tulepp ridge design co.

Reclaimed Wood Airforce Tables

The Air Base

Our dad owns 1/3rd of Springland Manufacturing, they produce grain handling equipment. His brother and him started the company in 1985 and ran it on our grandparent’s farm yard until 2011 when they had outgrown the property and purchased an old military base to expand operations. CFB Rivers was a Royal Canadian Air Force base southwest of Rivers. It was opened in May 1942 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and was a No. 1 Air Navigation School. After the war, the base remained open as a training centre for Army pilots and flying instructors along with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and Air Dispatch schools. In 1971 the base was closed.

After the RCAF closure, the base went on to house other businesses including a bicycle factory and hog plant. Unfortunately, the buildings were not intended for hog production and many of them suffered damages from the poor ventilation. The control tower hangar was one of these buildings and it regrettably had to be taken down due to structural compromises. We tried to save as much wood as we could to repurpose it and bring it back to life.

It is douglas fir and it is stunning whether it be left with the aged grey patina or planed down to the true red color of the wood. We name each table by the phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) to keep with the aviation history of its original intent. We use a variety of finishes and have made benches and coffee tables. Each piece of wood is truly unique and has its own character. Some boards are thicker and wider while others have very detailed wood grain. Wood like this is extremely rare as it is old growth. Each piece is truly unique and we love reviving it and upcycling it to showcase its beauty. See below for some of the tables we have built!

The Wood

1930's Douglas fir

Unplaned

Unplaned and only lightly sanded to keep the grey patina that the boards have developed over the years. We used a water based varathane in a semi gloss, to keep the boards as light as possible. You could also use Osmo on them and get a darker grey finish. There are limited boards available for this finish as many of them are too warped and require planing to straighten them again.

Planed

Planing the wood is the best way to restore these boards and make them straight and smooth. It also brings out the natural red color of the Douglas Fir. Our favorite way to finish these boards is using a product called Osmo. It's got a matte wax finish and really adds a lot of depth to the wood.

Epoxy finish

Expoxy is a great finish if you need a highly durable table. It's very hard and seals in the boards so they won't shrink as much over time. It also fills in any cracks or imperfections in the boards. It's a high gloss finish.