Building A Live Edge Floating Shelf

Design and Fabrication

In this episode, I build a custom floating Shelf with a live edge for a Colorado Home. The shelf is made from a walnut slab and is adorned with ebony bowties inlaid into a defect in the slab.

Summary

Walnut Shelf Creation and Inlay Process

Brian discussed his process of transforming a walnut slab into a floating shelf. He detailed the challenges he faced, such as the slab’s twist and its width being too large for his jointer. Brian explained how he used a router slide to flatten the slab and then used a planer to remove any marks left by the router. He then power-carved the slab to create an organic shape inspired by water erosion. Afterward, he used a wire brush to remove loose materials from the rotten wood. He also shared his method for creating bow tie inlays using ebony, which involved drawing the designs, cutting them out on a bandsaw, and then inlaying them into the shelf’s edge over a defect. Finally, he cut the shelf to size at an angle to create a focal point with the rotted wood.

Installing Walnut Shelf in Stairwell

Brian discussed the process of installing a shelf in a stairwell. He used a compass to transfer the wall shape onto a plywood template. Once the template was fitted perfectly, he transferred the shape to the walnut shelf. After sanding the walnut to fit the wall shape, he checked it for square and made adjustments as needed. He marked the stud locations on the wall and transferred them to the slab for accurate hardware installation. Brian also created a story stick to help locate the mounting hardware and made lateral adjustments to level the shelf. The final step was to test if everything fits together.