Prairie Bench – Page 11

Grand Battle Shield

by Prairie BenchMarch 19, 2014November 29, 20150

This immense piece of defensive equipment would have to be carried by a few helpers while the knight did sword work around them. For one person to wield the Grand Battle Shield… they’d have to be strong.

The shield uses seven hand planed spruce timbers taken down to 1.5″ thick on a 5% curve. The diamond design is enhanced with 14 axe-breaking steel bolts called clavos. There is also evidence of several major sword and axe hits that look easily shrugged off by the battle shield. The edges are beveled and the back has laminated supports and burnt edges. You’re getting a sneak peek. There’s one more layer of poly finish and the wound iron handles yet to attach. We’re letting the wood breathe a little longer before it gets prepped for travel.

The Grand Battle Shield will hang on the wall with an easy- to- adjust burnt iron chain and 100 lb hook, when not in use.

#272-BL-03-14
Size: 45″ x 36″
Weight: approx 50 lbs, 20 kgs
Designed in Spruce and finished with Prairie Bench Storybook. Uses hardwood dowels and hand tooled steel clavos.

Stag Shield

by Prairie BenchMarch 8, 2014November 29, 20150

One of the larger shields we make, the Stag Shield. Approximately 30″ x 42″ and designed in spruce with hemlock dowels. The shield is hand carved with a precision etching of a stag image. This is a functional wooden shield complete with iron hand grip and winding, and a leather sleeve. Total weight is about 20 lbs (8 kg). The Stag Shield is finished in Prairie Bench Storybook with a durable polyurethane clear coat to preserve the color and finish.

Designed as a wall hanging, this piece can also serve in a defensive capacity. FYI, the curved top on these medieval shield designs is functional and a knight would balance the lance on the shield, resting the shaft in the curve while riding into battle.

#274-BL-03-14

Wooden Owl Mask

by Prairie BenchMarch 8, 2014November 29, 20150

The Owl mask is a representation of a local Barred Owl which lives in our region. It’s designed in spruce and approximately 20″ in diameter. Hand carved, it’s one of our most popular shield designs. The process includes pencil sketch of the features, chiseling the appropriate thickness and then cutting in the lines for feathers. The Owl Mask is finished in Prairie Bench Storybook tones. The mask would use a peg as a handle, but for the size of this project we’re using wooden grips. There’s a checkerboard pattern on the beak. The bare spruce will age golden and it seemed to give the design a medieval touch.

#273-BL-03-14

prairie bench owl mask 273 5 — Hand carved feathers.

prairie bench owl mask 273 4 — Chiseled features.

Prairie Bench owl 1b — Peering from a spruce tree

prairie bench owl mask 273 6 — Through the eyes of the owl.

Medieval Woodcut Stallion

by Prairie BenchFebruary 27, 2014November 29, 20152

In keeping with the Year of the Wooden Horse, a new shield woodcut of a medieval horse.

Approximately 32″ tall and 20″ wide, the Stallion Woodcut is fashioned from reclaimed spruce and hand chiseled. The edges are slightly rounded to give the design a barrel shape. The finish is water-based Prairie Bench Storybook with additional light sanding inside the cut border. A polished black onyx stone adds a nice shine for the eye.

#271-BL-02-14
32″x20″ with 5% curve
reclaimed Spruce

Hemlock Bistro Bar

by Prairie BenchFebruary 21, 2014February 7, 20201

prairie bench hemlock bistro top 5 — A traditional 36″ counter bar (background right) is dwarfed by the massive Hemlock slab.

It’s big.

The piece:
Local Hemlock slab 3″ thick 60″x 20″ live edge
Local rough cut Fir timbers 4″ thick hand chiseled
Hazelnut dowels on frame
Hemlock dowels to moor slab
42″ tall
Rubber skid pads
Finished in polyurethane for easy polishing and durability

The hemlock slab was our work bench until we flipped it over and saw it had nice grain. So we polished it up with a hand planer and some high grit sand paper, and the result was stunning.

This piece is a fine example of West Coast Hemlock, and very strong. It is a soft wood, an evergreen, so the surface may get nicked and bumped—but that’s part of its story. We even left some of the original mill saw marks, and there is a compression mark from early in the tree’s history. It’s a wain cut so the slab does have a slight twist, compensated by the custom frame. Belly up to the bar, we estimate the load bearing for this unit to be about eight tons, however we only recommend the table for lattes and a few brews.

One side has a nice arc that invites patrons to sit around the server and bartender side has a convenient knot hole for tips. Each post of the fir frame is hand chiseled and joins in a locking pattern on three sides, then pinned with sturdy hazelnut hardwood dowels. Sanded smooth, the blunt dowels and over cut edges give the piece a sturdy wild west look and in the category Country Collection.

For matching chairs, we’ll shop for some nice iron ones to complement the piece.

Size: 42″ tall x 60″ long x 20″ wide
Finished in polyurethane
#270-BL-02-14

prairie bench hemlock bistro build — Frame of the Hemlock Bistro Bar being built on the new work bench, a huge cedar slab. Looking forward making something with that monolith.