Nakajima George | Natural Edge: Letting Wood Dictate the Shape

A long table with a tabletop that retains the natural edge of the raw wood; the bark has been removed, but the undulations of the contour, burls, and depressions are all preserved, so the shape of the table is determined by the tree, not by the designer. Original cracks in the slab are not filled but are spanned and secured by dark butterfly keys, hand-sawn to shape and sized according to the crack. The table legs are simple wooden trestles, joined with through tenons. The wood is black walnut, finished only with oil, allowing the grain to be felt. Soft side window light, slightly elevated perspective showing the full surface of the slab.
Avoid: edges cut straight, cracks filled with resin, butterfly keys made uniformly equidistant, glossy finish.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一張長桌的桌板保留原木的自然邊緣,樹皮已剝除但輪廓的起伏、樹瘤與凹陷全部留著,因此桌子的形狀由那棵樹決定而不是由設計者決定。板上原有的裂縫沒有填平,而是以深色的蝴蝶榫橫跨鎖住,榫的形狀是手工鋸的,大小隨裂縫而定。桌腳是簡潔的木製撐架,以貫穿榫接合。木材是黑胡桃,表面只上油,摸得到導管。柔和的側窗光,略高的視角看得見板面的全貌。避免:邊緣切成直線、裂縫用樹脂填平、蝴蝶榫做成整齊的等距、表面上亮光漆。