Live Edge Wood Coasters Project

Deb and I have never had coasters for our furniture.  I know you probably think that sounds bizarre.  ???? We have ONLY antique furniture and never used anything but a napkin or tissue… for the last 20 years.   Deb made the comment a few weeks back that she wants to get some.  Since moving here to the rental, we both have different, smaller side tables where we set our drinks while relaxing.  The one is more raw wood so we are worried our drinks will leave a mark.

As we were strolling through Target last week, we found live edge wood coasters and thought they were SO COOL.  The price was fantastic.  We walked around with them in our hands for awhile and we finally realize that we have an entire woods full of trees.  And thought how cool it would be to make our own out of one of the trees from that.

We were down the road from our new property making our jewelry cabinet a few weeks back.   And decided to stop and get a log in the diameter we wanted for our new coasters.

Picking the Right Piece of Wood

TIP:  Make sure the log is dry (or cured) otherwise the bark will fall off while cutting.  You will be able to tell the log is dry by the weight and the color.  

We picked a log from an old woodpile that was about 4″ in diameter and made sure it was relatively straight.  Deb used her miter saw to cut each piece about one inch thick.   Even though it was a cured log, the pieces were still wet from just being outside.  Once home, we didn’t want them to dry out and warp.  So, we sandwiched them between a layer of paper towels to get them acclimated to the temperature and the dryness of the house.  We placed a big wooden box on top of them with two paint cans holding them down so that they wouldn’t warp and didn’t touch them for about a week.  You could obviously use a stack of books, bricks, etc.

Finishing the Live Edge Wood Coasters

Deb sanded each side of the coasters two times with her DeWalt sander using 120 grit sand paper.  She sanded them one final time with 220 grit to get them smoother.  After wiping off each coaster, she then sprayed each side with three coats of Krylon Low Odor Clear Finish Spray in Matte, letting them completely dry between coats.  You can really use any type of spray finish.  We used this water based so it doesn’t yellow over time like regular polyeurethane finishes do.

I think they turned out so stinking cute.  I love the fact that the wood is from our property.  Every time I look at them, I will think of this little project and how we got it from our own land.  My wheels are turning now.  I want to make some risers, trays, etc, out of the bigger logs….   We need to get Deb’s workshop done STAT!  ????

What do you think of our second little DIY of the year 2020?  If you missed the first one, it was the jewelry cabinet I mentioned earlier.  Let me know in the comments what other ideas you would want to see as far as DIYs go.  We have a bigger one coming SOON.  I’m so excited about it.  I’m pretty sure you will be, too.