A conference table built for a law firm in Sacramento.

We were commissioned to build a conference table for a law firm in Sacramento, CA . As you will notice, the artwork I created for the customer doesn't quite reflect the finished piece. Primarily in the design of the base. This happens as projects progress through the stages of being built. In this case it was communication between the customer and myself.
I drew exactly what they were asking for. So they then chose different descriptive terms and it all turned out fine in the end.

We had to go shopping for just the right boards for this project. The customer wanted a 'Live Edge' table with rich color. We chose Claro Walnut (juglans hindsii) for the main body. We went to 3 different specialty lumber suppliers before we settled on Baker Hardwoods in Gilroy, CA (3 hour drive) 
You can get to Baker Hardwoods here.

Here we take the artwork, lay the wood out and start a plan of attack. While doing this head scratchin Bryan finally says 'No way around it Dad, You just have to cut them in half'. These boards for this table are the MOST EXPENSIVE boards I have ever purchased. It was scary. The saying in woodworking is... I cut it twice and it's still too short!  Not in this case. whew. You can see in this series of photos the outside edge is going to be 'Live'. This is a term we use for leaving the natural shape of the wood on the edges. I do grind them and sand to make them smooth, but, still keep the natural flow of the wood.

As the conference table build continues you see there was alot of hand sanding going on. We do have a large (52") sander called a timesaver. We ran the assembled halves of the top thru to get them all ready for the hand sanding. The Bullet. It is not that uncommon to find bullets in trees. Especially urban or orchard trees. What is amazing to us is the odds of the tree being cut just right to keep the bullet in just the right spot so when we sanded the wood. It is still there and stable. A little deeper or a little shallower and it wouldn't be there. The butterfly looking parts you see are 2" thick pieces of Sycamore. They are cut and inlayed into the wood the stabilize cracks. These butterflies will keep the natural cracks in the boards from seperating any further as the wood expands and contracts.

Finish on the conference table is 6 coats of waterbased hardwood floor finish. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this conference table. We would love to make a unique statement in your conference room.