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5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

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Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#31

Post by TylerE »

SavantIdiot wrote: post #27
chrisseaton wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ikea has made millennials think furniture is disposable.

I think that's a bit misplaced, as millenials are in their 40's now, so they probably don't just throw things away like you assume. But also... I used to live out in the woods and had to haul my garbage to the dump every few months. (I didn't want to burn plastic, like some of my crazy neighbors did.) The city dump changes seasonally. After Christmas, there are piles of old toys that were replaced. After summer, ther…

> After fall there is a TON of furniture. I have no idea why: do people buy more furniture in the fall in preparation for holidays

Students moving into new places/moving out and going home.

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#32

Post by dfxm12 »

SavantIdiot wrote: post #27
chrisseaton wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ikea has made millennials think furniture is disposable.

I think that's a bit misplaced, as millenials are in their 40's now, so they probably don't just throw things away like you assume. But also... I used to live out in the woods and had to haul my garbage to the dump every few months. (I didn't want to burn plastic, like some of my crazy neighbors did.) The city dump changes seasonally. After Christmas, there are piles of old toys that were replaced. After summer, ther…

I have no idea why: do people buy more furniture in the fall in preparation for holidays?

Veteran's Day furniture sales :)

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#34

Post by sandworm101 »

tomrod wrote: post #9
toomanybeersies wrote: post #6

In New Zealand, there are old swamplands filled with swamp Kauri. Around a year ago, construction workers found a 16 m (52 ft) long log which had been buried underground for 40,000 years [1] They used to dig up $200 million worth of timber a year, mostly exported to China, until the government cracked down on exports. It's illegal to export unfinished native timber, so exporters exploited a loophole by cutting the tr…

The limits of regulation. There is no way to plug all loopholes. That said, the added labor ensures a more finished product is exported. Was that the intent, or was the intent to force the wood to stay in NZ?

There is also an environmental aspect. Limits on the export of unfinished wood/logs ensures that the wood isn't being sold to become firewood.

Firewood is a thing. Something like 8-10% of UK electricity (2017) came from firewood harvested in the US.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-06-20/uk-s-move-away-coal-m...

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#35

Post by samdb »

lmilcin wrote: post #21
dylan604 wrote: post #20

When moving day comes around, I'm guessing you have to offer more than just beer & pizza when it comes to moving a 43' table.

I would say, in case of this table, "if you have to ask for price you can't afford it". Just the raw wood material probably costs a fortune. Given the fact there aren't many people that can produce anything out of it I assume that the prices are astronomical.

People have been volunteering their time and they are still raising £200,000 to get the table completed.

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#36

Post by tomrod »

weregiraffe wrote: post #28
tomrod wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you find wood called "cellulose products" and the cycle starts again. It's impossible to limit creativity, and also why would a government want to pursue a ban as it impacts negatively woodworkers?

>Then you find wood called "cellulose products" and the cycle starts again. Inventing new words doesn't magically absolve you of crimes, you know.

Actually it does. Consider "bribe" versus "campaign donor." "Execution" versus "murder". Many cases exist. But that is beside the point.

Laws have to be specific, and that is the issue. If you can perform a minimal treatment to the object under the law, then it can be transmuted under the law and the spirit of the regulation is sidestepped.

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#37

Post by ballenf »

chrisseaton wrote: post #19
tristor wrote: post #18

I had never heard of bog oak before, but this material is absolutely stunning. I really wish there was more appreciation of proper heirloom-quality furniture and things in general. I think it's part of making living more ecological, and it's a form of generational wealth. Unfortunately we live in an era of cheapest possible items, and disposal of things when they go out of style. Something like this never goes out of…

Ikea has made millennials think furniture is disposable.

I wonder if the original purchaser of that antique dresser you love would have chosen a nice Ikea one if given the choice? (Especially if you adjusted the prices for relative purchasing power.)

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#38

Post by quesera »

dylan604 wrote: post #20

When moving day comes around, I'm guessing you have to offer more than just beer & pizza when it comes to moving a 43' table.

And 43' of table with the density of ebony..!

From the article: 72 lbs/ft^3. Estimating the table width at 6', and thickness at 2", that would be a total weight of 3096 lbs. Plus a healthy non-zero for the legs and other supports.

If you carry the tabletop (legs and trusses removed) with 24 people, 12 on a side, one every 4 feet, that would be 129 lbs each. OSHA would not approve.

You could probably find 24 people at a woodworking school who are up for the challenge. It might be harder to find a place to put a 43' table in the first place!

Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture

#39

Post by dahdum »

jahlove wrote: post #33

Can someone explain how all the planks of the bog oak fit together so perfectly? The article says go to their instagram for details but I'm not really getting a whole lot when I click on individual photos.

It looks like they cut a single 43ft board from the oak, then cut that into 4 planks for the kiln and milling process. After that completed they would join them back together. You lose at least an 1/8" for the blade width plus whatever they had to trim due to cupping, but that could be very difficult to see in the final top.
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