As a company committed to building a local sustainable wood products economy we love to highlight projects like this gorgeous Siberian Elm table, where we take a tree that was destined to a waste pile and give it new life as a piece of quality crafted, furniture that captures the beauty of nature and delivers it to your indoor spaces. With that said, please continue reading to learn more about the birth of this table, and the work that goes into making waste wood, aka “Bad Wood” good.

This tables journey started about 60 years ago on a large corner lot not too far from our mill, where it flourished under a heavy watering regime and no doubt provided it’s caretakers with plenty of cooling shade, beauty, and shelter from the wind.

A while back we were tipped off to an excavating crew removing about 10 big Siberian Elm Trees on Missoula’s N. Side. So We grabbed a trailer and headed to the urban forest. We found the spot where Western Excavating was busy clearing the way for a new house. Fortunately, they were more than willing to load us up with what remained of the trees. Luckily there were still a few large butt logs to be had, and with the help of Western Excavating we were able to salvage the trees, and give them new life as beautiful pieces of woodworking that will last for generations!

We Milled the Elm into live edge slabs and stacked them for drying.

A year later a customer came in looking for a hardwood dining table at least 36 inches wide and 7 feet long. They loved the look of the elm, but the price to have us build and finish the entire table was just too much for their budget. So we sold them the slabs, designed a table to their liking, and agreed to help with the more difficult aspects of the project like shaping and plaining the table base components, cutting out the mortises for the stretchers, and building the table top. This included re-sawing and flattening the raw slabs, epoxying cracks and holes, joining the two slabs into one, and wide belt sanding the table top.

From there the customer was able to finish the table top with Osmo Polyx Oil that we carry in house, assemble the legs, and mount the table top. In the end the table measures 44 inches wide (with the bark on) and 84 inches long.

The work speaks for itself, and I am happy to say we are in the early stages building another large book matched table from the same log that yielded this amazing table! If you would love to see it in your home, let us know!