From tree to table: Wood-Mizer hydraulic saw owner builds his first table

The beautiful white oak and walnut kitchen table received more than 1,500 online votes and made Nathan Elliott the winner of thePeople's Choice Award,competition reserved for Wood-Mizer customers.

When Nathan Elliott gripped the tabletop of the support frame he could finally see the results of his hard work. "Normally I would sell the lumber to other carpenters and not be able to see the end result of an activity that I could start myself"Nathan said. With his own Wood-Mizer hydraulic saw, Nathan was able to select, harvest and process logs to build his first table.

Nathan's rustic-style table has a white oak top and black American walnut legs. "After rough processing the lumber to final dimensions we made 90% from joinery and finishing work only with hand tools"Nathan said. "This was my first larger woodworking project"Nathan said. "I always wanted to start building rustic, farmhouse meals. This work gave me confidence and made me start other projects.”

Nathan's meal was well received and won the popularity award People's Choice Awardawarded in the 2017 Wood-Mizer customer contest, with over 1,500 online votes received. Nathan's friends knew he owned a hydraulic saw, but were surprised to see his new creation and curious to learn how he managed to build such beautiful furniture.

Mass brought an increase in his business and led to more requests for carpentry work, primarily from his wife.

The rustic style is becoming increasingly popular. It's an art form that many woodworkers spend years perfecting, and the process from tree to table as the final object of "Tree to Table" workmanship is truly special. "Anyone can buy lumber, but the knowledge and skills needed to produce lumber for a particular project from a log is something few can say they know"Nathan said.

Author: Samantha Alexander