Huge Japanese Tochi (栃) (Horse Chestnut) Wood Table Top with Bowtie Inlays

[@JayCWhiteCloud]

Just saw this a few moments ago...As a traditional woodworker that works in almost exclusively green wood (including slabs), I can state that "bar locking" (or attempting to!!!) any large slab can often go very wrong over time...This is less likely with quarter-sawn slabs, but if you see additional checking and/or hear "popping" sounds that are the screw heads shearing off. I have had to fix several of these over the years...Sliding dovetail splines and related traditional methods are the modality for stiffing large slabs against warping...Wood moves (as you know) and trying to stop this seldom works...The table top is beautiful and I hope you have no issues with it at all over time...Thanks for sharing the project...

[@thecarpentrylife]

Thank you for watching. I hope we don't have any problems.

[@nander1988]

Wow what a bunch of negative responses in this comment section. Table looks cool man, hope you're happy with it!

[@thecarpentrylife]

Yes, we are happy with the result.

[@andersonlong7709]

I found it surprising that given your woodworking skills as witnessed by your joinery, that you didn’t do the hand planing, butterfly keys, c channel installation etc yourself. But then it occurred to me that real estate and shop space is at a high premium in urban Japan, yes? I say this as I built custom houses including many timber frames for 18 years before gradually moving into custom furniture, which I continue with over 30 years later. As the joy is in the wood. And timber frames are for young men who haven’t had several joint replacements, so moving into furniture is a natural transition with age.

[@anthonywall5227]

Thank you

[@obryan240]

I have a horse chestnut in my yard planted in the 1920s that is not doing well. If its not hollow I will try doing something with it other then firewood.

[@robstevenson675]

I’m having a hard time imagining how that wood will expand and contract seasonally while remaining screwed to that steel. Maybe the screw holes in the steel are slots? That would help.

[@gregoryautridge8831]

Beautiful table with awesome grain.

[@thecarpentrylife]

We agree!

[@gregoryautridge8831]

Here in New Zealand, slab wood is very expensive , and not very abundant in walnut , cedar etc. we have plenty of macrocarpa , whit pine

[@gregoryautridge8831]

Do you have access to a lot of locally sourced woods only found in Japan. Here in New Zealand exotic Timbers are hard to source and if you do ,they are highly expensive. You are so lucky to have those wood options in your country.

[@crapbage]

gorgeous , just one little suggestion, in todays world we are blessed with natural high end oil finishes like osmo or rubio monocoat that are much safer for user and many other advantages compare to chemical finishes.

[@planesandcanes5094]

Such a beautiful table. i can’t find the info but about how much did a slab of wood like that cost in japan? Im a timber-framer here in the states moving to japan soon so I may be buying a lot of wood over there in the future 😅.

[@thecarpentrylife]

This slab was around $1800. That is due to its unfinished state and also because it is a very large piece of Tochi wood that is not very common. I would say that wood here can be very expensive depending on the grain and the shape. Stay tuned for another video where we walk around an area of Japan that has a lot of slabs available. Thanks for watching.

[@zhazha2540]

This is beautiful! What wood did you use for the bowties?

[@thecarpentrylife]

Those are black persimmon and black walnut.

[@zhazha2540]

​@@thecarpentrylife Oh, first time heard of black persimmon, thought it was black and white ebony, but seems closely related. Very Nice!

[@directech]

Once one epoxies all of the voids (splits, holes, etc.), bowties are completely unnecessary. Some still like the look of them, and enjoy building them into the work.

[@michaelgavin7621]

Can’t wait to abandon earth and cargo storage my live edge table within my rocket ship. Humans will love it.

[@normstavin6290]

all but center holes in c channel cleat need to be slotted or oversize with washers or washer head screws or else as top expands/contracts wood will split (unless if soft wood might? get away with snug hole screws)

[@xiaohuang9053]

I would thought that the Japanese woodworkers have a different way of building table tops but it seems very similar to some popular English maker on KZbin

[@Maxime-ho9iv]

I've just discovered your channel and I'm in awe with some videos that I'll watch for sure. But I honestly struggle to understand why, as you appear to be a wood lover, would you install those huge metal bars into your table.. and all that epoxy.. and the polyurethane finish.. Isn't it against the spirit of all this? Not only that but is it really technically better? I'm not sure. Like those metal bars, why not some beefy cross beams in dovetail slides instead (which can of course serve for the feet)? And who needs its table to remain absolutely perfectly flat anyway? Also this polyurethane will flake and scratch over time and use, and is a huge pain to maintain (you basically have to sand everything at some point), while oil and wax can simply be reapplied. Sorry if it sounds harsh but I was genuinely surprised after watching other of your videos.

[@thecarpentrylife]

Of course there are a lot of different techniques that could have been applied, but for me it was a matter of creating a longer lasting finish that was easy to maintain. The metal bars are there upon recommendation as they would stay straighter longer. Ideally, if I had greater time and more space I would have liked to tackle this table top on my own. We had help to get it flat and finished.

[@99octan]

Sauber

[@reddpanda7240]

Gotta love those wane edges, now, if they could just use a little imagination on the end cuts. Maybe an ellipse? Or a freehand cut, that mimics the wane edge? Nah! That'd be way too much work and might call for a little thinking. Customer won't know the difference, will he? Screw 'em. (I will be glad when this ''slab fad'' fades, can't be too soon.)

[@friendlylocal3731]

I agree that it's a dumb trend but when a table is done well, with a beautiful piece of wood like this one, I have no problem with it. I would love to own a table like this. What blows me away are the absurd prices people pay for absolute garbage slab tables.

[@gary24752]

Check out Blacktail Studio

[@AntonioGiungato]

Are you rich?