Photos by Kathy Fox
We all can remember those special occasions around the dining room table. It is where family gatherings become lifelong memories. The smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee in the morning, fried chicken at a weeknight dinner, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, or a late-night heart-to-heart with warm cookies and milk. Long after the dishes are cleared, it is often the laughter and time spent together that remain ingrained in us forever.
Rob Iverson and his wife, Dawn, moved to Middle Tennessee in 2010, and over the years, some of their most memorable meals have been shared around a table with a very special story. Iverson built the custom wood table for Dawn while she was undergoing chemotherapy, creating a piece that would become the setting for countless family dinners and memories.
Since then, he has crafted several more tables for their home, including a stunning round table that anchors their formal dining room. A former Marine with a natural talent for working with his hands, he has a workshop filled with just about every tool imaginable — and it’s there that he brings his one-of-a-kind wood creations to life.
What started as a simple necessity turned into a labor of love for so many. While working at a church, the need for a conference table was presented. “They needed a table for the conference room, and I told them I would make one,” Iverson said. “Then they asked if I could make another table, so I did. And that is when it started.”
After people saw the conference table he built, other requests for tables came in. “Tables are expensive,” he said. “Not everyone has two thousand dollars or more to spend on a table, so I told them I would make them one. I really enjoy doing it.” From designing and building each table to adding the finishing touches, Iverson handles every step himself. He even uses techniques like a blowtorch to make knots pop or drill to distress the wood, creating imperfections and simulated bug holes that give each piece its own rustic appeal.
Part of the innate beauty of the finished tables comes from the wood itself. Iverson sources wood for his projects from a local sawmill, where there is a vast selection to choose from. “The logs come from all over Tennessee,” he said. “They are all hardwood: red oak, white oak, poplar, hickory, and cherry, but no pine.”
The sawmill buzzes as the blades work, cutting through the logs and exposing the character of each piece of wood. “The wood has unique characteristics from the color to the growth rings, knots, and even marks from the saw blade, all of which help add character to the finished tables,” he said.
Then Iverson explained the wood-cutting process, or milling, once the logs arrive at the sawmill. “First, the log is debarked, which leaves huge piles of sawdust. The log is then sent off on conveyor belts and rollers to be cut because they are so heavy,” he said. “Each piece of wood is then positioned and fed through the powerful saws to make the initial cuts before sizing.”
Walking around the sawmill’s yard, one will see copious amounts of freshly milled lumber that have been sorted, stacked, and prepared for the drying process. In fact, there are thousands of boards in all sizes drying around the yard or already dried. “A tree is about 50% water. At the mill, the wood is air-dried, which will take anywhere from three to five months to dry, because people can’t use wet wood,” Iverson said. “The wood over time may also turn black, but it all sands off so it’s not a problem.”
Oaks generally fall into two groups, red and white, with both commonly used in woodworking. Tennessee is home to roughly 20 native oak species, each with its own distinctive characteristics. Between the two, Iverson prefers to use red oak for his table projects. “White oak is almost twice as expensive as red oak,” he explained. “And that’s not because it’s a higher quality tree; it’s because of Jack Daniel’s. They have several plants where they make barrels, and they use white oak. So, when Jack Daniel’s is making barrels, they easily drive up the price of white oak.”
It’s been 16 years since he crafted his first table, but what is a hobby to Iverson is more than a gift to others. With passion, he builds his works of art, and they are beautiful, I might add. His tables are a place where memories are made for years to come, bringing families together for a meal, and an heirloom piece that can be passed down for generations with all the stories that go with it.
If you attended Project Open House in August, you may have noticed one of Iverson’s custom-made red oak tables on display. The true beauty of a table isn’t simply found in its design or size — it’s found in the people who gather around it and, in this case, also in the talented hands that so graciously crafted it. Thank you, Rob Iverson, for all the memories that have been made around your tables over the years — and for the many more still to come! Know your talents have been greatly appreciated.
