A New Table for My Pavilion
I have a new outdoor space for entertaining family and friends here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Last fall, after cutting down a large yew tree at my former East Hampton home, I decided the lumber would make a beautiful table for my new pavilion outside my pool. To make it, I called on the help of master artisan Peter Billow, owner of Peter H. Billow Fine Woodworking in Brooklyn, New York. Peter's experience with yew was limited to veneer, but he researched the wood's properties and behaviors and got right to work. Peter started with milling and cutting, and then moved on to the process of joining, planing, gluing, balancing, and then finally sanding and finishing. It took several weeks to complete, but I am so pleased with the final result and exquisite woodwork.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Yew wood, Taxus Baccata, is a species of evergreen tree in the conifer family. Yew is native to Western, Central, and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, Northern Iran, Southwest Asia, and is also known as common yew, European yew, and English yew. After the yew was cut and made into usable lumber, I stored it in my run-in shed until Peter could pick it up.
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- Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood, similar to cedar and pine. Look at the beautiful wood with all of its knots. Yew is easy to work with and is very flexible.
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- Peter relocated all the yew to his shop in Brooklyn, where all the work happens. The heartwood of yew tends to be an orange-brown, at times a darker brown or even purplish hue. It is often used for cabinetry and tool handles. The hard, slow-growing wood is also used to make gates, furniture, parquet floors, and paneling.
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- Peter and his team started with the rough milling. While the wood was kiln dried, the wood showed significant signs of checking and warpage, so Peter had to be very careful to mill it properly. He found that the internal tensions and stress of the wood made it a bit challenging to saw.
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- Here’s a closer look at some of the typical burls, knots, and intricate patterns.
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- Peter had to cut around major checks and knots as the wood would bind on the saw – this part of the process was slow going.
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- Here are the cut pieces spaced with smaller wood shims to allow air to circulate between the pieces and allow the wood to acclimate after milling.
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- Here are the cut pieces for the trestles and legs.
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- Once the rough cutting was finished, Peter and his crew moved the wood to the jointer and planer. Planing the wood happened over many days. They “opened” the wood up and let it sit to acclimate over a period of time before “thicknessing,” or bringing each piece of wood to a consistent thickness throughout its length. This is done to minimize the wood’s internal tensions.
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- Here, the trestle pieces are joined and glued. Fortunately, yew glues, finishes, and turns quite nicely.
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- Once Peter had all of the wood “thicknessed” down to the desired size, it was time to lay the wood out. Peter checks that all the pieces have the same thickness throughout.
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- Holes are made in the criss-crossed center of the trestles for the horizontal support.
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- And this is one base after the cross piece was secured to the trestles. By definition, a trestle is a a framework consisting of a horizontal beam supported by two pairs of sloping legs, used in pairs to hold up a flat surface such as a tabletop.
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- For all the legs and trestles, Peter needed to glue up pieces to gain the desired thickness. Balancing is very important here as an unbalanced board will warp.
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- Balancing the tops is also very important and it took a significant amount of time to achieve the balanced tabletop that also looked great.
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- Once the tables were built, Peter moved on to the patching and filling of the voids and checks. This was very time consuming. If you go too far, this process can take away from the table’s natural look, but too little work and it looks unfinished. Peter had to get it just right – and he did. When this was done he started sanding. The team sanded up to a grit of 180 and then applied the first coat of finish. Pete likes to use Osmo oil with a UV additive. In between coats they re-sanded with 240 grit. Afterward, the curing process of the finish takes approximately three to five days.
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- And finally, the tables were delivered bright and early one morning last week – three total. English Yew ranges from durable to very durable when it comes to decay resistance. And, it is also resistant to insect attack. I knew it would be perfect here at the pavilion.
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- Peter’s crew carries the three tabletops to the pavilion one by one.
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- Look at the beautiful finish. Peter did not use any epoxy to fill the knots and natural holes in the wood – he left them as is.
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- I love the joinery in the trestles. The top peg is made of walnut, a very strong and stable wood that can take intricate carving.
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- Here is the third and last tabletop. Once all the tables were in place, all three were butted up against each other to make it one long table.
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- Here’s Peter in front of the long table after all the tops were well secured to the legs and trestles. Each table weighs about 300-pounds – wind will not bring it down.
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- I can’t wait to entertain family and friends at my new pavilion dining table. I bet it will soon be a favorite spot for gathering! please go to Peter’s web site for more information – just click on this highlighted link.
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