The process from raw to finished piece

I thought it would be interesting to some to see the "raw" materials transformed into the finished piece.

The nondescript grey piece of wood is a slab of teak wood that was harvested over 40 years ago. I bought it in this condition while I was in Thailand years ago. I like to harvest wood responsibly so as to do the least amount of damage to the environment as possible. The grey color of the wood is because it was left outdoors for years. The owner's intent was to eventually carve it into something decorative for the tourist market. It's likely he left this slab alone because it had several deep defects throughout its surface.

The photo with all the shavings shows the tedious and laborious process of planing down the slab to make it smooth. There were literally hundreds of chainsaw marks cut deep into the surface. Since this was harvested over 40 years ago, it was likely that the rough cutting was performed with a handheld chainsaw, rather than using today's methods of putting the huge tree through a bandsaw that would be on site. I was told that these huge slabs were removed from the jungle with elephants.

The final photos show the true color of the wood, the depth of the grain, and the finished table that weighs about 350 lbs without the 8"x8" thick teak legs.

This piece was featured in Brooklyn Designs '06.