Milling the North Edge

I made a template for the north edge quite a while ago, but finally milled the edge. This will be important when putting the slab in place, so it conforms to the shape of the wall (which is not perfectly flat, like pretty much every wall in existence).

Making and Installing Bowties

Cutting and Smoothing the Blank

I used a chunk of slab cutoff to make my bowties. It’s thick enough to get at least two bowties out of it, and it means I can make my cuts at the bandsaw only once. I have a nice shape and so I put it on a piece of paper, sprayed contact cement on the chunk and applied the paper as a template

It didn’t take long to rough out the blank.

Now I needed to clean up the sides of the blank, as the bandsaw left a rough edge (someday I’ll be able to afford some better bandsaw guide bearings and get a smooth cut straight off the saw - someday). I used my two rasps to smooth the edges.

I ripped my two bowties from the blank on the table saw, leaving them thick.

North Bowtie

Next, I laid out on the north bowtie. After that I excavaited the cavity, fitted the bowtie, and glued it in place.

South Bowtie

Finally, I repeated the process for the south bowtie.