I was in need of a desk for my home office. I loved the look of the live edge so I picked up a nice looking wood slab and got to work.

Supplies

Tools:

mitre saw

circular saw

chisel

jigsaw

paint brush

router

drill

screwdriver

welder

grinder with flap disk

palm sander

caulking gun

chop saw

Material:

wood slab

metal legs with fasteners

polyurethane

lacquer

flat bar steel

construction adhesive

Step 1: CAD

Here I utilized CAD to come up with a simple design I liked.

I found this slab on my local marketplace. The species is Oakanese Poplar.

Cut out a slot with a router. I used the flat bar as a straight edge and clamped it to the slab. See video for more clarity.

Cut the flat bar to length using a chop saw.
Clamp flat bar into place and grind the edge of the steel to match the profile of the live edge of the wood slab.
Clean steel with acetone to allow adhesive to stick to surface.
Adhere steel to the wood using construction adhesive. Clamp down and let cure.

I went with three coats of polyurethane on the wood surface and a couple coats of lacquer for the steel surface.

I purchased a standard set of legs from Home Depot. They were a bit too wide and needed to be narrowed.

Cut out 5 inches of material from each leg (top and bottom).
Deburr edges and sand a slight chamfer to the cut edges with a flap disk on a angle grinder. This process helps with welding.
Line up edges, clamp together, and weld the joint.
Grind weld smooth with a flap disk and a palm sander.