THE TRADE SECRETS OF BUILDING YOUR OWN TABLE TREE

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It you've ever tried to fabricate one of those tables made from a massive slab of log you know there's more than meets the eye to the project. That is: A thick and imposing slice of wood cut diagonally from most tree trunks may look as solid as granite the day it's buzzed out . . . but there's almost a 100% chance that it'll warp, crack-even "explode"-as its fibers dry and shrink.

Ah, but there's a very simple "trade secret" known to the folks — such as Rey Sheldon of Marlboro, Vermont (shown here) — who make this kind of furniture for a living. A secret guaranteed to keep those beauteous, burly cross-sections of timber from cracking after you've worked with them.

The secret? Cut your slabs only from old hardwood logs that have lain out in the woods so long that mushrooms have started to grow on them. No one really quite knows why, but mushrooms growing on a dead and downed tree trunk seems to be a near-infallible indication that the log has already naturally cured wall past the warping and cracking stage.

Another point: Once a tree has been down long enough for ground fungi to grow on it, the splintered end of its trunk will probably have rotted so much that you can poke a finger right through that part of the wood. Don't lot the fact discourage you. Chances are good that this is only another sign that the main body of the log is just starting to really cure well. Use a crosscut or chain saw to slice out the lengthwise slab or oval that you want. It the wood is solid-not rotted or punky — all the way through where you make your cut, it doesn't really matter what the log looks like on its end.

Take your slab of wood home and-just to make sure-lot it age in a dry place at room temperature for an additional two months. If it hasn't cracked by that time, it probably ain't ever gonna. That's your signal to get down to work.

Pry the bark off the slice of timber and dig out whatever rot may have started around its edges. It there are any minor checks or small breaks in the wood's surface that won't show on the finished piece of furniture, you can fill them with epoxy that has been tinted with brown shoe polish or some other coloring. It the checks will show, save some of the finest sanding dust from the project, strain and sift it, and then mix the dust with clear Krylon. Apply this filler in thin layers and let it dry for a full day between coats.