Trying to figure out which trees make for the best wood slabs takes some experience, an eye, and also an understanding of how wood slabs are created. The pieces that we have designed and constructed for our Buffalo, New York clients have come from some truly majestic trees. We specialize in using trees that are already down or that may need to come down because they are a danger or are in their dying days. But we are very picky about the trees that we do select, the trees from which we get our live edge wood slabs.

What do we look for specifically in fallen timber or a tree that is about to come down?

The diameter and size of the tree. Obviously, trees come in all shapes and sizes. For tables and live edge islands, such that are all one single wood slab, you need a tree with some diameter to it. Too narrow, and while that may make for some decent wood slab shelves, it won’t really work for a solid wood slab table.

Any unique characteristics. Burls on trees for example can make for some very interesting pieces. In fact, we have gotten calls for wood slab tables and other furnishings that contain a burl element. Each tree is totally unique and as such, produces amazingly unique slabs. We look at the characteristics of every tree that we take as we hope to find something incredible.

The amount of rot or softness in a tree. Epoxies can certainly fill in rotted areas. And very often, by using colored epoxies you can create a work of art. However, if a tree exhibits signs of too much rot or has too many soft spots in it, this will compromise the overall integrity of the wood slabs that we do get from it.

The tree species. Different types of wood lend themselves to different styles of table, different aesthetics, and different overall functions even. We work a lot with trees indigenous to the western New York area. So for example, we have a lot of sugar maple, black walnut, red oak, Hickory, Cottonwood, Poplar, the list goes on. Customers come to us with a very specific idea in mind at times. And after talking to them, we can narrow down the tree species that will work best for their table or island project.

These are just a few of the features that we look for in the trees that we transform into wood slab pieces for our Buffalo clients. If you are in the market for a stunning new table or an incredible island top, we would love to talk to you. Let’s see what we can build together.