Duke
Duke UltimaDork
2/18/14 8:21 p.m.

http://fletchertables.com

Go to the Videos tab and check out the Capstan Table.

JThw8
JThw8 PowerDork
2/18/14 8:24 p.m.

yeah, that's pretty brilliant

DrBoost
DrBoost PowerDork
2/18/14 8:36 p.m.

I've had my eye on those for years. Incredible engineering.

Toyman01
Toyman01 GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
2/18/14 8:50 p.m.

I love those. Then my kids would dump something gooey in it and gum up the works.

I bet they are pretty pricey.

HappyAndy
HappyAndy SuperDork
2/18/14 9:05 p.m.

That looks like it would be dangerous in the wrong hands. (Like my wife's)

Toyman01
Toyman01 GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
2/18/14 9:10 p.m.
HappyAndy wrote: That looks like it would be dangerous to the wrong hands. (Like my wife's)

FTFY

Mitchell
Mitchell UltraDork
2/18/14 10:08 p.m.

The price doesn't really surprise me , considering its endorsement from "Super Yacht." I don't know what Super Yacht is, but I know it isn't cheap.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/19/14 8:06 a.m.
Datsun1500 wrote: And they're pretty expensive for a table If you guessed @$65,000 you are the winner!

I wonder if they could sue anyone who made knockoffs...hell I'd like to design the mechanism and release the plans online just to spite them.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
2/22/14 7:55 p.m.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Datsun1500 wrote: And they're pretty expensive for a table If you guessed @$65,000 you are the winner!
I wonder if they could sue anyone who made knockoffs...hell I'd like to design the mechanism and release the plans online just to spite them.

I'm really not much into the "spite" motivation, but if you'd like to design the mechanism for a viable product and would like a legit business partner to build them, I'm all ears. I've got plenty of clout in the Architectural Woodwork Institute.

900 components, 2000 fasteners, 3 months production per unit, and nearly 200 year old patents sounds like a helluva lot of work for a table. Unless the design could be simplified, it would be tough to sell them for a lot less.

But I could build it, if I had a good design.

Of course, marketing it is a different story!

Mitchell
Mitchell UltraDork
2/22/14 9:01 p.m.

Problem: who would buy the $12k knockoff?

alex
alex UberDork
2/23/14 12:27 a.m.

I did a short gig with a high end furniture shop recently (just dumb guy work for a giant order that needed extra hands) but this is a whole different level. Damn.

That said, I bet that shop's clients would buy a trick $12k table like this. Hell, they buy beds for $3k that are basically just well finished slabs of trees.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
2/23/14 6:54 a.m.

If someone would buy a $65K table, why wouldn't someone buy a $12K table?

oldopelguy
oldopelguy SuperDork
2/23/14 7:37 a.m.

For $12k even I'm not sure I would bother with all the mechanical wizardry. Motors and solenoids being as cheap as they are now and the leaves basically needing just three storage heights and to slide in and out I bet the works could be done electrically for much less.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/23/14 9:14 a.m.
SVreX wrote: 900 components, 2000 fasteners, 3 months production per unit, and nearly 200 year old patents sounds like a helluva lot of work for a table. Unless the design could be simplified, it would be tough to sell them for a lot less.

Funny, just yesterday I was thinking that you could make a table that isn't anywhere near as cool-looking but is at least as good at getting the job done for a lot less - just use simple sliding square sections. That will give more than 2 table sizes to choose from too.

Mitchell
Mitchell UltraDork
2/23/14 9:32 a.m.

I wonder how much one of these weighs?

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
2/23/14 1:02 p.m.
Datsun1500 wrote:
SVreX wrote: If someone would buy a $65K table, why wouldn't someone buy a $12K table?
Because people that can buy the $65k one would not consider the knock off one, and people that can't buy the $65k one wouldn't spend $12k on a table.

That is a marketing question.

Why would anyone call it a "knock-off". Just call it a superior table for impressive spaces (conference rooms, yachts, etc) that costs $12K.

There is no reason it should be known as a "knock-off".

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/23/14 1:50 p.m.

The people who would spend $65k on a table have probably gone to a "finishing school" where they learn to research, identify and avoid knock-offs, along with low-quality junk, and the difference between opulent and gaudy.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
2/23/14 3:30 p.m.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

I thought you wanted to design something... you wanna just take shots at the rich, or get to work??

edizzle89
edizzle89 New Reader
2/24/14 9:28 a.m.

i have a knock off of that table... its a little simpler though you just pull it apart and put the center leafs in to make it bigger

it was a whole hell of a lot cheaper too, for the price difference im willing to put in some manual labor.

it is a really cool mechanism it uses though, kinda mesmerizing

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/24/14 9:39 a.m.

Mine's not adjustable but it was $65,000 less.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/24/14 9:41 a.m.

^Those are really popular at various bars & restaurants around here, they paint them up and fill the holes on the top. They're available at just the right height too.

Rufledt
Rufledt SuperDork
2/24/14 12:07 p.m.

I bet there's a way to do it in a different and unique looking way. How it would work, I don't know, but there are different ways to make things bigger/smaller.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
2/24/14 12:49 p.m.
Datsun1500 wrote: You're looking at a very exclusive product that someone else designed and has been building for many years. You want to reverse engineer it and build it cheaper with less costly materials.... Isn't that the definition of knock off?

I didn't say a word about reverse engineering, or stealing someone's design or customers.

I said, "...if you'd like to design the mechanism for a viable product and would like a legit business partner to build them, I'm all ears".

I also said I could build it if I had a good design.

That's not a knock off. That's a legitimate discussion of a product idea and how to manufacture and market it.

xflowgolf
xflowgolf Dork
2/24/14 1:27 p.m.
oldopelguy wrote: For $12k even I'm not sure I would bother with all the mechanical wizardry. Motors and solenoids being as cheap as they are now and the leaves basically needing just three storage heights and to slide in and out I bet the works could be done electrically for much less.

True but you're focusing on the function before/after only of an enlarging table.

The price is a mix of opulence and mechanical wonderment.

like buying a fancy centuries old hand crafted mechanical movement watch, vs. something with some batteries and a digital display.

The latter will likely even tell time more accurately, but then that's kind of missing the point isn't it?

Sky_Render
Sky_Render Dork
2/24/14 2:55 p.m.

I thought Mercedes and BMW Automobiles were expensive, and then I saw Bugatti.

I thought Infinity Reference speakers and amplifiers were expensive, and then I saw Macintosh.

I thought Ikea tables were expensive, and then I saw that thing.

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