[EZ]

Tables are meant to to be flat. Should not see light passing underneath. I adjust my reeds so that when water-soaked, they are also flat. I will sometimes put a bit of concavity on the mpc table near the window, but that does not extend to the outer edges of the table such that light would pass through from one side to the other.

If someone has found that concave tables are of benefit, more power to them. They also probably think the type of ligature one uses makes a huge difference in their sound (which I don't... and I also don't battle with "bad reeds").

 

[EZ]

Lateral concavity (as shown in your images) doesn’t have the adverse effect on reed lay in the same way that longitudinal concavity does (as shown in the image from the OP).

 

[EZ]

The point to be taken from the discussion is that the direction of concavity matters and that it is not desirable along the length as shown by the OP.

 

[EZ]

If the table is causing a problem, just get rid of it!

 

[EZ]

One of my first observations about table flatness - before having gotten too heavily into refacing - was a simple test of putting the mouthpiece down onto a glass tabletop or some other hard, flat surface and giving it a gentle spin. If the mouthpiece spun around a bunch of times like a top, the table was convex and was usually a PITA to get to play well with really fussy lig and reed placement.

Not sure fourth-decimal-place precision is going to make or break someone’s professional career as a musician, but there are certain fundamentals that help overcome a number of common barriers and frustrations. Like making the table flat.