Timeline
- 1987
A garage and a table saw
- 2011
The brick mill on the river
- 2026
Open shop Saturdays
See it built,
step by step.
Thirty-nine years, three buildings and one stubborn workbench.
- 1987
A rented garage on Clingman Avenue
One bench, one employee
Walt Halden quits the paper mill, buys a used table saw for $340 and builds a trestle table for a neighbor. It is still in her kitchen.
- 1994
Ray Pine walks in asking for work
Halden becomes Halden & Pine
He had restored chairs in Charleston for twenty years. Walt hired him that afternoon, and the sign changed a month later.
- 2003
The first chair with our name under the seat
The Pine side chair in white oak. We have made 2,316 of them since and we still sign every one.
- 2011
Moving into the brick mill
9 Riverside Drive
Six thousand square feet in the River Arts District, with real windows. The old garage became the lumber room.
- 2019
June takes over the shop
Walt’s daughter, who swept the floor here at nine, becomes the owner. Walt still comes in on Thursdays to complain about the radio.
- 2026
Open shop Saturdays and evening classes
Twelve seats a term
We started teaching because people kept asking. Classes fill in about a week, so the waitlist is the honest way in.
How a commission works
- Week 1
A call, then a visit
Free, about an hour
Tell us how many people sit at the table on a normal night, and how many at Thanksgiving. Within 60 miles, June measures the room herself.
- Week 2
Drawings and a fixed price
Free
Two or three sketches with sizes, wood and a price that will not change. Dining tables start at $3,480.
- Weeks 3–4
You pick the boards
50% deposit
Come to the lumber room and choose the actual planks, or we send photos. Most people come. It is the fun part.
- Weeks 5–12
Built at one bench
One maker builds your piece from start to finish. We send a photo every Friday, whether you ask or not.
- Week 13
Oil, wax and a last look
Three coats of hardwax oil, cured for a week. Visit and run a hand over it before it is wrapped.
- Week 14
Delivered and set up
Balance due on delivery
Two of us carry it in, level it and take the blankets away. Free delivery inside North Carolina.
Where is my table?
Maker: Luis Ortega
Order HP-20417
- Aug 4, 2026
Order confirmed
Deposit of $2,190 received. Thank you, Dana.
- Aug 11
Boards chosen
Two walnut planks from a tree that came down in Hendersonville. The photos are in your email.
- Aug 18
On the bench with Luis
Top glued up and flattened, base joinery cut by hand.
- Sep 29
In the finishing room
Second coat of oil on. It needs a week to cure before the third.
- Oct 9, expected
On the van to Raleigh
We will call two days ahead to pick a two-hour window.
Open Shop Saturday
- 9:00 am
Doors open, coffee on
Front room
Find a bench, put your name on the board by the door.
- 9:30 am
Machine safety walk-through
Main floor, with Luis
Needed once a year. It takes twenty minutes and nobody has failed it yet.
- 10:00 am
Bench time
Benches 1 to 12
Work on your own piece. Someone is always walking the floor if you get stuck.
- 12:30 pm
Lunch from Biscuit Head
Loading dock
We order for everyone at eleven. $14, pay at the counter.
- 1:30 pm
Demo: a dovetail by hand
Bench 4, with June
Thirty minutes, saw and chisel only. Bring questions.
- 3:45 pm
Sweep up
Everyone
Leave the bench the way you found it, or a little cleaner.
Six Tuesdays: build a side table
- Tuesday, Jan 13
Reading wood
Grain, movement, and why your table top will grow a quarter inch in July. Then sharpening a chisel properly.
- Jan 20
Milling the boards
Jointer, planer and table saw. Rough cherry goes in, square stock comes out.
- Jan 27
Mortise and tenon
The joint that holds the legs to the aprons. You cut eight, and two of them are practice.
- Feb 3
Glue-up
Clamps, cauls and staying calm. The base goes together tonight.
- Feb 10
The top
Edge-gluing three boards, flattening with a hand plane, fixing it down so it can still move.
- Feb 17
Finish it, take it home
Hardwax oil, a last sanding and a group photo. Bring a car with room in the back.
What changed in the catalog
- October 2026
Spalted maple is back
A good batch from a sawyer in Brevard. Enough for about nine tables, then it is gone again.
- July 2026
The Pine bench now costs $1,240
Walnut went up 14% this spring, so the bench went up $60. Orders placed before July 1 keep the old price.
- April 2026
New finish: smoked oak
A darker oak that still shows the grain. Samples are free, ask for one with your quote.
- January 2026
Extension leaves for the Clingman table
Adds 18 inches. You can add one to a table you already own; just send us the order number.
- September 2025
No more cherry veneer
Everything is solid wood now, drawer bottoms included. Prices did not change.
How we hire apprentices
- January to February
Send a short email
jobs@haldenpine.example
Who you are, and one thing you made with your hands. Anything counts, a bookshelf or a quilt.
- Early March
A morning in the shop
Paid, $120
You work next to us from 7 until noon. We watch how you listen, not how you cut.
- Same day
Lunch with the team
On us
Everyone gets a say. Ask what you would ask a friend who works here.
- April
An offer in writing
Two years, $21 an hour to start, health insurance from the first day.
- May
First day
Safety training, your own apron and your own bench. The broom is shared.
From apprentice to master maker
- Years 1 to 2
Apprentice
$21 to $25 an hour
Sanding, finishing, milling and a great deal of watching. At the end you build a bench on your own.
- Years 3 to 5
Bench maker
$27 to $33 an hour
You build commissions from start to finish and talk to the customers about them.
- Year 6 on
Lead maker
$36 an hour and up
You run the floor on your days, teach the Tuesday class and check every piece before it is oiled.
- When the others say so
Master maker
Profit share
There are two right now, June and Luis. Nobody has ever been made one by a manager.
What happens on the day
- Two days before
We call you
To set a two-hour window. Mornings go first.
- 8:00 am
The van leaves Asheville
Blankets, tools, a level and two people who know each other well.
- On arrival
A walk-through first
We check the path in, the doors and the stairs before anything comes off the van.
- About 40 minutes
Set up and leveled
Legs on, top on, shims if your floor slopes. Most old floors do.
- Before we leave
A care card and a tin of wax
Wipe it with a damp cloth, wax it once a year. That really is all.
Come and see the shop
Asheville, NC 28801
Open shop Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm
After you write to us
- Within a day
June or Luis writes back
A real reply, usually with a question or two about your room.
- Within a week
A call or a visit
Free and with no pressure. Plenty of people just want to look around.
- About two weeks
Drawings and a price
Sizes, wood and the full price on one page. Take your time with it.
