Bemidji, Minnesota
John Enger of Enger Grove individually crafted each Pedestal Board.
The hard country maple used to create these boards was sourced from Duane Shoup, a local craftsman who manages a forest near Bemidji, MN. He felled it, milled it, and let it air dry over a period of 15 years.
After procuring the maple, John loaded it into a sauna – heating it first to 200°F for several days, then slowly cooling it to room temperature over a week – all to reach an optimal moisture content of 8%. This drying process helps prevent future cracks and splits, ensuring durability.
The dry maple is still rough sawn, and largely unusable until it’s brought down to flat and square lumber. This process starts on the jointer, giving each plank two straight, true sides. Then the planks are run through a table saw and thickness planer to finish the dimensioning process.
Once optimal size and thickness is obtained, the wood is glued and clamped into what looks like many small tabletops, about two inches thick. Left to dry overnight, these pieces are then cut into four-inch-wide cross grain strips, turned on their side, stacked, and glued back together, to create an end-grain block.
At this point, the basic form of the board is complete, though hidden still, in a blocky lamination. The graceful, vaulted shape is given to each board through a “coving” process on the table saw, where the wood is pushed sideways over the blade. Each side is sloped and tidied up on the jointer, and the top, cutting surface is leveled and ground flat, before the whole piece is sanded to 400 grit, achieving a silky soft surface texture. The grain is then saturated with food safe mineral oil, which protects the wood, and brings out its deep, natural beauty.
The vaulted leg feature of this board maximizes ergonomics, efficiency and the architecture of the board. This design prevents the warping often caused by water getting trapped beneath the board as only a small amount of surface area touches the counter. When maintained properly, these boards have a multi generational lifespan.
As each board is handmade, no two are the same.
There will be slight variations in dimension, color, and wood grain.
Free Bemidji, MN Pick-up. Free UPS Domestic Shipping.