This chair was made from eight, ten foot standard spruce 2 x 4’s. The 2 x 4’s were sliced into 5/16″ strips. The “spine” was made up of twelve, ten foot strips glued together and bent around a five foot diameter form screwed onto my shop floor. It was then clamped into place. The “ribs” were four, three foot strips treated in the same manner. When they came off of the form they retained their shape and were very strong. It is very comfortable!
I thought I would give building a bed a try
A new project just completed. This one was quite interesting as I only had a YouTube video to go by with no plans or dimensions. This design is from Mr. Truong of Vietnam.
Starting from cedar boards milled on the property
Some of the pieces cut to the rough dimensions
All the pieces put together with mortise and tenons
Dry fitting the rough pieces together to see if I guessed right with the dimensions
Making the slats for the seating
Another project just completed. As usual, I used cedar that I milled from storm damaged trees.
For years we had a dark blue tiled kitchen countertop. We had been wanting to replace it as we were feeling a little squeamish about the grout after all these years. I had some good looking cedar boards so I planed them down, glued them together and ended up with a nice looking counter.
While probably not the best wood to use (on the soft side) it will probably last our lifetime so we’re pleased with the results.
The original single step into the living room was a doozy with a 20 inch difference in floor levels. We could foresee a time in the future where negotiating the step might prove to be interesting as our mobility waned. I used a couple of 8 foot x 10 inch by 1 ½ inch live edge cedar and made two steps instead. Much more comfortable though my muscle memory is still working with the original step so if I don’t watch what I am doing it is a bit of a tripping hazard. Time should remedy that!
I just finished this chair made from off-cuts from my mill
The other day I was clearing a small plot of land for the new goat yard. While digging I came across an old slab of cedar that must have been half buried for years. I hooked it up to the tractor and took it back to my shop.
While there was some rot and insect damage, with a bit of scraping I could see that there was perhaps enough good wood for a bench.
After a few days of scraping and sanding the wood was suitable for an outdoor bench. I once more hooked it up to the tractor and took to a favourite forest spot under a massive maple tree.
I finished the chairs today and they have joined the table. A fun and interesting project but that may be it for chairs for a while (though I did just find another interesting design that might become a Fall project). Next on the list – fruit tree pruning and then next year’s firewood.
All the parts for three chairs are sanded and ready for assembly. I have been busy getting one chair put together so have been doing some quick posts on my other blog site for now (“Visual Montage” on the menu bar above).
I was working on the chairs today and while cutting out parts our chicken was behind the drill press singing songs of encouragement. When she departed she left me an egg for tomorrows breakfast.
And speaking of chairs, I finished cutting all the pieces today for all three chairs. Now just a bit of initial sanding, cutting a million mortises (slots that the tenons go in) and then assembly.
Hard-To-Come-By Lifestyle 