Proud of my Proud Pyro table
We scorched our dining table! Yep, you read that correctly! We are officially Proud Pyro “maniacs.” Pun intended; bear with me.
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We used a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi ban, 焼杉板 (or Yakisugi); an ancient technique that preserves wood by charring it with fire, then cooling, cleaning, and finishing it with a natural oil.
My husband was born in Okinawa, is a huge fan of Mr. Miyagi’s wisdom, so he channeled his inner ancient warrior one Saturday afternoon. With Sake in one hand and a torch in the other, we set about scorching 4 2×8 wood planks. It was a great January Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining. Our neighbors walked by asking what on earth were we doing?
Though a few expletives were uttered during the making of this table (standard with any project I toss his way), it was easy to make. Once charred, the wood grain becomes stronger in appearance and the color shifting from deep black to brown, depending on how deeply you char during, and how much you scrape/brush after, the process.
Now, back to the pun; Midwest Represent! Looking for legs for a table, I found a Kansas company called Proud Pyro for our industrial dining table legs. Proud Pyro is based just outside of Pittsburg, Kansas in a little shop with big dreams. They believe in using as much American material and hardware as they can source to build their products.
Get it? “PYRO” maniac because of the company AND because we played with Fire! Maybe it’s funny only to me.
Click here for Proud Pyro’s DIY TABLE KIT
As my shipment arrived at the door, I could tell the Proud Pyro table is built to last. It was no joke to sweat and slide and manhandle those deceptively slim yet very heavy boxes into my house. The next day my UPS guy asked WHAT we had purchased, as he was just like me surprised over the slim but heavy weight.
Laying the dining table pieces out was easy and I knew the design of them would work well in our setting. We have a reclaimed wood stair bannister in the middle of our home. Close to where our dining table is going. It’s a perfect match!
But back to Shou Sugi Ban, aka setting our table on fire! Did I mention we set our table on FIRE?! The charring, while not only aesthetically pleasing, also has utilitarian effects. It can improve the lifetime of the planks by preventing decay and rot.
The cellulose of the wood contains the sugars desirable to insects, bacteria, and fungus, once the planks are heat-treated, the shou sugi ban wood loses its appeal to these detrimental forces and will therefore last longer than untreated wood. Therefore it was commonly used as an exterior siding.
After we burnt the wood planks, they got a good wipe down with a damp cloth. After a night spent next to a fan, they also got a good coating of this heavenly, all natural, incredible Tried & True Wood Finishing. As it is our our dining table and we have a kiddo that still eats like she is 2 (she is turning 9 this summer), using a wax that contains no harmful ingredients was important to us. This stuff is polymerized linseed oil and beeswax, and is food-safe. First time I used this wax. It has a very pleasing smell and I think my cuticles thought they had arrived at a day spa. My husband found it online, and I’ll probably never use any other wax again. It gave the table a beautiful flat satin finish, and it feels wonderful to the touch. Just saying.
Once we had finished the top part of our table we assembled it using Proud Pyro’s heavy metal leg attachments. We had to use a bit of elbow grease as we had decided to go against the recommendations of using 8 2x4s, and instead decided to use 4 2x8s. Less grooves overall, but it adds a little bit. Apparently dimensional lumber doesn’t ACTUALLY meet the dimensions, so we intentionally cut grooves into the two exterior 2x8s to fit them into the table legs. It’s actually great; looks much more built in, which was a nice side effect we didn’t anticipate. My husband and I are both incredibly happy it worked and looks like we had pictured it.
I’m very pleased with the outcome of our fun Saturday afternoon project. I think our neighbors love watching our crazy DIY projects.
There aren’t many people who can proudly say their table was scorched as they gather around and get seated for dinner.
Here are all the pictures of our table and I styled it using black mid century chairs with a metal leg to tie in the elements. I love using a high contrast design theme and a black dining table is just what our living space needed. Of course the cherry on top is my vase of soft dried pampas grass, again using the high contrast of a charred deep wood metal table against such a light feathery feel, makes this Scandinavian enjoy her morning coffee with a smile.
Want to build a Proud Pyro table for yourself ?
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