finishing

Cedar benches — Raw cedar benches just before finishing.

Here’s two more benches to add to our Woodland Collection. A client chose two cedar slabs for patio benches. Each was approximately 7′ long x 18″ wide and 3″ thick. This enabled us to lop off the ends and stack it upright for legs and a seat. A hemlock trestle was added for stability. We split the leg, notch out the join by hand, and glue the entire piece back together with hazelnut dowels for support.

Each bench was left with live edges, saw marks and unique knots. The surface was ground with 80 grit, then 120. The edges were ground to remove any slivers and the entire bench was soaked in poly. The bench is turned upside down and poly is poured into the open grain to make it last for years outdoors. Any finish will eventually wear away with use, sun, and rain, but the client can easily wipe some on whenever they want to restore that sheen.

Cedar has long strands that like to peel away from the core. It’s a good carving wood for vertical designs, however the cut edges can remain rough no matter how much sanding. That’s just a characteristic of this wood. Hardwoods, like maple and birch, can be polished to a fine finish from any angle, but cedar is great for that rugged, outdoor style.

#137 BL 07 13
#138 BL 07 13

Approximate sizes: 42″ long 18″ deep 17″ tall.
Wood source: hawleyscape.com

A local tree harvester saved a nice round of Norwegian maple from the chipper and we had it slabbed for a future table and bench. The wain with the bark was wide enough to sand out and turn into an interesting table.

There were some band saw marks that needed to be ground and the piece included metal that someone hammered in long ago.

Next the sand with the grain to highlight the wavy quilting. The result is a surface with subtle ripples and quite smooth. We didn’t want this piece perfectly flat , only that it caught all the available light.

The legs are hazelnut, two with the bark polished to a natural bronze and one that had lost it’s bark but had an ideal curve. They’re inset and doweled, then glued into a tripod design that’s quite stable. The surface finished in poly so it’s durable and sits just shy of 28 inches (71 cm) which makes it a decent desk height.

The result is a space to compose or read–on a surface made by someone wonderful, nature. The maple grain is truly inspiring and the live edge creates a new environment anywhere you sit.

Approximately 28″ tall, 42″ long and 20″ at its widest.#137-BL-06-13

Twin Cedar Benches

Maple Writing Table