Rustic log furniture

POC · February 05, 2014, 02:19:45 PM

I'm wanting to make some of this furniture, but I'm having a hard time finding any info on it on the 'net. Can someone point me somewhere that might give me some help? Anyone here do this type of work?

This is an example of what I'm talking about:
http://www.rusticlogfurniture.com/

1938farmall · February 05, 2014, 02:52:18 PM

i see the company is out of colorado so most likely they use lodgepole pine or aspen - what species do you have available? a shavehorse is nice & a good drawknife essential. how will you make the tenons? making furniture or cabinets? process is pretty simple as long as you let it be rustic. al

Ianab · February 05, 2014, 02:59:28 PM

Here's one the Boss made.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,39063.0.html

POC · February 05, 2014, 03:05:53 PM

Sorry I should've included more.....

Primarily I'm thinking of ERC for most of the furniture, as that is what is most plentiful here. But Sassafrass or Persimmon aren't out of the question, or even Sycamore as it seems to grow like a weed.

I have intentions of making a shavehorse, I have a good drawknife. I was planning on for now cutting tenons with a large drill bit and squaring off with a chisel. Mostly furniture like beds, chairs and tables.

Ianab · February 05, 2014, 03:19:47 PM

Check out this kit.

http://www.baileysonline.com/Woodworking/Log-Home-Furniture/Tenon-Maker-Accessories/Logman-Log-Furniture-Tenon-Maker.axd

Something like that would let you put tenons on the ends of small logs, then the mortise is just a round drill hole.

Cedar should work well. It's dries easily with minimal shrinkage.

Ian

POC · February 05, 2014, 03:26:46 PM

Very neat. I've seen the larger "pencil sharpener" types, but not that one.

Right now I'm out of work and $$$ is a problem, but after I find something "regular" to do, I can move forward with buying that.

m wood · February 05, 2014, 03:28:37 PM

POC, you should check out a series of books by Daniel Mack. He goes into a bunch of history and showcases a group of artists from around the country. Some build real stuff in primitive shops the old fashioned way, and then you can see others that have all the latest and greatest tools doing production stuff. There's artsy fartsy stuff selling in Soho and The Village for tens of thousands, and a big chapter on the "turn-of -the-century" Adirondack camps. I got a couple of his books when I first got started in making the stuff. I bought my first tenon cutters from Baileys years ago and they included a VHS on bed making and chair making. I bet its a DVD now :D.
Good luck. Any specific questions please feel free to PM me...but I check in here pretty often too ;D.
mark

Busy Beaver Lumber · February 05, 2014, 04:37:58 PM

I have both the logman and the veritas tenon cutters. They both have their good and bad points.

The logman can be a bit tricky to get set just right, but does get the job done. The resulting tenon is not always a thing of beauty and it does take some skill to use.

The veritas cutter work very well and produce nice consistent results. But you better have a real strong drill and strong shoulders and arms to turn the bigger size cutters and counteract the cutting action. They are definitely my favorite and very easy to get used to using. I dont use screws in the joints. I just glue, drill, and peg all my joints with a section of dowel. My insurance policy that it will last for generations to come.

There are not a lot of good books on rustic wood furniture, nor are there a lot of plans out there. In my opinion it is very much a design as you go art form where no two pieces are ever 100% alike, nor do you want them to ever be 100% alike. I suppose if you had a bunch of consistent size poles, you could mass produce items like the place you showed, but if you look at even their fantastic items, it would not take you much to figure it out yourself.

m wood · February 05, 2014, 09:47:13 PM

[quote author=Busy Beaver Lumber
There are not a lot of good books on rustic wood furniture, nor are there a lot of plans out there. In my opinion it is very much a design as you go art form where no two pieces are ever 100% alike

I 2nd all what BBL said!! Daniel Mack's books are definitely show and tell..more showey, less telly :D. I also love the look of my veritas (radius) tenons, but the Barkers with their 60* shoulder get used for all the railing aplications. The Barker set (not cheap) came with the shoulder bits, and when used and measured correctly, they hide some or all of the 60* shoulder, and thats a cool look. they're scary to use when your drilling 3" + holes, but look awesome when put together. The projects I made with them are long since gone and saddly no pics. The shop should be busy this summer and I should have more current pics forthcoming.

POC, there are nuances and tricks to the tools, that you can really only learn by trying. For instance; I never once read or saw anyone talk EVER about soaking a seasoned stick or log for a few minutes in a bucket of water befor cutting a tenon, but the cut is so much smother and your drill will be less chattery. Are you thinking of some projects for yourself, or are you considering marketing stuff? The cost CAN be prohibitive if just a few projects for home are in mind.
mark

POC · February 06, 2014, 12:13:45 PM

I'm hoping to market the furniture, eventually.

Busy Beaver Lumber · February 06, 2014, 03:50:08 PM

POC

Just noticed you are from Indiana. Always glad to meet someone form same state. Located in Fort Wayne on this end, just off of exit 317 on 69.

I like making the rustic wood furniture stuff. Really like making it from downed trees and limbs. Kind of feels like I am giving the unfortunate tree or limb a second chance. One tool i like is that Black and Decker cordless jaws style electric chainsaw. It is very light weight and perfect to take wandering in the woods to cut up fallen timber and retrieve the pieces you want to take home. Can usually make quite a few cuts on each battery pack and the Mrs. does not mind using it too. Very quiet, so I can go out harvesting early in the morning.

POC · February 06, 2014, 04:56:50 PM

My wife is from up there, so she knows just where you are talking about. She went to school at Homestead and lived in the Ft. too.
I'll probably be up that way, sometime, I'll let you know, maybe I can come check out your shop.

Patrick

yukon cornelius · February 06, 2014, 08:18:06 PM

i recently bought the beginners set from grizzly. it came with a 1 inch and 2 inch cutter, both forstner bits and a little beginner book for $259. I have cut several logs with them and so far so good. they have a more expensive set but I thought id start small and move up as I can since cash is nearly nonexistent for us. im still learning but its a lot of fun. I also have a ton of erc im using. I made my own draw knife that works really well for me also. have fun with it!

Busy Beaver Lumber · February 07, 2014, 12:28:48 PM

Quote from: POC on February 06, 2014, 04:56:50 PM
My wife is from up there, so she knows just where you are talking about. She went to school at Homestead and lived in the Ft. too.
I'll probably be up that way, sometime, I'll let you know, maybe I can come check out your shop.

Patrick

Our kids went to homestead too, until we moved to the north side of town, then they went to Carroll.

Would be great to meet you and would be more than happy to give you the 50 cents tour over a cup of something warm to drink. Could even give you CNC and laser engraver demo

POC · March 02, 2014, 07:04:21 PM

Went for a walk yesterday and took some pictures of some of the more interesting trees I saw.

My daughter likes to climb this one. I'll probably leave this one and build her a cedar chest out of it.

Might use this in my bed.

This is an interesting....mess. Anything I could do with it?

This is a big ole boy, lots of limbs down low. Any suggestions for what I could do with this?

Double trunk, one set of roots.

This is a big tulip poplar that fell over. Lots of lumber in it. What you can see of the knife is about 6" in length.

I guess it was dead, appears to have rotted off. We've had several instances of high winds around here over the last few years.

Another Poplar in the same area.

Pretty big Sassafras. Again, about 6" of knife showing.

Tall, straight cedar.

"Bushy" cedar tree. Fairly large for our property.

Another Sassafras, I think these oddities are caused by a virus (?). Anyone ever do anything with this kind of wood? Do you get any kind of figure from the galls?

I'd never seen the ruffle looking root like that before.

Just more pics of cedar.

Do any of these trees "speak" to anyone? Any suggestions for projects?

yukon cornelius · March 02, 2014, 08:05:31 PM

well that looks just like a lot of the trees on our place that im going to try to cut up. we also make rustic furniture. I love all the oddities and defects. I hope you can get some good stuff out of yours!