Our craftsmanship –
how our solid wood tables are made

Our skills, the craftsmanship combined with a lot of heart and soul, sensual perception and a sense of proportion are at the heart of what we do and our value-added chain. With the processing into a table, a tree is given a second life: its character and life story become visible and tangible.

Every table is individually manufactured

Our tables are as different as the trees in the forest. We manufacture to order and do our utmost to bring out the character of each piece of wood.

Craftsmanship with tradition

Using and processing wood are among the oldest crafts in existence. At Girsberger, we still practice the trade of joinery in its purest form – working with solid wood.

A love of the material, the pleasure of the tactile experience of handling it, the smell of wood and a knowledge of sophisticated ways of processing it are the common denominators that link our joiners. They carry out their work with great passion. Year in, year out, experienced master craftsmen pass on their knowledge and skills to apprentices.

Girsberger's solid-wood business involves huge stocks of timber. Our solid-wood experts buy outstanding quality from sustainable European forestry operations direct from the source and ensure optimal drying, refining and storage. This enables their colleagues in the workshop to make full use of it.

When buying lumber, the qualities of every tree trunk are assessed, and decisions are made about how it will be sawn up and how thick to cut the planks. These properties are immediately evaluated and can subsequently be accessed in the warehouse management system.

When an order is received, staff in the joiners’ workshop select the required wood and assemble the planks from a tree trunk to form a tabletop. The interplay of colours and wood grain is taken into account, resulting in a harmonious image.

The planks are then glued together to form a board. After the glue has dried, further processing steps are carried out such as cutting precisely to size, and shaping the edges and hinge recesses. Depending on the type of wood, any cracks and knot holes are filled with bee glue.

Finished with finesse

At the end of the manufacturing process come the fine sanding and finishing.

Much finesse is required when the table is given its “final polish”. Fingertips make decisions about the feel of the tabletop, and outstanding quality becomes apparent in its seamless and evenly finished surface. There must be no roughness or irregularities that lead to irritation.

Oiling, lacquering, staining, waxing and soaping...a wide variety of surface treatments are available. It is often the subsequent usage of the item that will determine the type of finishing, and frequently it’s also a question of the desired visual effect. The choice of options is huge.

Mind, heart, hands, work

A design concept is born in the mind, the enthusiasm for it and the love of materials comes from the heart, and skilled hands ultimately lead to the finished work. The successful creation is an expression of an overall human accomplishment that optimally combines all these talents and skills.

Design your own table with

We offer our private customers the very special experience of helping to select the wood and boards for their own table at our workshop in Bützberg (Switzerland). Find out more about this opportunity.