia 10x10 cm 50cm long

5. Wood bolt 8x40 mm

6. Washer m8

7. Led profile 200 cm long

8. RGB set with remote controle

9. Linseed oil 2L

10. Black spray can

Equipment needed:

1. router

2: 8.5 metal drill

3. Cordless drill

4. Welding machine

5: Band saw or angle grinder

6. Belt sander

7. Sander

8. Wood chisel

9: Spirit Level

10: fitting plates

11: Soldering iron

Because the tree slab had been standing straight against the wall for a long time, the center had moved forward during drying, so not straight at all. the first step is to level one side first and then the other side.

I first laid the most stable side flat on the ground and put fitting plates under it where necessary.

then I took 2 wooden beams that I had lying around and placed them to the left and right of the tree slab. Now you have to make sure that the 2 beams are level with a spirit level and fitting plates. make sure they are secure.

Then place the 2 L-profiles on the 2 beams as shown in the photo and start going over them with your router.

Slide the 2 iron L-profiles a little bit further and when you are at the end. Start again on the other side until you have straightened the entire surface. I had to go over it 3 times until it was completely flat and it took a long time.

Now you have a flat side and turn the piece over. Do the same on the other side.

In the end the table top was only 9 cm thick but that was still more than enough.

First I wanted to make the bottom a bit nicer so that the stripes of the router were less visible. I took the belt sander with sandpaper grid 60 and went over the whole piece.

I didn't do more than this because I wasn't going to lie under it and look at the bottom. But of course you can sand with a higher grit and give it a nicer finish.

Because the top is so heavy I chose to provide iron holders for the wooden beams so that they would be sturdy.

First I drew a square area on the bottom (photo 1)for the iron frame where the iron holders would be welded. I wanted the legs to be an equal distance from the sides. But because the tree had a more oval shape, I had to use more of a trapezoid shape. then draw a second square at a distance of 4 cm.

Then take your router and cut the shape out about 0.5 cm deep (photo 2). Do the four sides so that you fit the iron frame in it (photo 3). Cut out the corners with a chisel.

Place the iron flat bar on the slots and mark which angle they should be for cutting them. This can easily be marked by the cross on it. Then take your angle grinder and cut them on the markings and round the corners a little for welding later.

Place the iron bars in the slots and tack weld them together (photo 4). Take out the rods and weld them completely now.

The wooden legs had to go out a bit, so the iron holders have to be cut at an angle at about 10 degrees. I had a band saw available so it was easy (photo 5-6), if you have to do it with a angle grinder you will have to do a little measuring.

Place the iron holders on the four corners of the square bracket and weld them together (photo 7-8). Drill the holes for the bolts (photo 9). I drilled 3 holes on each side and 4 holes in the iron tubes for the legs (photo 10).

And finally paint everything black and bolt the bracket against the tree slab (photo 11).

First of all, the sides had to be cleaned up because there were rotten spots here and there from standing on the floor. Just cut off the soft spots with a wood chisel and then flatten the whole side with the belt sander (photo 1).

First I gave the underside 3 coats with oil before turning it over (photo 2).

Now we can start with the top, first start roughly with sandpaper grit 60 and work up to 220 (photo 3). I must say that I underestimated how much time this takes. It was a few days of sanding.

Before I gave the top the oil layers, I first mounted the wooden legs. I took a length of about 30 cm and also sawed them off at an angle of 15 degrees. Now bolt them in their place, oil them an you can turn over the slab (photo 4-5). I also mounted plastic circles on the underside of the legs. When the floor got wet, the legs were not directly on the floor (photo 6).

In the end I liked a rounded edge and used a router with a semicircular router bit to have a nice rounded transition (photo 7).

Now the oil can be applied to the top. I had to give 4 coats until the wood was saturated (photo 8-10).

I bought a set in the hardware store and everything is already connected so it couldn't be easier electrically. The only thing that had to be done was sawing the aluminum profiles to size at a length of 50 cm at an angle of 45 degrees and the LED strip had to be cut into several pieces and soldered back together in the corners. Connect the wires as you bought the set and test.

The project took a few weeks but was actually not that difficult to make. If you're ever lucky enough to get such a tree slab like me I think it's a good way to bring the piece out in its full glory, it would be a shame to cut something like that.

Thanks for reading this guide and I hope you can use it for your own projects .