Robert Aibel had just returned from his fourth "house call" of the day and was eager to show off his find. "It will be one of the great pieces of the show," the gallery owner crowed, leading a visitor to a magnificent 6 1/2-foot oak burl table with free uncut edges atop a more architectural base.

When word got out that the maestro of Old City's Moderne Gallery was putting together a show of vintage Nakashima this month, the calls started pouring in. With each, there has been a chance that Aibel would obtain something rare or aesthetically spectacular by the master woodworker and, in the process, learn more about the man.

One woman knew George Nakashima in the 1940s when he was a farmhand in New Hope, following his wartime internment in Idaho. He would later settle there in Bucks, establishing his custom furniture studio.

Aibel would also hear about how Nakashima would take time to get to know people and their interests.

"That first time had nothing to do with business; it was friendship. You were coming into their world, and they wanted to get to know you," collector David Chiacchio said, referring to the fact that George's wife, Marion; son, Kevin; and daughter, Mira, were involved in the business. "The wood would come later."

Aibel was in the vanguard in getting into the secondary, or resale, market for Nakashima furniture in 1985, while the craftsman was still alive. His interest in 20th-century design drew him to the work.

"Being in Philadelphia was heaven," Aibel said. "Where else do you see enough of [these pieces] to really learn about it?"

Those who bought Nakashima from galleries during the mid-1980s did so because these formerly owned pieces were less expensive than new ones from the studio. Besides, there was no waiting list, Aibel said. Major interest in Nakashima was stirred in 1989, a year before his death at age 85, with "Full Circle," an exhibition of his works at the American Craft Museum, in New York. Then, in 1994, Aibel mounted a big show dubbed "Zen Modernism" at his gallery, which put Moderne on the map as a source for the work.

During the first five years after Nakashima's death, prices for vintage pieces were volatile, Aibel recalled. But starting in 1995, prices rose as buyers saw that Mira was continuing the studio's work.

Aibel will charge $2,500 to $8,500 for a 5-foot coffee table, depending on the aesthetics, symmetry, asymmetry, equilibrium, the particular piece of wood, its knots, holes and butterflies (trademark Nakashima joinery). Meanwhile, a 7-foot Conoid bench with a back (a bench with a free edge and a Windsor-like back) may sell from $6,500 to $15,000. And a 7-foot Conoid dining table with six Conoid chairs will command $20,000 to $30,000. These prices exceed those listed in the Nakashima Studio's catalog for comparable new items.

The strong vintage market reflects the fact that those items were executed under George Nakashima's supervision and bear his signature, said his daughter.

Aibel's involvement with Nakashima furniture extends beyond his show and a companion exhibit of Mira's work. He's having a reception at his gallery next Friday 10 help raise money to ship one of Nakashima's famous Peace Altar Tables to Russia and to set up educational programs to accompany it. The tables are a manifestation of Nakashima's dream to create a tangible focus for prayer and meditation; the artist had hoped to create one such mammoth table for each continent.

Each table is made of two massive book-matched planks sawed from a monumental black walnut tree and measures 101/2 feet in diameter. The tables weigh a half-ton to three-quarters of a ton and cost at least $30,000 to produce.

One table is at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in Manhattan, another is in India at the International Community of Peace, in Auroville, and a third was dedicated in 1995 during the 50th anniversary celebration of the United Nations. Mira worked on all three and redesigned the last two after her father's death. The delivery of the one destined for Russia has been held up because the two possible sites proposed to house it are unfinished, Mira said.

There is a $75 donation for the benefit party at Moderne, at 111 N. Third St., from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. next Friday. (Call 215-923-8536 to reserve.) Guests will include Marion, Mira and Kevin Nakashima, as well Irene Goldman, the chairwoman of the Russian Peace Altar Table project, and, perhaps, a representative from Auroville. The show will be open to the public Oct. 10 through Dec. 19.

There will be a companion exhibition of Mira Nakashima-Yarnall's new work at the studio, at 1847 Aquetong Rd. in New Hope, which will open with a free wine and cheese reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16. For more information, call 215-862-2272. That show, at which visitors can see the peace table destined for Russia, will continue through Dec. 19 and will be open Saturdays from I to 4:30 p.m. The studio will also contribute to the peace table project.

Other related events include:

• "An Emerging Heritage," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the studio. Nakashima-Yarnall will lecture on her work and her father's artistic legacy. Robert Hunsicker, who is creating a documentary film with the Nakashima family for release in 2000, will provide additional commentary. It's free, no reservations needed.
• "Living With Nakashima," at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Moderne Gallery, will bring together several well-known collectors with important Nakashima collections. The discussion leader will be Bruce Katsiff, the director of the James A. Michener Museum of Art, in Doylestown. It's free, no reservations needed.
• The University of Pennsylvania will-have an all-day program/bus trip' to the two exhibitions, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24. The $75 cost will cover a box lunch at the Nakashima Studio. The trip will start-at the Penn campus. Register by calling 215-898-6479.