Page 10 · Furniture
The walnut tree from the garden
After a storm, the 90-year-old walnut tree had to come down. Three years later the family sits at it – as a table for ten.
Starting point
The brief
In February 2023 a large limb broke off the old walnut tree behind the Becker family’s house. The tree could not be saved. Instead of turning it into firewood, they called us.
We inspected the trunk on site, had the sawmill cut it into 55 mm planks and stacked them in our timber shed. Walnut takes time: roughly one year of air-drying per inch of thickness, then a few weeks in the kiln.
The wish: a live-edge dining table as long as the dining room allows – and two benches from what was left.
The wood decides when it is ready. Not the calendar.
Wood and finish
Materials
Also used
- Linseed oil, four coats
- Hidden steel battens under the top
- No epoxy in the cracks
Sizes & facts
- Top size
- 280 × 98–106 cm
- Thickness
- 5 cm
- Moisture content when built
- 9 %
- Top weight
- about 85 kg
How we went about it
Process
Felling and sawing
The trunk was cut to 2.90 m and sawn into planks at the mill. We sealed the ends with wax straight away.
Three years of patience
Stacked with stickers, under a roof, open to the wind. Moisture checked once a year.
Choosing planks
Out of eleven planks, the family chose the two whose edges match best.
Securing the cracks
Instead of filling two drying checks, we stabilised them with ash butterfly keys.
Base and oil
A walnut trestle base, the top on hidden battens so it can move. Four coats of oil.
38 months
Timeline
- Sawing1 mo
- Air-drying34 mo
- Kiln1 mo
- Workshop2 mo
4 drawings
Picture story
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