Plan ideas

""  BTW did you make the pool table attached to this email?  One more question, I suspect I will lean towards 10 feet (need to confirm with decorator).  About how much would the table run me? ""

The above question typically arrives with the first or second email inquiring about a slab top table ... It is kinda like how much is a house? or how much is a new car?  The answer, obviously, is, it depends .... on what? ... heres a list. 

Size:  The most popular size request I get is for a table about 4 wide and 8-10 long.  Obviously, that requires a pretty big tree, something on the order of 5 to 6 feet in diameter, as the slabs in the immediate center of the tree contain the pith, an unstable area prone to checking and humping the centers of the slabs from that part of the log.  The best and widest slabs come from about 6-10" on either side of the dead center of the tree.  Since about 4 wide is the most popular requested size, that also puts pressure on the supply end for slabs of that size, making them more expensive than something in the 36" wide range, before they even arrive here at the shop.  Once we agree on which particular slab you like, then we can start discussing the finial price

Thickness:  The next item on the list is table top thickness.  Think about it;  3" thick?  twice as much wood as 1.5" thick .. 1/2 as many slabs from the log; twice as long to kiln dry them ... You do the math.

Finish:  How rough/smooth, twisted, humped, etc. is the actual slab when it arrives.  Thats something that is difficult to tell from my suppliers website, though Im learning what to look for.  Goodhope (and i only shop at Goodhope) is VERY good at drying these things, so usually I expect them to be fairly flat, but its still a process to get the big ones ready to finish.  Does the slab require butterflies to decorate and/or stabilize the cracks?  Are you insisting on no cracks? (good luck), or would you like the cracks filled smooth and even with the rest of the slab?  These are all things that add to the cost of smoothing and finishing the rough slab.

The Base:  In our shop, we offer many different designs with many different prices and we are always open to new concepts.  Our waterjet cut Shaker style bases are our most popular and typically range in price from $3500. per set in natural steel finish to $3900. per set with a rainbow or blackened patina shown below.  for a brief tour of possible bases we have already done, check this blog post.
summing up quickly, our claro walnut tables range in price from (very occasionally) as low as $5000. (smallish table, 32-35" wide x 72" long, simple welded base) to $20,000. or so for really big ones.  most of the tables we make fall into the $10,000., to $15,000. range.   the details above, plus shipping and set up in your home, invariably determine the final, fixed price.  just as every days different, every tables different too.  

and, every maker is different too.  granted, i dont have a fancy storefront in a big city, or a huge inventory of finished tables to pick from, but the prices listed below in an article in this weeks new york times home section (which actually prompted this blog post) made feel a little bit like a chump from the sticks up here in vermont.  we do what we do, and try to give our clients a fair price for a product thats the best we can produce.  here is a link to some testimonials from our recent clients ...click the photos below to enlarge them ...

up next, another claro walnut slab table.  this one will be about 52" wide by 102" long after i make the final cuts tomorrow. the base will be welded steel, similar to the one on the desk we made in july  and the dining table we sent to aspen in august.  click the photos to enlarge them.
sam is ready to weld the base pieces tomorrow, and the jig is ready to go too.



the process of moving these tables from the rough slab to the final dimensions is one that we approach very slowly, a bit at a time.  once you cut something off, theres no sticking it back on again.  and, a lot of the time, we disagree amongst ourselves what is the best cut to make.  we try to involve the client as much as possible, but its often hard to portray in photos what exactly it is that we see in front of us. 
 in this case, we started by trimming off the legs, and obvious choice.  we did leave a little bit of the crotch showing on the face side, and we may go back and trim that a bit more before we finish.
 we then cut some of the cracked portion off the far end as the table wants to be around 102" long when we finish it.

we then did some rough planing and splashed a little alcohol on it to check the figure .. looks good.