customer's table

caveman · February 07, 2018, 11:39:13 PM

Several years ago a fellow called me and said he had a live oak log that was straight and 48" in diameter that he wanted us to mill into live edged slabs for him at 3" thick. After confirming that he actually knew what diameter was, so many people get it confused with circumference, we agreed to go to his place and saw his log on our manual LT-28. What were we thinking?

After punishing our 50 and 59cc Husqvarnas splitting this monster we were able to load it onto the mill and slab it up. We loaded the slabs on my trailer, hauled them to his house and sticker stacked them and assumed we were done with the project. We suggested to him to air dry it for at least a year, probably more. He called back a little over a year later and wanted us to dry it in our solar kiln. We deferred to someone with more experience, Forestry Forum member Ellmoe. We drove to Bartow, loaded the slabs and then hauled them to Bushnell Sawmill (Ellmoe) for proper drying. After they were dry we hauled them back to Bartow.

The customer was having the table built by a local shop. After quite some time, he was not completely satisfied with the progress so he paid us to haul some of the slabs to a "studio" in Tampa. Anyway, the table was finally delivered on Christmas Eve 2017 - probably three years after we sawed the slabs. He and his wife are pleased with it.

50 Acre Jim · February 08, 2018, 01:25:22 AM

That's a nice table! But darn, it must have cost him a fortune having it hauled around that much!

Runningalucas · February 08, 2018, 03:18:24 AM

That tree must have meant the world to that family!

caveman · February 08, 2018, 06:18:58 AM

Jim,
I don't think money was the issue with this project. The fellow who called me had the tree taken down on the lot where he was having a castle of a house built in an exclusive community that until the day we went to saw the log I did not even know existed in Lakeland. He wanted to please his wife and they wanted to use the tree off of their lot to build their dining room table.

Based on the "studio", the young men who were running it and the tools that were present when we delivered the slabs that they selected to construct the table out of I think the major expense incurred was from the table build.

I guess this is a situation of, Happy wife, Happy life.

SwampDonkey · February 08, 2018, 06:32:45 AM

And one heavy piece of furniture to. It looks great, but I hope it don't get moved often. ;D

You southerners sure like heavy thick furniture. ;D :D :D

ellmoe · February 08, 2018, 07:15:09 AM

That table sure looks a lot better than the slabs did! ;D Those were the heaviest slabs and the roughest looking I have ever handled. I don't remember how many times we took them in and out of the kiln. Eventually, we reached a point were we could not get the meter to drop anymore. I hope they built the table where movement is not catastrophic. It looks like they planed an inch off. I bet that was fun. Beautiful table caveman. I was happy that you had sawed it and not me!

WDH · February 08, 2018, 07:31:55 AM

3" thick live oak?

:D

caveman · February 08, 2018, 09:58:11 PM

John and I stacked and unstacked the slabs more times than I can remember. There were several of them but only a few were needed for the table. They were heavy even after they were dry. Handling those slabs green is a good way to make one's inside parts, outside parts. Sawing and moving live oak also makes us really appreciate cypress when we get a chance to saw it.

I doubt they will move the table much. The husband and wife team were going to help offload the slabs from the mill but that did not come to fruition. The pair of them probably don't add up to but about 230 lbs fully dressed for work. We tried to convince them that 2" or 2 1/2" would dry quicker than 3" and would still provide a "bold" live edge. The wife was adamant that they were 3". I am not familiar with any other species locally that is denser than live oak.

Any way, out of this project I got to meet Ellmoe (Mark) and get a tour of his operation. John and I were impressed. We also met some other good folks who earn their livings making things out of wood.