Live Edge Wood Bar & An Easy Way to Join Wood Planks Using Basic Tools

by Tricia @ Simplicity In The South

Here's a simple way to join boards together using basic tools. You don't need to buy a pocket hole jig or a biscuit plate joiner. We used this method to make our live edge wood bar for our cottage guest shed. There's a short video in the blog post that goes over the steps in more detail.

live edge wood bar an easy way to join wood planks using basic tools

The only supplies you’ll need are a skill saw, bar clamps, paint sticks, a razor knife and some glue.

After gluing and clamping your planks of wood, cut a 3/16" gap in the center of the clamped boards by making 2 passes with the skill saw. This gap is wide enough for a paint stick to fit. We ended up making 7 cuts spaced 10" apart.

Take a paint stick and whittle it to the shape of a boat. This follows the curve that the round blade has made in the planks. Make sure you always cut away from yourself.

Place your glue in the cut and insert the paint stick. Once the glue dries, you can shave the excess off with the razor.

This is the finished live edge wood bar that spans 7' underneath one of the windows. I'll be following this post with how we made the industrial brackets that support the bar.

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4 comments

William on Apr 23, 2017

Problem I see is that the grain on the boards goes opposite the direction of the paint sticks. As the boards expand and contract the gaps will open and possibly crack the paint sticks. Even the old timers knew how wood reacts. They would use splines along the length with all the grains in the same direction so the wood and splines expanded and contracted together. Some used a "dutchman" to keep joints from separating. Shaped like butterfly wings they would be inset across the joint preventing the gaps from opening up. Thirty plus years a woodworker I learned by trial and error. Depending on the application I use a biscuit joiner or pocket screws. Otherwise its a great looking bar. Love live edges.

1 Reply
- Tricia @ Simplicity In The South on Apr 25, 2017
  Thank you, William. I do love a live edge too. I agree that using pocket hole screws or biscuits will give you a stronger hold. I'm hoping to share a simpler way to join boards for those homeowners that don't have the tools to do those methods or advanced carpentry skills.
  
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William on Apr 25, 2017

Another way to glue two boards together is to put glue to both edges, clamp them together, and use metal or wood strapping across the joint in a few spots. Once flipped over the strapping won't even be noticed. Very minimal tools required. A lot of Hometalkers have used this technique.

1 Reply
- Tricia @ Simplicity In The South on Apr 25, 2017
  Good idea! And it sounds easy enough for the average DIYer.
  
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