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Craftsmanship

Five stages, none of them hurried.

From a board on a trailer to a table in a room takes us the better part of a year. Most of that is waiting for wood to be ready.

A tree takes eighty years to make a tabletop. We try not to rush the last one.

  1. 01

    Sourcing

    Boards come from regional sawyers, urban salvage and storm-felled trees within a day's drive — plus reclaimed fir and pine pulled from barns and mill buildings. Each board is chosen for a specific table, not bought by the pallet.

  2. 02

    Milling & drying

    Slabs are air-dried a year per inch of thickness, then finished in a dehumidification kiln down to 7–9% moisture content. Only then are they flattened, because a top milled wet will cup no matter how well it's joined.

  3. 03

    Joinery

    Mortise and tenon at every leg-to-apron junction, drawbored and pegged with riven oak so the joint tightens rather than loosens. Tops are edge-joined with loose tenons; breadboard ends float on elongated pegged slots.

  4. 04

    Finishing

    Machine-sanded to 120 grit, then hand-planed and hand-sanded to 220. Three coats of plant-based hardwax oil, buffed between coats, cured for a week. Repairable in place — a scratch sands out and re-oils in an afternoon.

  5. 05

    Final inspection

    Every table is assembled, levelled on a flat reference, checked for rack and wobble, and lived with in the shop for a few days before it leaves. Undersides get the same finish as tops, because unsealed wood moves.

Materials & finishes

Four woods, one oil, no shortcuts.

Texture study in progress

White oak

Hard, pale, closed-grain and famously stable. Takes a hand-planed surface better than almost anything else and darkens gently with age.

Texture study in progress

Black walnut

Chocolate heartwood against cream sap. Softer than oak, dents a little more easily, and worth it for the colour alone.

Texture study in progress

Reclaimed fir & pine

Salvaged from barns and mill floors. Tight, slow-growth rings you can't buy new, complete with nail shadows we leave visible.

Texture study in progress

Hardwax oil

A penetrating plant-oil and wax blend — matte, food-safe once cured, and repairable spot by spot. No plastic film to peel.