<p>Dr. Carl Dohn is obviously a fan of President Bush _ he not only volunteered to build the 3,000-pound meeting table for next week's G-8 summit, but also carved its 10 sturdy legs with a special rawhide flair.</p><p>"They look like cowboy boots, since George Bush is from Texas," Dohn, a Georgia obstetrician and sixth-generation wood craftsman, explained Thursday as the massive roundtable he's labored over these past four months arrived at Sea Island.</p><p>At 15 feet in diameter and more than three times heavier than a grand piano, this is the table where Bush will sit with leaders of the world's industrial democracies during the three-day economic summit on this secluded resort island 80 miles south of Savannah.</p><p>It's also a summit centerpiece that signals G-8 preparations are almost complete, barring some last-minute landscaping and final arrivals of an estimated 20,000-strong security force in coastal Georgia.</p><p>Dohn, 54, began building the table in February after being tapped by Bill Jones III, chairman and CEO of the Sea Island Company. He was given a few instructions.</p><p>The table had to be round, to give the leaders equal stature, and 15 feet across to allow plenty of elbow room. He also had to craft it from heart-pine lumber salvaged from an abandoned textile mill, sending an environmentally conscious message.</p><p>"He's very attentive to detail and has an incredibly strong work ethic," Jones said. "Combine that with a sixth-generation woodworker, and I just knew he could build a great table."</p><p>Dohn said he initially warned summit planners the table would be too large, though he admits now he was wrong. But he says he has no shortage of opinions, whether the topic is woodworking or international politics.</p><p>He heaps praise on Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, calling them "as good a one-two punch as Reagan and Thatcher." He's not so fond of some other European leaders.</p><p>"I hate the fact that the guys from France and Germany are going to sit at a table I made, because they've been such jackasses to President Bush," Dohn said, referring to the two countries' opposition to last year's Iraq invasion.</p><p>Still, Dohn showed no favoritism in his design. The tabletop is inlaid with the flag of each G-8 country _ the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia _ where each leader will sit. The inlays had to be fashioned as detachable discs because Dohn didn't know the seating order.</p><p>It took a crew of 10 men to carry the table in pieces and assemble it inside the Beach Club on Sea Island, where Bush and the leaders will hold their formal meetings.</p><p>"Mainly, it's just the weight of this thing," said Brent Dohn, the wood crafter's 22-year-old son. "You need so many hands to pick up so many sections."</p><p>The table had to be centered exactly under one of the wrought-iron chandeliers hanging from pine beams in the ceiling. It took 19 men just to turn it 15 degrees so Bush's seat would line up exactly with the stone fireplace in back of the room.</p><p>Dohn said he spent more than 1,000 hours on his roundtable, with help from his sons and a fellow physician. But he's not quite done. He planned to return to Sea Island over the weekend to give the table a final buffing.</p><p>"It's got a few sweat marks and all and needs a good waxing," Dohn said. " But I think it came together well."</p>
