Billy from Newton Makes shared the woodworking tip featured in this video.
Slabs have a special appeal: big, dramatic grain and the promise of skipping board glue-ups, but they bring hidden challenges that affect both design and workflow.
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Why Slabs Are Tempting
Slabs offer an immediate aesthetic payoff with long, uninterrupted grain and a one-piece look that many woodworkers find irresistible.
The perceived time savings and avoidance of glue seams make slabs attractive for furniture tops, benches, and tables, especially when the wood looks flawless at first glance.
The Hidden Challenges
Wood is unpredictable and what looks great on the outside can hide problems like bark inclusions, cracks, pith-related checks, and foreign objects that trees grow around.
Issues such as bark beetle damage can destroy sapwood while leaving heartwood sound, producing slabs that appear nice but yield much less usable material than expected.
Milling and Layout Strategies
Chainsaw milling and Alaskan-style cuts are thrilling ways to harvest slabs, but careful layout is essential because defects can force multiple re-cuts and a lot of waste.
Workflows that leave parts oversized during initial milling and let the wood acclimate before final surfacing help avoid surprises after planing and jointing.
Practical Cutting Techniques
Circular saws can pinch in slab work, so shallow passes or alternative tools like a reciprocating saw are sometimes necessary despite being messier or slower.
Resawing requires sufficient initial thickness; otherwise the slab only yields one useful board plus thin waste, so expect to make tough choices about how much to keep.
Design Decisions and Compromise
Working with slabs often means letting the material dictate the final dimensions, which can require shortening or narrowing a top to avoid defects.
Skipping epoxy fills in favor of a clean look is a valid aesthetic choice, but it usually increases the amount of scrap and forces design compromises.
Lessons for Woodworkers
Collecting a large inventory of slabs raises the odds of finding pieces that match a desired project, but it also increases the amount of milling and storage work.
Slabs offer unique beauty and character, yet the trade-offs—extra labor, waste, and unpredictable layouts—mean they are best used when those attributes are the goal.
The takeaway is straightforward: slabs can produce stunning results, but success requires realistic expectations, careful milling, and a willingness to let material limitations shape the final piece.
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