CEDAR SET READY FOR MY CUSTOMER

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Cedar slab furniture.
5 foot bench and coffee table.
2 end tables.
All with live edge.

Legs made from Elm trees and accented with Muscadine vines.

8 coats of outdoor CABOT poly and buffed with car wax.

Thanks for your comments.



  

  

  

 

[Mooseherder]

It sure is a beautiful creation.

[fishpharmer]

Poston, looks great, you will have some very happy customers.  Curious if all the cedar was milled from the same log/tree?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

  Curious if all the cedar was milled from the same log/tree?

Yes it was.

[Axe Handle Hound]

I like it!  You have quite the eye for rustic furniture.

[Tree Feller]

That's a good looking furniture set, David. You are quite artistic in your work.

[hackberry jake]

Poston, those look great. That table has an extra large amount of sapwood, I like the contrast. You're ok in my book even if you are a panthers fan. ;D

[Stephen1]

Now that is a beautiful piece of work.
How did you join the elm...Tenon?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Now that is a beautiful piece of work.
How did you join the elm...Tenon?

I use 6 inch deck bolts. I pre drill the holes, fill the holes with Gorilla Glue and then run the bolts down tight. The bolt hole is then plugged and then sanded down flush. You can drop this set out of a plane and it'll stay together.  say_what Well......you know what I mean. 

[jamesamd]

Very nice 8)
Jim

[Okrafarmer]

Very nice, Poston. So, how does the bark stay on over time?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Very nice, Poston. So, how does the bark stay on over time?

The best way I have found to keep bark on is to fell the trees in the fall when there is not much water in the cambium. HOWEVER......there is water in the sapwood just under the bark.....so you have to be careful and not damage it.
Another thing, CEDAR (thee red part) has less water in it than any other woods I've used. As soon as I take a BIG cedar out of the woods for a bench, it goes directly to the mill.
I mill a 2 inch slab and hopefully the wood is prime enough for benches.
After I mill my slabs, I let them air under the shed for 24 hours or about.
Then I begin to work them. Because a slab is to wide for a table planer, I use a hand planer to get the saw marks off and then I will belt sand it down to a smooooth finish.

To get the bark to hold, I use outdoor Poly and SOAK the bark. In about 30 hours the bark in frozen into place.

The main thing is to keep the bark and wood out of the sun. Use live edge furniture in your home, covered patio, or any place where it will not get sun or rain on it. Doing this, the live edge will stay on.

Also a lot of people do not think about this. Your bench making starts when you first put the chainsaw in the the tree. Don't damage the bark. Don't drag your log with a tractor or do anything to skin it up. Try to keep everything intact.

As far as the Elm goes,  If you don't damage the bark, it'll be there forever if ya just keep it out of the sun and weather.

[Dan_Shade]

do you worry about the screws going into end grain loosening up over time?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

do you worry about the screws going into end grain loosening up over time?

I did at one point Dan. I have some benches I built back to 2005. When I pre drill my holes for the long deck bolts, I try to fill the holes with Gorilla Glue. Then before screwing in the screw, I dip it in Gorilla Glue and run it in the wood. Any excess glue that oozes out, I clean it up.

So far the screws and glue have held just as tight as they were at installation.

[fishpharmer]

Thanks for the explanation. 8)

[Bill Gaiche]

Very nice. Don't you just love ERC? bg

[isawlogs]

 Rustic fine furniture   8)

[giant splinter]

Very nice work and a remarkably beautiful finish

[sawmillhand]

Poston   thats some nice furniture there great job.

[WDH]

Wonderful!  I will be bringing an airplane over this Friday to conduct some dropping-from-the-air tests on your furniture  :D.

Have you had any problems with the dreaded powderpost beetles?  They vex me  .

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Wonderful!  I will be bringing an airplane over this Friday to conduct some dropping-from-the-air tests on your furniture  :D.

Have you had any problems with the dreaded powderpost beetles?  They vex me  .

No Beetles yet.....that I can hear.  ;D

You may put my firniture on a plane but I don't think the plane will be able to get off the ground.  :D

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

David

Those benches are awesome and you surely have talent. Would love to have access to some nice cedar like that. Imagine how awesome I could make those benches look if we used the cnc and routed something like an eagle or mountain scene into the back

Fred

[Dodgy Loner]

That is some beautiful cedar, David. I wish I could give you all my knotty cedar for your rustic furniture, so's I could have your nice, clear cedar for my blanket chests! :D

[hackberry jake]

Dodgy, I didn't notice how clear that cedar was till you said that... Wow!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David

Those benches are awesome and you surely have talent. Would love to have access to some nice cedar like that. Imagine how awesome I could make those benches look if we used the cnc and routed something like an eagle or mountain scene into the back

Fred

This is exactly what I had in mind Fred.  8)