Fulfilling her father's dream could be a lifelong project for Mira Nakashima-Yarnall.

Her father, the late George Nakashima, an internationally acclaimed woodworker and furniture maker, had envisioned placing altars for peace on each of the Earth's six inhabited continents, all made from the wood of one great tree. He lived to see the first on educated at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine in New York City on New Year's Eve 1986.

Nakashima-Yarnall hopes to complete her father's legacy. With the help of her brother Kevin and a host of supporters, an altar for the former Soviet Union is now inching toward reality.

Actually, this particular altar is more properly called "Peace Table." The word "altar" has heavy connotations within the Russian Orthodox Church beyond what the table stands for, said Nakashima-Yarnall. So "Peace Table" must suffice.

Whatever the object is called, the job of finding a home for the 3/4 ton, 10-foot-diameter structure was not an easy one, particularly in an unstable land thousands of miles away.

"It needs a very large room and a receiving organization that can handle it," said Nakashima-Yarnall "My dad's dream also included that it would be used as a haven from non-denominational meditation or prayer."

This last requirement was perhaps the hardest to fulfill. Irene Goldman, Nakashima Yarnall's friend and liaison with the former Soviet Union, accompanied Nakashima-Yarnall in 1990 to several proposed sites for the altar in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Finding an appropriate site was not easy, said Goldman.

"Many of the churches in the common-wealth are very sectarian," she said. "They were not comfortable with the non-denominational nature of the Peace Table."

Goldman, who has arranged artistic exchanges with the Soviet Union for years, finally suggested the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, a research institution that has existed for more than 300 years.

"The main reason we chose the academy was for its reputation as a respectable institution," said Goldman.

The academy can also physically accommodate the table and is open to the public, which is important to Nakashima-Yarnall. "I wanted it to be used for its intended purpose, not just looked at as in a museum," said Nakashima-Yarnall.

Goldman visited the Academy in February to finalize plans and view the proposed site, a recessed area in a building under construction. She returned with preliminary approval for the delivery of the table and a letter from academy official Sergei Kapitsa to Nakashima-Yarnall.

In this letter Kapitsa wrote: "The message of the table is more relevant than ever...peace is what we need and what we all pray for...the offer stands strong."

Kapitsa also said the table would become "the crown jewel of the place."

If all goes as planned, the altar will be crafted next summer and dedicated on Sept. 1, National Peace Day in Russia. George Nakashima's vision of a symbol for peace on each continent began in 1984, when one of his loggers got a huge American Black Walnut log from a Long Island estate.

Nakashima knew this was a special tree. He told The New York Times, "Trees of this character should have a special meaning and a special use."

This use eluded him for several months, recalled his daughter, until he had a dream while recuperating from surgery. In his dream, Nakashima saw the one great tree supplying the wood for six altars for peace.

The Nakashima family, aided by friends and patrons, formed the Altar for Peace Foundation. By 1986, the first altar was complete and on display at St. John the Divine.

Plans for other altars fell through over the next several years, as the remaining boards dried in storage.

In 1989, Nakashima received a group of Soviet artists in his Solebury studio. He stunned the group by reciting poetry in Russian, though Nakashima hadn't spoken the language since the 1930s.

"It was a moment where everyone's spirit was linked together," recalled Goldman, who had ar- ranged the gathering.

Nakashima told the Soviet artists of the Peace Altar Foundation, and asked sculptor Yuri Orekov to seek out possible locations for the object. This eventually led to contacts within the Academy of Sciences and the recent firm proposal.

For now Nakashima-Yarnall will continue to run the family business, trying to handle the backlog of orders left after her father's 1990 death. The fashioning of the "table" must wait until next summer because its size dictates that much of the work has to be done outdoors.

Nakashima-Yarnall also talks of longer range plans, including altars for India and Japan. Her immediate thoughts, however, are of the Moscow project.

"If there's one place on Earth that needs a tangible symbol for peace right now, it's the Soviet Union." said Nakashima-Yarnall.