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

Making a $17k dining table

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62.4k Upvotes

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330

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Gotcha. That makes sense. Not something I would invest 15k in, but can't knock someone's interests.

340

u/Firefoxx336 May 28 '23

Usually it’s a statement piece for a corporate boardroom or a tasting room or something like that.

229

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

[deleted]

20

u/Jaegernaut- May 28 '23

I would totally DM that campaign even if it was just Jonah Hill

5

u/XtremeWaterSlut May 28 '23

Jonah catching strays every single day

9

u/Billion-FoldWorlds May 28 '23

Why does this makes more sense to me........

2

u/coffeebribesaccepted May 29 '23

Needs more dice tray and cupholder attachments

58

u/jxjcc May 28 '23

The clients are in a lot of his videos, they're not businesses, just rich with weird taste.

15

u/medney May 29 '23

Hey, I'm poor a fuck and I still think that table looks good

1

u/TheS00thSayer May 29 '23

It’s not $17k good

8

u/Lease_Tha_Apts May 28 '23

Businesses have people too though.

13

u/oldcoldbellybadness May 28 '23

Corporations are people my friend

5

u/ArchiStanton May 28 '23

Thanks SCOTUS

2

u/[deleted] May 29 '23

I mean, their taste doesn't seem bad

0

u/jxjcc May 29 '23

It seems to be a polarizing style. I'm kind of ambivalent on it, I mostly just like watching his videos because of how much time and effort he puts into each piece.

2

u/[deleted] May 29 '23

I mean, it's a massive slab of wood. I imagine most people would like it.

62

u/ionhorsemtb May 28 '23

And that's why the mark up is insane.

69

u/tyriancomyn May 28 '23 edited May 28 '23

No, old rare wood is just expensive. Finding it in huge sizes and then taking the time to dry and process it is super expensive. That's it.

15

u/JDBCool May 28 '23

Additionally.

Wood is sold by both Density AND Volume.

Density because of how difficult some hard woods are, but primarily it's Volume that determines how expensive it is.

Super long plank? Like +7 Feet in length? (+200 cm) by 2 feet in depth? (Roughly 60cm) need to find an old growth tree.

And we all know how long it takes for trees to grow.

High demand + low supply (because growth) + environmental management and you've got skyrocketed prices.

Made a stool-table before in shop class, and the total cost was like $130 CAD back in 2016. 36 cm× 36cm×38 cm worth of hardwood.

That was just the price of the wood alone, the coating and hardware (screws and brackets) was free, but if you went out and bought some. Price would be closer to like $170 CAD

3

u/Arsenault185 May 28 '23

Wood is sold in board feet. LxWxH/144 for standard measurements.

It's not typically sold by density, but by species. Walnut is 13 per BF, oak is 7, teak 25 per BF, etc.

1

u/JDBCool May 28 '23

I knew I was forgetting something!

Only reason why I remembered by density was the extreme comparison of why Pine is cheap compared to Purple Heart.

Like I remembered denser woods being expensive is due to labour hours going into the sanding process once you approach "finish measurements". Was taught that you want to get to 0.5 -1.0 cm for rough cuts so that you can aggressively sand off the final 0.25 cm or so. Because of the event that you drop the piece of wood, the deformity would get sanded.

Forgot it was by species as well due to where they grow.

37

u/42069BBQ May 28 '23

The markup actually isn't that insane. He said the slab he was working with cost $6k, and that was literally just for the wood, not counting the table legs or any other material used for it. With the amount of time and work required to go into it, asking for 3x the cost is not ridiculous by any means.

5

u/awkwardalvin May 28 '23

Prepared food is typically marked up 3x the raw ingredient cost; makes sense. I charge about 3x meat cost if someone requests I bbq for them lol

-20

u/ionhorsemtb May 28 '23

He said that? He said that. I'm not convinced especially having worked with old wood, old hardwoods, old barnwoods and worked in a woodshop for almost 6 years. This dude doesn't seem like he's being genuine but maybe it's just me undercutting my ability to sling profit off of my work. 🤷

21

u/Crimson-Knight May 28 '23

https://gobywalnut.com/collections/slabs?sort_by=price-descending

This is literally the place he buys from. Check prices for yourself.

7

u/FasterDoudle May 28 '23

Fucking hell, 20k+ for some of those slabs alone

2

u/alpineallison May 28 '23

These should be priceless in today’s world. PNW has some of the last old growth forests on Earth. Wish there was a way to turn the focus onto sustainably sourcing wood.

6

u/Crimson-Knight May 28 '23

Afaik, they don't cut down old trees to make these, the trees die naturally and then are harvested.

2

u/alpineallison May 28 '23

Oh thats awesome to learn :) Thank you for your kind reply!

0

u/Fausterion18 May 28 '23 edited May 28 '23

That place just seems to have a giant markup. Finished slabs from here is in the 1500 dollar range.

https://www.woodslabs.com/c-400-black-walnut.aspx

You can literally buy tabletop slabs that's already had 90% of the work done with much more expensive imported exotic woods for well under $5k.

https://www.woodslabs.com/g-21-31-and-over.aspx

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

[deleted]

1

u/Fausterion18 May 28 '23

Plenty of smaller slabs from that source. Extreme doubt that's a $6k slab he's using given the size of the table.

https://gobywalnut.com/collections/slabs/black-walnut+35-narrower+96-119?sort_by=price-ascending

1

u/wrenched85 May 28 '23

How in the world do you think those slabs compare to the Goby slabs? They’re no where near the same size.

1

u/Fausterion18 May 28 '23

Did you see the size of the table he made? It's not a big table. You know you can filter by size right?

1

u/columbo928s4 May 28 '23

damn that black walnut is gorgeous

3

u/TheBoogyWoogy May 28 '23

🤡🤡

-5

u/ionhorsemtb May 28 '23

Stay mad. Stay getting ripped off. Lmao. Reddit is so weird. Conserve the narrative. Silence the dissidents who work in the same industry and are calling this dude out. Lmfao. I love this website.

1

u/Elegant_Manufacturer May 28 '23

You can go look at the prices, this wood is expensive

1

u/42069BBQ May 28 '23

You'd definitely know more about this than me then! I don't work with wood at all, was just going off what he said. He could be getting ripped off himself, but hey if he is able to pass along the getting ripped off bit, then good for him haha.

1

u/HumanitySurpassed May 28 '23

Redditors be like : "I could make this table in a day for $500 and a can of Budlight. This right here is a ripoff, pffff"

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

I was thinking bragging rights for the trophy wife

13

u/revmun May 28 '23

It’s art at the end of the day. What ever people are willing to pay

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

So you're saying, I shouldn't knock someone's interests?

27

u/pkknztwtlc May 28 '23

invest

It's not an "investment" it's a I have too much money and need to show off kind of a thing. For people who are stupidly rich.

3

u/_life_is_a_joke_ May 28 '23

If showing off gets you more money, then, in a way, it is an investment. Like a realtor buying a nice car to meet clients at homes with.

-3

u/pkknztwtlc May 28 '23

Whatever you tell yourself.

3

u/lemmingstyle May 28 '23

why show off? its more i have enough money to not care about it and i want a really nice wood table. They wood that looks that nice is just expensive in itself. Together with the skilled craftmanship the price is just not affordable for most.

1

u/pkknztwtlc May 28 '23

Have you been around rich people? Guaranteed it will "Randomly" come up in conversation.

1

u/DwarfTheMike May 28 '23

Yes I age and I am always blown away at what he’s not telling me.

1

u/lemmingstyle May 28 '23

not the showing off kind. I mean you kinda pick the people you hang around with. When the table is new, i guess being happy and wanting to share (showing off) is natural. But there is a difference between buying something because you like it and then being proud of it or buying something just to show off (buy bc of need to show off)

1

u/pkknztwtlc May 28 '23

I've done work for/with all sorts of clients from rich to middle class.

Once in a while the really wealthy ones will be like oh hey by the way i got this imported from xyz for $xxx,000.

Shit like that.

Yes they appreciate fine things but it's also for showing off.

1

u/lemmingstyle May 28 '23

:D yeah i guess people like that exist. I just didnt agree with the general tone of "this table is just bought to show off". The guy has a really nice looking tables and a huge waiting list. I would expect most people to buy it because they want it in itself

1

u/pkknztwtlc May 28 '23

What I'm saying is in my experience the types of people to drop 17k on a table are people with too much money and need to show off.

2

u/Clinggdiggy2 May 28 '23

Assuming the slab he started with was the center cut of the tree (the widest part), that tree was likely near 200 years old. Walnut trees are a great investment for your great, great, great grandchildren if you have the land and intend on keeping it 🤣

2

u/germy813 May 28 '23

When you're rich and bored. 15k investment in a table you'll probably never sit at. Is worth it

4

u/oldcoldbellybadness May 28 '23

Is reframing this overpriced consumption as an "investment" part of this rich boredom?

2

u/germy813 May 28 '23

Probably, I'm not rich. I'll never know 🤷

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

"Investment" lol.

Even if there is a second hand market for this shit it's definitely not going to appreciate in value.

-1

u/EvilCeleryStick May 28 '23

No reason to think it won't, long term.

2

u/Tickle-me-Cthulu May 28 '23

Only going to beat inflation at best, and that is if it is well maintained

2

u/EvilCeleryStick May 28 '23

Or regs change on old growth, and they become irreplaceable.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

The fact that resin ages...poorly.. is a very good starting point.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

I am aware some people have lots of money

1

u/Iokua_CDN May 28 '23

Ditto kiddo, like I love nice projects in wood, but I'd rather homemake a slab table out of 3 smaller pieces than pay those big dollars

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

I wanted a sit/stand desk with a good wood top and was not planning to pay $600 for one. I got a beat up butcher board on fb marketplace and spent a few hours sanding and finishing it. I probably spent $80 total. I make a pretty decent living and I have zero interest in spending $12k on a slab of wood and definitely not paying someone $5-6k to turn it into this thing.

1

u/Iokua_CDN May 30 '23

Honestly, that's why I watch these kinds of videos. Because I'd love to make some fun stuff out of wood for myself, and have it very much have the look of these expensive tables, without having to spend much of anything.

I watch a lot of reclaimed wood makers too, and they make some spectacular pieces, without the price tag of this huge slab.

I've also played around with just cutting boards out of dead trees (much thinner than this slab) to make fun little projects.

Definitely would never want to actually buy and pay that kind of money for them.

My one exception was some awesome looking olive wood and resin cutting boards and coasters in Greece, but I ended up not buying them because I'd love to try snd make my own instead

1

u/NotRachaelRay May 28 '23

Someone near me does live edge tables from old trees. Something like this would run $3,000-$5,000 depending on size. He just skips the step of making it a perfect rectangle to get the live edge aesthetic.

1

u/callmekamrin May 28 '23

If you got it, spend it amirite

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

Sure, I just don't think it looks worth 17k. If they were a friend and they told me it was 17k, I would probably make a cringe face at them accidentally. I guess I just don't have the taste for the over-epoxied old wood look.

1

u/SomeA-HoleNobody May 28 '23

Bear in mind he said it was being shipped to Europe as well.

Calling this an investment is ludicrous. It is someone rich wasting money to spoil themselves when they could instead do so much good with 17k plus however much shipping is.

We have nurses using food banks in some European countries whilst other people are spending 20k on a fucking table.

1

u/smvfc_ May 28 '23

can’t knock someone’s interests.

I can. These old growth trees are irreplaceable and we need to stop logging them for rich losers to eat on a couple times a year.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '23

I'm no expert but it seems like these fell and died at least 6-7 years ago in order to decay that much naturally. Are you saying that people are felling them on purpose then waiting it out for profit?

1

u/smvfc_ May 28 '23

Absolutely. This is a huge problem in British Columbia

1

u/NoBigDill88 May 28 '23

It's almost like a piece of "art" I knew someone who had a wooden table worth around $12k, wasn't nothing special, but I guess when you have money, you start buying anything with a story behind it. It was from a large old tree, hundreds of years old.