We make tables from solid slabs. So let us say it immediately: on engineering a glued panel is better in several ways, and half the time it is what you should buy.
A glued panel is more stable, cheaper and can be made at any size — the right choice for a work surface, a kitchen countertop, and anything where geometry matters more than character. A solid slab is bought for a figure that exists once and for a live edge. If you describe the table as "a big pale table, two meters by one", you want a panel.
The laminations are alternated and glued, so the panel barely moves. A solid slab is always still one piece of wood.
Need a 3.2 m table? A panel can be glued to it. A slab that wide may simply not exist.
Less waste, predictable stock, simpler drying.
Want a second identical table next year? With a panel that's possible.
Curl, burl, knots and checks are the thing being bought. A panel can't give that by construction.
An edge that follows the outline of the trunk. On a panel it can only be imitated.
An ordinary thick slab holds moisture in its core and leaves geometry for years. Ours goes through the same chamber as the decking board: 4–6% through the full thickness.
A check is filled and made part of the drawing. On a panel a check is a fault.
| Glued panel | Solid thermo-slab | |
|---|---|---|
| Stability | higher | high after the chamber |
| Figure | repeatable | one of one |
| Live edge | imitated | real |
| Size | any | limited by the trunk |
| Price | lower | higher |
| Reordering | possible | impossible |
| Surface repair | sanding | sand and oil |
If you describe the future table by its dimensions and color, buy a panel — it will do that better and for less. If you describe it as "I want to see the wood", a panel will disappoint you and no discount will fix that.
You need four matching tables for a restaurant, or a countertop at exactly three meters with perfect geometry for built-in appliances. That's a job for a panel and we'll say so.
Thermowood or larch
Thermowood or composite
Karagach or ash
A glued panel is more stable, cheaper and can be made at any size — the right choice for a work surface, a kitchen countertop, and anything where geometry matters more than character. A solid slab is bought for a figure that exists once and for a live edge. If you describe the table as "a big pale table, two meters by one", you want a panel.
If you describe the future table by its dimensions and color, buy a panel — it will do that better and for less. If you describe it as "I want to see the wood", a panel will disappoint you and no discount will fix that.
You need four matching tables for a restaurant, or a countertop at exactly three meters with perfect geometry for built-in appliances. That's a job for a panel and we'll say so.
