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Still making benches

Started by WV Sawmiller, August 20, 2017, 08:11:35 PM

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curved-wood

WV Sawmiller : I love the top bench on the top photo, nice grain

WV Sawmiller

Quote from: btulloh on October 24, 2019, 05:22:05 PM
That bit will work pretty well. Use low speed. Brace yourself!  Use the helper handle too. Definitely back up the exit with a block or cutoff - they can make nasty exit wound.
Its a lot heavier built than I was expecting. I will see how it cuts. I've been more diligent about using a piece of scrap backing wood and it has improved the quality of my cut and the fit of the tenons.

  Thanks CW. It has some unique grain to it. I had only made one locust bench before these and it was beautiful wood. This tree fell and uprooted a maple and both fell together across my upper pasture fence so I cut and dragged both down and cut this curve out. I'm trying to leave the bottom 15-16 ft intact for use as a pole/upright on a future pole barn but if these benches sell that could change. Locust is about our most durable wood in this part of the country.

Sam, you are right. These are not far enough off center of balance to make me plan on adding a 5th leg like I had to do on my oak set which had some serious curve.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Nebraska

I looked at that same bit a couple days ago, I didn't pull the trigger yet so hopefully you give it good reviews.  Nice benches btw.  I hope I can get close to that.

Old Greenhorn

@WV Sawmiller , How did you make out at that street fair? Just curious?
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

   It was a bust for me. I only took 6 benches down due to limited space and they got a good bit of use by people buying food at the Lion's Club food wagon in front of the store. When I went to load up the guy at the store asked me to leave 3 of them there in hopes he can sell them in the future so I did. Most of the customers came in and left on a special train and they could not take anything that large back with them. 

   Friday was totally uncoordinated with no vendors allowed to set up in the street and our town officials go an earful and hopefully next year will be much better.

   Oh well, they are ready when next Spring rolls around and I will keep them on Craigslist and such. Thanks for asking.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

My wife has been doing craft fairs as a business for 20 years now. (She is a quilter.) Your story is similar to ones I have heard from her many times. Picking shows is MORE than half the battle. Don't let it get you down. Craft shows are a crap shoot and my wife has spent SO much time picking the right shows for her stuff. There were a LOT of one-shot deals where she never went back because of the advertising, or the crowd, or whatever. Now that she is winding down, she has several good ones she has done for years and sticks with, but the others either cost too much, or don't draw enough. When/if I retire, I might do some of these shows with her, if I have my own stuff to sell. Now there is one show I help her with every year, I actually enjoy that one. I thought I would use that as a test show. I think that's my goal for the winter work.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

thecfarm

My wife use to do craft fairs and sell at farmers market and any local place that had a gathering. She/we always made out quite well. Most times I would go with her. I made a special table that set up on those plastic saw horses.She had her jams/jelly,soap,things she made,like pot holders,aprons,placemats. We would have samples of her jams out there. Than she would have biscuits and small pies for sale too. You have to work the crowd,as anyone that does one should. We would notice vendors reading or on thier phones steady,just sitting there,making no effort to reach out to people just walking by. We would be on our feet making eye contact with people and telling them what we had,or to try. Sometimes we would have 3-4 couple crowded into our little space. ;D Than when it was all over,some vendors would come by and tell us that we had a hot spot. ::)  You have to act like you want to help and answer questions. But I never said that.
I remember one craft fair we sold a ton of soap. Just by asking people to stop and smell our soap. She had alot of differant kinds. Even a bubble gum one.
But different than WV Sawmiller and Old Greenhorn wife. Ours most expensive product might of been $20 too and easy to take home too.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WV Sawmiller

   This was set up at a local hair studio with some photos and paintings and such. My wife got a photo club started several years ago and the club members set up here and the owner asked me to bring up a few benches. We set up on the sidewalk Friday and immediately did battle with the town officials who backed down pretty quickly. My wife and the rest did sell some of their photos. She worked the Lion's Club trailer the first day and made the cole slaw for the hot dogs all three days. She is a big time quilter too but mostly makes them for family and friends and occasionally she has been commissioned to make a baby quilt or two. She had made a baby blanket for a friend of our daughter who took it back with her Sunday. She also makes a special theme quilt every year for Camp Care held at Lake Lure NC every summer where our daughter volunteers. It is camp for kids with or who had cancer and their siblings. Every year is a different theme (Star Wars, Super Heroes, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, etc are some she has made quilts for). The kids and staff sign it and it is raffled off at their Christmas Party as the grand prize.


 This the 2018 Camp Care Quilt


 
This is our oldest GD Christmas Quilt (Butterflies) for this year - please don't tell her yet. The younger sister gets one with kittens and the middle GD gets one with unicorns. (Yes - that is a 14' long python hide hanging on the wall behind the quilt frame.)


 We did get this picture of all 5 grandkids together at the Railroad Days event Saturday so it was still a real good day.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

ManjiSann

@WV Sawmiller  Wanted to post and tell you I really like your benches! When I was cutting one of the pear logs and ended up with a large flitch I immediately thought of your benches and set it aside to dry in the hopes I can make one to go around our little fire pit. Not sure how well it's suited to such a build but will be fun to try.

I hope you're able to sell a bunch, they are nice and the pride you take in your craftsmanship shows in the final results  :)

Keep up the nice work and posts!

Brandon 
Poulan Pro 5020AV, Husky 390XP

WV Sawmiller

Brandon,

  Thanks. They are fun to make. I keep hoping the right customer will come along and buy them all and contract for me to make them full time.

   Good luck on the Pear. I have not sawed any such fruitwood (Except lots of cherry). Remember you can make a real nice bench from a 6" wide X 2" thick X 2' wide slab if you find the right piece. And if it is less than 2" you can shim it up with a half inch thick piece of plywood or 2/4 board. I find I need at least 2" thickness to hold the tenon tight.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

ManjiSann

WV,  I'll keep my fingers crossed you can find that customer!

I'm not sure how well the pear will hold up but I figure it was going to be stickers or firewood otherwise so why not try it. I appreciate all the information you so freely have shared. 

We all need a hobby that helps fund itself  8) 8)

Brandon 
Poulan Pro 5020AV, Husky 390XP

LeeB

Try some of the craft woodworker groups with the pear. They like it for intarsia. It has a flesh color to it. It also spalts beautifully.  
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

WV Sawmiller

   I got out in the mud and made three maple benches today from an 8' LE slab. Made one 36" & 2- 33" each benches. Had some nice spalting in the slab. I used the 1-1/2" auger shown in reply 72 above and i was real well pleased with it. I did get a chunk stuck in it at one point where it would not cut. Removed that and it worked fine. Seems to make a much tighter/more accurate 1-1/2" mortise than the spade bits I had been using. I have a Forstner bit but it does not work well making angled cuts like I use for my bench legs. Weather permitting I will take these to our local flea market which is scheduled to open Sunday. I think my DIL sister and maybe a couple of my granddaughters will be there and I will put the 12 y/o to work. She will watch my load while I shop as long as I get her a donut or other local goody.


 33", 33" & 36"


 Nice spalting especially in the narrowest bench. 

   The two smaller benches fit through the planer but the longest one was too wide and I sanded it with 80 grit belt sander. I planed all the legs and put a light coat of tung oil on all surfaces showing.

   Now to see if the will sell. I have 6-8 more slabs like this one or about 25-30 more 30-36 in benches. 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

Great minds think alike, and I guess we do too :D. I cut up another slab pile today and added these to the pile that is air drying. The cutoffs are firewood. I don't think I will get to making benches for a few weeks at least, but when I do, I want to make a bunch at once, like you do.
Nice appearance on those you have there!
 Edit to add the photographic evidence:


 
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

@Old Greenhorn


   Are those first cut slabs you are planning on using to make benches? I have made some with rounded slabs but nearly all mine now are just 8/4 LE slabs sawed both sides. I used to make the benches 4" thick but found they were too heavy and 8/4 is  plenty strong. You can also make a very nice bench from a 6" wide slab too. The advantage of the narrower slabs is you can run them through a planer and weight is reduced.

  Tomorrow I will likely try to make a few more bluebird boxes and might saw up a stock hickory log into tomato stakes as I see my stockpile is getting low. I might even make another raised planter box to take along as a sample to the flea market.

  A funny thing today a local bait shop selling plants called me to order some more tomato stakes. I delivered them and he said he said he needed a small bench for people to sit on to try on footwear. The funny part is last year I tried to leave some benches there on consignment. I'll stop by there on the way back from the flea market and show him several samples and repeat the offer. Benches like I made today are perfect for mud rooms and porches for people to put their boots on and off.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

Yeah, we never talked about it, but I did notice you make yours from flat slabs and I surely see that advantages of that. I make mine from the log first cuts with the round side. If I too enough off to make that 8/4 I would be losing a lot of the log for 'real lumber' so I just select the slabs that are thick enough for a bench, and the rest is firewood. It take a lot more work to finish the rounded side, but with the ask, it leaves all the bug tracks, which I think looks cool. I look at it as a way to use (and hopefully sell) stuff that would have been firewood. I should do a few like yours and see which sell better. Figuring out what folks want is tough. I also like to put urethane on mine, it lets the rain just slide on off. I am thinking it adds to the life of the bench, but it also adds time. I am log poor right now, so I'm trying to squeeze the most out I can.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

   I will also occasionally salvage a nice looking slab from the waste pile and make a bench from it. I have ruined some by not having enough thickness to hold the leg tight. IMHO you need at least 2" to hold the tenon tight. On a too thin flat board or slab I can easily add a thin board as a shim to add extra depth to the mortise and the shim does not normally show. I'm thinking that would be hard to do and detract from the appearance in a rounded slab. I guess I could do several thin layers and laminate them but does not sound like it would be worth the effort unless it was a truly spectacular piece of wood.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

samandothers

WV,
Is the use of granddaughter to work for your for doughnuts a child labor violation? :D   Sounds like a fun activity and makings of a good day.

Old Greenhorn,
Are you putting rounded side up where the bug trails show?

WV Sawmiller

Sam,

   What's a child labor law? ;) My father sure never heard of one when he had me helping him put up monuments when I was 6 years old. This is the granddaughter who will get up from the breakfast table and get in the truck to go fishing with me and open up the cooler to get into the snacks her grandma packed before I pull out of the drive. :D

   I could put her on a commission plan but she'd likely sell my $200 walnut bench for $50 so she could earn enough to buy her donut. Besides the weather is calling for about 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms and I likely won't go this week anyway.

   On OGH round top benches that sounds uncomfortable to me. Would be like sitting on a log in the woods all day and my contours don't work well that way. :D
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

samandothers

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on May 23, 2020, 10:35:55 AM
On OGH round top benches that sounds uncomfortable to me. Would be like sitting on a log in the woods all day and my contours don't work well that way. :D
Just sit side saddle or straddle... or bigger log!  
I am sure it will be a fun day with the grand daughter. 

Old Greenhorn

Hah, I am out in the shop between coats and just checked in to find this! You guys kill me😆
No, the round side goes down. I will try to grab a pic, but from my phone it might be tough.

 
Well I guess that worked! Yeah, round down. It's just like toes go in first. (TGIF)😂
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

   Well this set has a new owner as of today. A lady had told me to hold them for her several months ago and today her son was over with his truck and was able to pick them up. They should be sitting around a firepit by sunset today. 


 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WV Sawmiller

   I took a curved white oak LE slab I have had air drying a couple years, trimmed off a foot or so due to a split, took a wire brush and finally a draw knife and trimmed off the punky sapwood, cut it into a 28" and a 30" section, ran these through my planer, bored holes for the legs with my 1-1/2" auger (Have I mentioned how much I really like this auger bit. Oh yeah, I guess I did mention it in passing.  :D)

 I did not have any WO legs stock handy but I cut some 6' long RO into 2.5" square leg stock a few weeks ago so I grabbed and cut 3 of them into 2' bench legs. I recently bought a replacement table saw from HF and decided to try something with it. First I tilted the blade put the rip fence next to the blade and grabbed a piece of scrap stock. What I learned was how easy it will be in the future to make octagon legs. `With the angled blade and rip fence basically you just make 4 passes and knock the corners off. I did not do it today but I see some octagon legs on future benches.

 What I learned, and I am sure you won't get an "A" for safety from your HS shop teacher, was a very quick and easy way to cut the corners off the ends of the leg stock in preparation for cutting the tenons on them. I just pushed the end free hand into the blade notching off about 4-5 inches at a time, rotated, and repeated until I had a rough octagon or circle reducing the amount of wood left to remove with the tenon cutter. If you do this be very careful and safety glasses would be a very good idea as the saw wants to jam and throw the cut off pieces back at you. I then put these leg pieces in the vice, grabbed my drill and Lumberjack tenon cutter and cut the tenons. I had removed and resharpened my tenon cutter blades and had to adjust the blades first just to get them to cut. Then I think I may have moved them too far and the tenons seem loose in the mortise. I'll adjust again the next time I use it.

 I glued and installed the legs, cut off the excess then installed a metal wedge in each tenon to tighten each in the mortise. After our family cookout I took the benches to the mill and cut them all to length. When I put the benches on the mill I set the forward advance to just slowly ease through the wood so as not to put too much tension on the cut. That worked fine. The 28" bench just barely fits across my rails. If they were much shorter I'd have to lay a longer board underneath and remember to adjust my cut height accordingly.


 After this picture I sanded with my belt sander and 80 grit belts especially around the tenons to remove the scratches I made cutting off the excess and to make sure it is perfectly flush with the bench top. Then I wiped the top and legs with tung oil and left the benches to sit overnight.

 I confess - finishing my wood is my weak point. I need lots more practice and to spend some time with an expert to learn how to smooth the wood and apply urethane and other finishes better than what I do now.



<br
This is the piece of scrap leg stock made into an octagon. I see this style on a future bench and not too far off. The lighter color is the fresh cut surface.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WV Sawmiller



 I started these yesterday in response to an order I got at the flea market Sunday. They are actually side tables 24" long and 20" tall instead of my normal 17" for benches. I got interrupted to go get hay which trumps all other work because of the time sensitivity. I finished my part this morning and will take them to my contact at the flea market Sunday to have him do Lichtenberg engraving on them. I started with about a 6' RO slab so went ahead and did the 3rd one while I was at it. They are sanded but no finish because the tung oil can interfere with the Lichtenberg electrical currents.


 The big difference here is these are octagon legs and first time I have tried that. That may be my new normal. A collateral benefit is they fit easier in the tenon cutter without having to use a draw knife to remove the corners and trim to fit better. These were fresh cut RO legs and pretty soft and cut each tenon quickly and easily.


 They were easy to make. I cut the legs to 9/4 square stock which may be my new normal legs blanks as seems strong, works well and I like the look. I just angled the blade on my new HF table saw to 45 degrees, moved to rip fence over so I took about 1/3 of the width with each pass, laid the legs against the fence and took off one corner, rotated and repeated 3 more times till I had removed all the corners leaving a nice octagon shaped leg.


 I then put them in my vise and cut the tenons on each.


 I collected the notched off corners and cut them into 6" lengths for kindling for my spoiled wife and put them in an old feed sack till next winter. I also saved the shavings and curleques from the tenon cutting and even the chips from the mortise making from my 1-1/2" auger bit (Did I mention I am really liking this 1-1/2" auger bit - Hint, hint. :D) for firestarter.

  Once installed and excess length cut off with my Japanese pull saw I took them to the mill, put them on a wide 1" board, put a scrap 2X6 against the side supports, clamped and set the blade for 21" and cut off the excess for a 20" finished height. I had to use the 1" board underneath because my bed rails are about 26" apart at the movable clamp and these were too short to fit across them.

  When I finished that I cut a couple of 2" cookies off a poplar cutoff to see about making a 3 legged stool which may be my next project.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Nebraska

I like those octagon legs. May steal that in the future..... :)

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