log furniture

[argyle1]

are there any log furniture builders watching this forum-----my venture into fence post and rail didn't work out as well as I had hoped, so I have a lot of raw furniture stock----I always wanted to try my hand at log furniture, so now I've bought some tools and am setting up a shop

[logwalker]

What are some of your ideas for projects? Joe

[ironstumper]

I knew a guy in NH. that got into that and did well enough to get out of construction.....This was like 5 years ago.....For what it's worth....Good luck....And also he would set up his wares at all the home show/craft shows in the summer.....

[Stephen1]

We are always looking for ideas & pictures I have some in my images

[ARKANSAWYER]

 

[Ironwood]

IMHO, the furniture market at the low end is fast becoming a commodity market. There are very few "barriers to entry" now that tooling is available affordably. There is even some importing going on, so,.... just depends what you need to make per day. Lots of garage builders out there "tooling" up to make a killing. I have sold most of my heavy industrial (Bignell Mach. ,now out of business) log cutting equipment. I have evolved. I suppose, if you watch your price point ,stay local, avoid exposing your personal assets to risks (by carrying insurance) you can make some money. Just watch that third one, people can hurt themselves w/ a spoon out there ;) :D.

        Good luck, Ironwood

[argyle1]

as far as product line goes,we'll just stay with patio and lawn type furniture----like swings.lawn chairs, picnic tables, maybe try a gazebo. We don't need to make a pile of money (as long as we don't go backwards) so it should be fun.The shop is almost finished and I have some dry logs (need to build some kind of small dry kiln in the future)I'll post some pics once I've built something and learned how to post pics

[Ironwood]

Be careful, rot will occur and eventual collapse. You should look into some sort of legal waiver for your customers to sign, as YOU will not be in control of the enviro in which your product will be used or know how long it WILL last. A lawyer may say it would not hold up in court, but you gotta ask yourself what do you have to loose? Weigh the costs, I used to build a ton of outdoor stuff, including swings. Today I have WAY too much too loose if some 80 year old falls 2' to the floor crushing their spine as the swing fails 10-15 years down the road. I am just saying get your head around  all aspects of the proposition.

Ironwood

[argyle1]

thanks for the heads up regarding liability insurance or waiver---for the small amount we would do I think the cost of ins. would be to high, but I will check it out. There may be some kind of home based business ins. that doesn't cost to much

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Argyle you should do well out of it if you stay small and specialized  ;) Dad's main source of income is from log furniture, P&Rail fencing, gazebos, and the like and he makes some decent money out of doing it  ;) ;D ;D Like the other blokes said I'd get some sort of public liability I've got my whole business cover'd for $2200 pa thats for $10 mill PL and all my gear covered new for old I'm covered as a portable sawmill anywhere in Victoria ;) ;D ;D
Good Luck Mate  ;D ;D ;D 8) 8)

Regards Chris

[FrankLad]

I've been doing this as a hobby for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy it.  Almost all of the log furniture I've built has been given to family and friends.  I've used the time to practice, and to discover how different species of woods behave and how they look when used for rustic furniture.  Pine has been the wood of choice, for ease of work and availability, but I've experimented with hickory (near-extreme checking, in my experience... and of course harder to work) and red oak.

Glad to see I'm not the only one worried about being sued by someone getting hurt on the furniture.  It's a shame, really.  Of course, nowadays I imagine we can get sued if a thief is injured while breaking into our home.

I'm somewhat of an oddball.  I make a living developing software for a wholesaler insurance company, but building rustic furniture is something I enjoy way more than programming.  If I knew I could quit the insurance company and make a living making furniture, I would give my two weeks notice.  Ha ha!

In the mean time, we have been easing into it as a side business by selling smaller items, such as picture frames.  We've sold quite a few barnwood frames (almost can't keep them in stock, in fact), and have been experimenting with log frames and other accessories, like coasters, paper towel holder, etc.

My primary tool as far as doing joinery is the Log Man Tenon Maker and some forstner bits.  Eventually I want to get the Log Man II, because it addresses my main concerns with the first version:  It gives a larger router bit and allows you to feed larger logs, eliminating the need to taper the ends before putting the tenon on them.

Of course I use a drawknife, chisels, sanders (belt sander and angle grinder for rough shaping, and random orbital and palm for finishing).  The best tool, as someone on these forums once said, is a good set of eyes.  Working with irregular pieces, I completely agree with that.

For a couple of nightstand tops I've used edge-joined 2x material.  I know you can't beat live edge slab tops, but I've been giving the 2x tops a nice hewn look with a chisel, and shaping the edges.  Marks, gouges, etc.  Decent results so far.

Here are some pics:













argyle1:  Keep us updated!  Reading about others experiences with this is always inspiring to me!

[Reclaimed]

Just wanted to add my two cents. I have been building log furniture and accessories for 7+ yrs. It's had it's high and lows. Being free to be creative is wonderful.
I started  building with a tenoner then I wanted to make my projects stand out from the crowd. So I started to do full scribe joinery with a tenon inside for stucture. Works great, but a little time consuming. The end product was a nice unique piece which few could duplicate.
I try to utilize old materials such as juniper fence posts, lodge pole pine destine for firewood and old barnwood. Each product comes with it's own challenges, which keeps it interesting.
Now I have started to get away from the logs due to the mass marketed tenon jigs. It got alittle tough trying to explain why my product was more than the stabbed together furniture at Costco. I actually took the time to point out different strucural details to a customer who had bought one of these pieces to complement a bed I had made her. Once shown she understood but I got tired of repeating this process to others. : :
Maybe I place to much on craftsmanship, but I like to take pride in the hand crafted pieces I build. There is nothing more gratifing than a well made piece going to a customer who enjoys and understands what went into the piece.

Have fun with it and keep your eyes open for ideas. They are everywhere you look. ;D

[Stephen1]

Franklad, nice to see the pics, here is a bench out of retired baseball bats, I used the logman to finnish the handle ends of the bats 



I have some pictures I took in Val Gardena Italy when we were skiing there 2 years ago, I hope to build one this summer