A customer came to me with a picture in a magazine of a vanity similar to this and asked if I could do one. I said sure but the slab I had available had a large defect which would preclude the use of a set in sink like in the magazine. We decided to carve the sink into the wood and work around the defect. The other large defect was the crack in the top which got filled with lots of epoxy ( about a gallon and a half ). You can't see it in the picture but you can look down into the crack and see the decay in the wood. I wanted to put some debris in the crack like leaves, twigs and a few bugs, kinda like I found it, but she opted for a clean view. The whole thing is finished in epoxy for durability. A big thank you to Rob at Tule Peak Timber for the helpful Hints on the epoxy.
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That sink looks good.Mighty good!!!
Now that is very creative. Turned out magnificent.
Very cool!! Can you elaborate on the process of carving out the sink?
That is just amazing. thanks for sharing the pictures. :)
Amazing is what I was thinking too, and those pictures are priceless. I am sure that the customer is very pleased. smiley_thumbsup
Very nice. I like using epoxy. please tell us how you carved the bowl.
I am very interested.
The trim and hardware add a nice touch too. Did you do all of that also?
The bowl was carved with a chainsaw then a chisel and then a 4" angle grinder with 24 grit disc. The final sanding was by hand. Basically I cross hatched the main shape then knocked them out with the chisel and got to the final shape with the grinder. It went smoother than I thought it would. Working with osage was nice because there was little chance of tear out. The contractor did the installation and I think he was cussing me all the way. It weighs about 350 pounds so there was no way I could do that myself, at least that was my excuse. I have to go out there in a couple of weeks to tidy up a few imperfections. She wanted it ready for a open house so I was a little rushed toward the end. The whole remodel is supposed to have a photo shoot in a least one magazine, maybe three.
Really beautiful. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) :snowball:
I would be interested in a follow up in a few years to know how it held up. Wood + water scares the heck out of me. If this can be made to hold up for 20 years, this could be a fabulous high end addition to a home. ;D :snowball: :snowball: :snowball:
That's amazing work. 8) 8) 8) I really like it and you did excellent work carving out the bowl. :)
As far as longevity goes the epoxy should hold up pretty well. It's the same stuff used on boat hulls. It can always be recoated. The osage will probably never rot even if it's exposed to water.
My worry would be when the wood begins to move... but time will tell. Hope it lasts for 20 years at least, as it looks great.
Like the workshop out in the open. 8)
Incredible project :o
Osage is a pretty stable wood and it doesn't hold a lot of water to begin with. This was an old log from a dead tree that was about as dry as it was going to get. The whole thing is encased in epoxy so I don't think there will be much movement.
The pores in osage are filled with tyloses, like white oak. Should stand the test of time.
You have created a one of a kind masterpiece! And from one of my favorite woods. It will only get more beautiful as it darkens with age.
Beautiful piece. Love it thanks for sharing.
The color in the pictures is wrong in both the shop setting and the installed piece. She did not want the natural yellow color but the darkened aged color would be maybe OK. You can't tell in the picture but the trim and the frame of the mirror is actually greyed barn wood. She wanted something which would contrast with it. You can't stain osage, it just won't take it. I worked up several sample pieces using various chemical treatments to get colors from almost black to walnut brown to reddish tan to tan. I even produced a sample with a greenish hue. You are actually changing the pigment in the wood which itself is extracted and used as a dye for fabric. You have to be careful when you wash the treatment off as the dye is somewhat water soluble, to much and you're back to yellow. She settled on the reddish tan which was produce by treatment with a strong solution of swimming pool granular chlorine ( sodium hypochlorate ).
That's spectacular!
Did you ever consider an emergency overflow drain, maybe snake a hidden tube up to the front bowl rim from the drain pipe and seal it off? Maybe there is and we can't see it? I could see my kids flooding the house :D.
Not sure of what to say but fantastic job! never would have thought such a thing, very unique, fits the theme perfectly,
That is very beautiful! smiley_eek_dropjaw
I copied and shared the picture. Nice!
Very nice. Have never seen a Osage Orange tree any where near that size up here. Didn't know they could get that big.
Larry
That's medium size for around here.