David Laird's 'spade-handle' tables

Words and photos: David Laird

I am a carpenter from Amberley, New Zealand. As the son of a carpenter, I have been lucky to learn the joy of working with my hands from a young age. This was a gift I am grateful for as not all have this opportunity.

Looking back, my philosophy as a maker started early on when I went to work with my dad and would salvage native timber framing that was surplus to house alterations. I always saw a value and appreciated the history of this timber. In the words of George Nakashima, I look to ‘give the trees a second life’ – well in this case, a third.

‘End-of-life and wind- thrown trees are not perfect timber. It comes back to working with the tree for maximum yield.’

My philosophy is not from the spiritual sense of George Nakashima, it is driven by the need to sequester carbon. Trees are the lungs of the earth – by producing oxygen, they also capture carbon. Utilising end-of-life timber will continue to capture the carbon contained within the heartwood until that wood decays or is burned.

My passion is in craftsmanship, but central to the evolution of my furniture is finding green and sustainable ways of making things that will last and can be repaired. Considering the environmental challenges we face,

I believe that sustainability should be synonymous with good design. Combining traditional techniques for milling, seasoning and steam bending timber with some modern methods permits an efficient process that weighs lightly on the planet.

Working with salvaged timber

End-of-life and wind-thrown trees are not ‘perfect’ timber. Urban timber has often not been pruned for timber production, however the wood is unique. You have to work with the tree to get the maximum yield – my designs are a direct result of utilising various parts of a variable resource. A good example of this are my ‘spade-handle’ tables.

Working with salvaged timber has challenges, the first is sourcing timber. Locally sourced timber has a small footprint for transportation, and air drying and finishing off in my solar kiln dries the timber gently with no additional energy required.

When I decided to work from locally sourced end-of-life trees, I contacted local arborists and councils about the possibility of buying wood from them to make furniture and outlined all the benefits. I didn’t get any supportive responses and the general consensus was that it was too difficult for them, and their preference was to mulch the trees.

Hopefully attitudes can change to allow this wood to keep capturing carbon while we appreciate its story – some of these trees date back to the early plants brought to New Zealand. Over time I have built contacts that support this philosophy, or would just like something useful created with the wood. Working with small local sawmillers has been the key.

Harvesting your own timber has benefits but it’s also challenging. You need room to store the timber – it takes 12 months per inch to air dry the hardwoods I work with. Also, the supply of timber available is not milled to order – it’s just what has blown over, or needs to be cut down at a certain time.

I have found this to be an opportunity to develop an understanding of the properties and uses of the species available. Once the land was cleared, settlers to New Zealand planted hardwoods that were useful in their homelands. Revisiting these uses is where I found my passion for chairmaking.

Dating back to 1870, a grove of English walnut planted by settlers on the Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand.

Visiting the site of the trees provides a direct connection to where the tree has grown, and gives an insight to its past. Recently I harvested standing dead walnut trees on the Banks Peninsula from a grove dating back to 1870. The elm, ash and oak I source date back to these early plantings by New Zealand settlers. It is a privilege to work with timber planted by earlier generations who knew they would not see the timber mature.

There are real benefits working with the raw material. I can identify suitable grain for steam bending and then manage the drying process so the wood has the right moisture content. I enjoy having a direct connection to the wood. I am constantly learning.

Making the spade-handle table

My spade-handle table is inspired by traditional ash steambent spade handles. I first started experimenting with steam bending over the covid lock-downs as it is a low energy, ecological and economic method to form wood. During this period, I developed the leg design you can see here.

Initially I turned the legs from green timber on the lathe, then cut ‘the split’ using a bandsaw prior to steam bending. However I found needed larger turning stock to get two 25mm thick tenons on each leg. The smaller tenons really limited the size of the tabletop, but the 54 x 45mm stock allows for 25mm tenons and provides enough timber for shaping.

I really enjoy the steam bending process, from selecting the timber to completing the bend. It gives a hands-on connection to working the  wood while allowing you to practise a traditional process. I have had failures but these have developed my understanding of the process.

Temperate hardwoods bend well and moisture content needs to be considered. Working with locally sourced timber, I generally bend elm, oak, walnut, ash and European beech with success.

Prepare the stock

First, select the bending stock and machine to 54 x 45 x 640mm long as shown above. The leg is shaped from carefully selected quartersawn timber with straight grain free of knots or defects. With steam bending, any weakness in the timber will be stressed to failure.

Ideally this air-dried bending stock will have a moisture content of 20–15%, you can use greener wood, but it takes longer to dry the leg down after bending. The elm I use can be unstable if bending with a moisture content above 20% and it’s hard to get consistency in the leg bends.

Time to split and steam Mark the split in the leg stock, see above.

I bandsaw in 280mm deep...

...leaving 25mm of timber each side of the cut.

As a rule of thumb, the legs are placed in a steam box for one hour per 25mm of timber at 100°C. I find each species responds differently and its moisture content will also affect how heat is transferred through the bending stock. The more you do it, the more you will develop a feel for it.

The stock is taken directly from the steam box to bend on a form that is made to allow for spring back. I start the bend 50mm from the bottom of the split (marked in red above) to lessen the risk of the split continuing to run through into the leg. As this is a gentle bend and there is no access, I don’t use a strap for this bend but instead use a timber wedge and my hands to bring the wood to the form where it is clamped in place.

If there is too much tension in the wood to bend, return it to the steam box as it’s not ready yet. Leave it on the form to cool for at least an hour.

Leave the legs to dry

Afterwards the leg is transferred to a bending frame and dried down to below 8%. I use a drying box or my solar kiln for this. A moisture meter is used to monitor its progress, and another indicator is that the leg will become looser on the drying frame as it dries.

Shaping the legs

Once the bent legs are down to under 8% moisture content they are ready for final shaping. The double tenons are first shaped with hand planes and spokeshaves, and then completed using the 1/2-inch tapered tenon cutter. I then use a combination of hand tools are to finish shaping the leg.

Making the top

With the legs complete, I select a timber slab for the top. Generally, for tabletops I use slabs that have character or features that make them unsuitable for a chair or stool seat. I have made spade-handle tables in many sizes from 1025 x 535mm to 500 x 400mm and just let the slab determine its own organic shape.

The slabs have been dried from green sawn, through air drying and finishing in the solar kiln. Flattening the slab and stabilising any defects is the next process.

Mark out for and fitting the legs

The legs are set out 120° from each other and located on a balance point which depends on the shape of the top. The double tenon for each leg is individually set out as the legs can have some variation after the drying process. I drill a template first in a scrap piece of wood to get the correct angles and spacing of the tenons before drilling the actual top.

These legs have a spacing between centres of 120mm. The front mortise has a drilling angle of 10°, while the front mortise is 15°. I drill 12mm diameter pilot holes at these angles determined by the legs and then use a 3/16-inch to 1-3/16 inch reamer to match the 1/2-inch tapered tenons cut on the legs.

Assembling the top and legs

With the legs fitted I now do the final shaping of the tabletop using a combination of hand planes, spokeshaves, cabinet scrapers and sandpaper to complete an organic form that flows to the touch.

Everything is now complete for the final glue-up. I use tapered wedged through mortise and tenon joints on the table because they are not just relying on glue and are backed up with great in-service history.

I locate the outer tenon on the table in the mortise first and squeeze the tenons together to insert the inner tenon into its mortise. I like to use hide glue because in years to come someone else may then be able to easily repair the table or recycle the wood.

After the glue has dried the table is cleaned up for final sanding and finishing. A natural oil finish suits these tables as it can be replenished when needed. The table is now complete and the wood used can continue to tell its origin story for generations to come.

First published in Australian Wood Review, issue 123, June 2024.

David Laird @davidlairdchairbler was winner of the Recycled & Rescued category for Maker of the Year Awards 2023. He lives in Amberley, New Zealand and makes a range of handmade chairs and tables to order using local salvaged timber. Learn more at www.davidlairdchairbler.co.nz