Hand-Cut Through Dovetail
Cut at a 1:8 slope for hardwoods. The flared tails mechanically lock drawer boxes and cabinet carcasses against pulling forces even before glue is applied.
NO. 01 · STRUCTURAL ANATOMY
Exploded Anatomy of a Grain & Groove Trestle Table
Every structural connection is visible, mechanical, and repairable 150 years from now. Study our six signature engineering details below.
NO. 02 · JOINERY INDEX
Six Joints We Cut Daily at the Bench
Each joint is laid out with a marking knife and wheel gauge, sawn to the line, and pared to a piston fit with bevel-edge chisels.
Wedged Through-Tenon
The tenon passes completely through the leg mortise and is flared outward into a dovetail-shaped socket by driving two opposing hardwood wedges.
Tapered Sliding Dovetail
Locks wide dining slabs dead-flat across the grain without glue, allowing the tabletop to expand and contract seasonally without warping or splitting.
Hand-Inlaid Butterfly Key
Chiseled 14mm deep across natural checks or bookmatched seams using contrasting Gaboon ebony or brass to arrest splitting forever.
Splined Waterfall Miter
Folds continuous wood grain seamlessly over a 90-degree corner while reinforcing the end-grain miter with cross-grain hardwood keys.
Drawbored Oak Pegging
The tenon pin hole is drilled 1.5mm closer to the shoulder than the mortise hole. Driving a riven white oak peg pulls the joint into permanent mechanical tension.
NO. 03 · THE BENCH TEAM & STORY
Three Makers. Twelve Years. One Sawtooth Shop.
We intentionally keep our team to three bench cabinetmakers so the person who sketches your piece is the same person who hand-planes its top.
BENCH NO. 01 · FOUNDER
Ezra Vance
MASTER CABINETMAKER · 19 YRS EXP
Trained in fine boatbuilding in Port Townsend before founding Grain & Groove in 2013. Leads flitch selection, dining table engineering, and structural restoration.
BENCH NO. 02 · LEAD ARCHITECTURAL JOINER
Maeve Lindqvist
CASEWORK & MILLWORK LEAD · 14 YRS EXP
Former architectural drafter and graduate of the College of the Redwoods fine woodworking program. Specializes in tambour credenzas and scribed library walls.
BENCH NO. 03 · TIMBER & FINISHING MASTER
Callum Okafor
CHAIRMAKER & OIL FINISHER · 11 YRS EXP
Oversees our solar kiln, steam-bending formworks, custom C360 brass lathe hardware, and multi-week polymerized tung oil and French polish schedules.
CHRONOLOGY · SHOP MILESTONES
2013 · BAY 1 FOUNDED
Ezra opens a 900 sq. ft. shop in SE Portland with a 1948 Oliver jointer and two hand-plane benches.
2017 · SOLAR TIMBER KILN
We commission our in-house dehumidification kiln to dry single-tree salvage boules down to 6.8% EMC.
2021 · BRASS MACHINE SHOP
Added a South Bend metal lathe and milling station to fabricate all knife hinges and pulls in-house.
2025 · 340+ COMMISSIONS
Over 340 signed and numbered pieces delivered across the Pacific Northwest with zero structural failures.
VISIT THE TIMBER YARD OR SEND A SKETCH
Want to Hand-Pick the Flitch for Your Piece?
Book a Saturday timber viewing at our SE Industrial Way workshop or submit your rough room measurements online.