To design a custom dining table that you’ll love forever, a great place to start is with the top; specifically how the top will be constructed. No matter the style dining table you’d like to have custom crafted, if it will be crafted from wood, you have only a few options:

Economy

A painted or glazed wood plywood top with a solid wooden trim edge that runs around all 4 sides (think of a picture frame surrounding plywood) is an inexpensive option. A single sheet of plywood costs about a quarter the price of the wood needed to craft a solid wood top. Plywood is generally sold in 4’X 8’ sheets and may require only a cut or two to make the piece the correct size. Running the molding along the edge is also inexpensive, requiring little material and time.

Photo: Kodama

Pieced

Most of the tops that we craft are made from individual pieces of wood of various sizes. When these pieces arrive at our shop, we plane them down to the required thickness, cut the pieces to a uniform width, and then join them together to form a wooden top with a solid wood edge. The price of the top depends on its size and the type of wood used to craft the piece. Wood can be selected to highlight grain patterns, or even highlight color differences present in different wood species. This is the way we would craft a table from reclaimed or antique wood.

Photo: Kodama

Veneer

A veneer is a paper thin piece of wood. For a veneered table top, we apply the veneer to a plywood base. Like the “economy” option above, these tables are crafted with a solid wooden edge that matches the species of wood veneer used. Applying veneer can be time consuming and requires a great deal of experience. We use a vacuum bag to glue veneer to the substrate as this tends to result in superior adhesion. Because it is so thin, a piece of veneer is generally less expensive than a solid wooden top of the same species would be. However, due to the labor involved this is a mid to high priced option, especially if the veneer is a unique or high quality piece, such as a burl.

Photo: Kodama

Slab

A gorgeous and costly option, a slab top comes from a single piece of wood. The piece is selected for its size, grain, and color. The wood must be dried prior to use and this process alone can take months. Sometimes the slab is left with a live edge, using the natural exterior shape of the tree, and removing only the bark. Alternatively, the edge can be sculpted if the piece is irregular and not suited for use as is. Finding and selecting a suitable slab for these types of tables can be time consuming depending on the size and type of wood desired.

Photo: Kodama

Create for the Cure, a silent auction to benefit the American Cancer Society, was held last night at Clark Advanced Learning Center on the campus of Indian River State College’s Chastain Campus.  Kodama donated a custom crafted “Handyman’s Chess Set” that included chess pieces created from nuts, bolts, and other hardware.  The set includes a storage box with a sapele top and sold for $180.00.  Tony and I had a great time looking at the student exhibition and chatting with the young artists, many of whom created digital media pieces.  Create for the Cure is an annual event at Clark and was started in 2013 by students Mia and Tessa Pray, who organized the event in both 2013 and 2014.  This year’s chair is Sarah Wetterer, who contributed several pieces featuring animal life.  The event was a great success, raising more than $1,000 for cancer research.

Photo: Kodama