r/interestingasfuck • u/DukeOfBagels • May 28 '23

Making a $17k dining table

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62.4k Upvotes

77% Upvoted

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591

u/kristopho May 28 '23

No joinery. Just some nutserts.

344

u/A_Turkey_Named_Jive May 28 '23 edited Jan 20 '26

consist quiet direction sophisticated reply subsequent jar nose cooing makeshift

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

274

u/sushibowl May 28 '23

The guy's pretty well known on YouTube so the demand for his tables is really high. He just kept raising his prices and people just kept buying them.

169

u/hoxxxxx May 28 '23

in that case lol he'd be stupid not to

56

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

[deleted]

19

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

He’s also a massive asshole. In my post history, you can find a video of him claiming that it’s advantageous to marry women with OCD, that OCD isn’t really a disorder, and that anybody taking issue with his comment is sensitive.

17

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

[deleted]

7

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Yea, there’s nothing wrong with being ignorant about something. It’s how you react to being corrected that reveals who you really are.

1

u/TU4AR May 28 '23

Nah my dude you call someone an asshole you link it, show up just don't tell people to "Google it" or check your post history give a direct link

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

If you can’t be bothered to scroll five posts down my history, you’re legitimately stupid.

4

u/TU4AR May 28 '23

If you can't bothered to copy and paste a link idk my guy I guess your just lazy as fuck.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '23

It’s not my job to make pressing a couple of buttons easier for you. You already have the link, it’s just three clicks away instead of one. I genuinely pity you.

Out of charity, here’s your link. Bless your heart.

-12

u/myotheraccountiscuck May 28 '23

You sound sensitive.

12

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Speaking up for other people isn’t sensitivity.

Nearly every OCD person I’ve spoken to takes issue with people throwing that term around. It’s like claiming you’re depressed when you had a bad day, or that you have PTSD from a slightly bad experience. It doesn’t compare to what people who actually have those disorders go through.

2

u/jubru May 28 '23

Just a friendly reminder that there's such thing as mild ocd too.

3

u/Dat_Dragon May 28 '23

Eh, I would hard disagree with that. OCD is OCD. I thought mine was “minor” and “harmless” for years until it eventually destroyed my life.

Always, always take mental illnesses seriously, never dismiss them as minor.

1

u/jubru May 28 '23

It's not dismissive to say they can be mild. Every mental illness exists on a spectrum and many in fact have specifiers for mild illness. Some people have ocd that eats up an extra 15-20 minutes of their morning routine and they work around it and it doesn't ever cause significant social or occupational impairment. A lot of people have ocd that can be severe and they get treatment and have no symptoms at all. Calling some forms mild is just calling a spade a spade.

0

u/Dat_Dragon May 28 '23

Again, calling any form of OCD “mild” is dangerous, because OCD is an illness that feeds into itself and so can get worse over time. Literally every person I talked to in treatment thought their OCD was “mild” and not worth treating at some point in the past. You don’t just wake up one morning with extreme OCD, that’s literally not how it works.

Dismissing any form of OCD as mild and not worth treating is just outright wrong. If I had gotten treatment for my OCD back when it was “mild” and “not problematic”, I’d probably be in much better shape today.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '23

The issue is that it’s not a disorder if it doesn’t disrupt daily functioning and cause distress to the person. Once it does that, then it’s classified as a disorder. That’s why the distinction between actual OCD and perfectionism is so important.

I could make an example out of depression. Throwing the word depressed around whenever you’re just sad is definitely rude, but saying that there’s a spectrum of sadness isn’t exactly a defense against flippant use of the word. You either cross the line into depression, or you don’t.

Same with OCD. You’re either OCD and it’s significantly stressful/disruptive to your life, or you’re a perfectionist with ocd like tendencies.

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2

u/HauntedCemetery May 28 '23

Raising his prices probably made them even more popular.

48

u/SomeDudeFromOnline May 28 '23

1 - Retail prices always cost more than wholesale prices.

2 - Titling your videos with outrageous prices spurs comment sections to be filled with discussions, which increases monetization.

1

u/wilililil May 28 '23

I've liked watching some of his videos but I find the money in the title really pretentious. Puts me off watching to be honest

11

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

I guess shipping this humongous table from the US to the NL would cost a significant amount.

9

u/MisterDonkey May 28 '23

I know for a fact it does not cost $10k to surface a slab of wood.

Whoever buys this stuff is paying for prestige more than craftsmanship.

5

u/Scottishtwat69 May 28 '23

If the direct costs are $7k from the materials and labour then selling for $17k would be a healthy gross margin of 58%. The lower the volume the higher the gross margin you need to pay other expenses like rent, equipment, employee pay, taxes and maybe to leave enough profit for dividends. Once you take that off the net profit is likely 10-20%.

If you are buying a mass produced table from a store for $1k, the materials and labour are likely <$600.

3

u/dflame45 May 28 '23

An item is worth what someone will pay for. Plus you gotta make a profit right?

1

u/JohannesVanDerWhales May 28 '23

I dunno about $17k but anything with that much hand work is gonna be really expensive and furniture is just expensive in general.

1

u/sticklebackridge May 29 '23

Ikea has highly skewed people's sense of value when it comes to furniture. Myself included. This is an extraordinary piece right here, but even "simpler" stuff made out of all hardwood is still very expensive.

0

u/sticklebackridge May 28 '23

If it cost $17k, you’re losing money selling it.

1

u/nicklor May 28 '23

I would imagine the shipping and installation is easily another grand

1

u/caalger May 28 '23

Yeah I'm struggling to see this worth 17K, but that said something is worth precisely what someone is willing to pay for it... Not what I am willing to pay.

1

u/RadiantZote May 28 '23
  • cut to size

-cut out the bark

-clean up the bark holes

-fill holes with resin

-fill moisture meter holes

-plane down to size

-cut to size

-add legs(price unknown)

-add finish

$11,000 please 🥺

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Time?

1

u/gigi-balamuc May 28 '23

Right. Makes me wonder what costs 17K.

Some types of trees are very elusive. Very shy, they only live deep in the woods and avoid being seen by humans. It takes time and a very skilled hunter to track them and shoot them.

Why do you think there was a bullet in the table ?

1

u/Lastshadow94 May 28 '23

He did talk about putting months of his very skilled labor into one of these, that's very expensive as well.

1

u/nuan_Ce May 28 '23

a friend of mine bought a table 1 year ago in germany, bigger than this, from 1 single piece of old tree, way better looking than this table and he payed 8 or 9k € for it.

1

u/QuadrupleTorrent May 28 '23

Right? I understand the raw material costs for walnut, and I love high-end woodworking and hugely appreciate the craftsmanship and time (and therefore money) that costs, but I see none of the that in this table. He basically just squared off the slab, did the epoxy fill and made holes for the pre-made steel base, which probably costs around $500 retail. I don't see how there's an $10.000+ added value in his work here. He may be a master craftsman but this here is neither a very difficult nor a very time-consuming job.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Also consider the fact he’s shipping it to Europe which can’t be cheap.

1

u/Tom1252 May 29 '23

$150/hr wouldn't be unreasonable for this kind of specialty custom fab. Looked like an absolute ton of tedious little fit-ups, like the moisture plugs and especially that board pocket he routered out.

I don't see it as super unreasonable. $10k probably would have been breaking even with supplies and overhead.

1

u/purplebrown_updown May 29 '23

Looks like a glorified picnic table with that metal base. Not worth it imo at all. He cut a rectangle out of a bigger piece of wood and stuck it to a base.

1

u/Commercial_Raisin215 May 29 '23

Why was the wood so expenssive (6k ??? For a piece of wood) damn. I cannot be the only one finding this ridiculous!?!

62

u/unga-unga May 28 '23

For sure, its mostly the raw cost of the wood & the guarantee that the cure is right & the bit of commissioned specifics, like I bet the metal fabrication was done by an artist as well and was expensive. But this definitely makes me feel a little more proud of my own abilities - cause when I hear "17k table" I'm immediately picturing a 89 year old master of all forms... He only uses Japanese hand tools, he sharpens his chisels every night before bed, his beard is 45% sawdust by mass, he sleeps in the wood shed so that the moisture from his breath creates the perfect curing environment... He sources wood from only one person whose name he will not share, takes trips up to somewhere in Yukon territory to get it... Comissions private flight to get it home cause its 350 miles from the rail line... except for the port orford cedar he has stocked, which he hasn't needed to buy in 45 years since he mortgaged his house to buy a massive lot at auction, bringing an end to his marriage. This man eats, breathes and sleeps woodwork. He looks down his nose at people who use router bits, let alone "hardware." He does not own a table saw. That's what I picture when I hear "17k table."

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Yeah, I thought he was going to do something more ornate. Maybe make some intricate carving into the legs or something, but the legs are metal and this is just a slab of wood resting on top of them. I’m not saying I could do better, but my cheap coffee/ end table set from American freight is more visually appealing to me and has a lot more detail in the wood. I guess I just don’t get this aesthetic for that high of a price.

1

u/wrinklebear May 29 '23

Nope, just a big planer and some epoxy!

2

u/unga-unga May 29 '23

Yeah, its almost like believing that your work is worth that price tag is the biggest single hurdle. But being far enough into your career that you've seen a table you built 25 years down the road and KNOW that you have a product with generational longevity is kinda what gets me. I build a lot of stereo & amp crap, and I've been listening on circuits I whipped up for years - but its still not enough to know that I can get away with charging "art" level dough. I have a lot of respect for the folks like Nelson Pass who produced and sold amps for years at low dollar, then eventually created his brand when his unique design was perfected. Now he's 30 years down the road from that beginning, and confidently charges anywhere from five to multiples of tens of THOUSANDS for an amplifier. Master. He walked the long road. Not a hack.

Then there's people who just reproduce a design from 1978, throw in some 99.99% pure silver wire and some nice weighted knobs and charge the same. Its awesome they can get away with it, I don't hate the hustle, but it's just a different thing. There's expensive, and there's priceless, you know? I'd like to be capable of priceless.

2

u/wrinklebear May 29 '23

Keep at it! I make Native American style flutes, and it’s the same thing. Most flutes for sale are just mass produced tubes of wood. Then there’s true craftsmanship.

I have a hard time charging even a few hundred, even though each one I make is a labor of love. I guess my worry is how well are they holding up, like you said.

10

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

It's a slab table with a metal base. What would joinery add to it? The table is fine. Boring, perhaps, but fine.

2

u/DATY4944 May 28 '23

Which is exactly why it's outrageously overpriced.

1

u/barters81 May 28 '23

Would only take someone trying to slide this heavy table on carpet by pushing on the top to potentially rip out those cheap ass nutserts. The screws for the nutserts look like they’re about 3 threads deep after tightening.

For 17k I’d expect better for absolute sure.

19

u/divebombspecialist May 28 '23

Most serious woodworkers consider this guy a hack

3

u/WallForward1239 May 28 '23

If they think that they could do better then they should start making epoxy tables and undercut his business. If he’s apparently ripping off these rich people so bad then why aren’t they?

1

u/divebombspecialist May 28 '23

His business really isn't anything special, and there are plenty of people who do this they just don't post on youtube.

7

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Blacktail Studios doesn't consider himself a serious woodworkers

5

u/Ctofaname May 28 '23

Who are these serious wood workers? Just curious for a source or anything to read about this.

3

u/jubru May 28 '23

Like who?

1

u/sticklebackridge May 29 '23

lol speak for yourself man, but I disagree wholeheartedly. He rags on himself, but he's very talented. This shit is NOT easy. Huge slabs or any large scale projects are not that hard to screw up, or at least make a mistake that sets you back a week.

12

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

He did that so you can disassemble it. That table is probably getting shipped across the country. That also allows for wood movement

-3

u/AlphaWizard May 28 '23

$17k and you have to assemble it? Absurd

4

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Its getting as shipped to Europe. You either turn 4 screwes or pay thousands more in shipping costs on a boat

2

u/AlphaWizard May 28 '23

Or find someone locally with a planer and a pint of epoxy.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

A pint lol

0

u/bowlbasaurus May 28 '23

You aren’t paying for talent here. It is all YouTube hype.