Live-Edge Coffee Table with Hairpin Legs

This slab hadn’t been planed or sanded, so we sanded it smooth using an orbital sander, and progressing from 80- to 120- and 240-grit sanding discs. Don’t skimp on your efforts here! We ended up spending about 90 minutes sanding this down.

Wipe your slab down of any remaining sawdust. Many folks choose to stain and apply a clear coat finish to protect raw wood. We wanted to highlight all the imperfections and character of the wood, and chose teak oil as a one-step finish. We applied three liberal coats, and let this dry overnight.

Play around with your arrangement until you get the proportions that you’re looking for! We tried three- and four-leg arrangements, and also tried pushing the legs out. We decided to push the legs a little closer to the middle. No reason, we just liked the look!

Again, we knew we were using an uneven slab, so we came prepared with some 2x4s that were cut in various thicknesses. In this particular build, though, we cheated a little, and leveled out our slab by adding an extra base plate from our factory underneath one of our Hairpin Legs.

Use a pencil to mark the holes in each Hairpin Leg base plate, then drive your screws through—it’s that simple!

While using an orbital sander may sound intimidating for beginners, you'll quickly realize it's nothing to be scared of! And the result will be something you can show off to all your friends and family, and your little table will truly be one of a kind.