Natural Spruce Empire Stool

by Prairie Bench0

This is a traditional empire stool which was designed for travel on long journeys. We’ve used reclaimed spruce planks, complete with scratches, and drill marks plugged with ash dowels. There are no nails or screws, in fact no metal is used in the design. The seat is pegged to the frame with hemlock dowels. A cubby connects the frame and adds lateral support. Hand grips are ground out on the underside of the seat. The finish is polyurethane. No stain is used.

These chairs are great accents in a hall or bedroom and can often be found with a few clothes or jackets resting on top.

The finished size is 21″x15″ and stands 18″ tall. #07-29-18  Click on images to expand.

Cedar Barn Plank Card Table

by Prairie Bench0

An old collapsing barn furnished cedar planks for a card table. The project started with the discovery of a set of 4 folding table legs. The planks were cut to size, sanded, glued and clamped. The old nails, staples and defects were left in, sanded flush and coated with layers of finish. A blond spruce slat was added for dividing line between two competitors. We are still debating changing the original color of the legs to something more “rusty”. We’ll post photos of the final decision.

Polyurethane is the finish. No stain is used. The size is approx. 33″x33″ and 27″ tall. The piece weighs less than 20lbs (8 kgs). Click images to expand.

 

Chainsaw Carving – Garden Gnome House

by Prairie Bench1

The Garden Gnome House was carved and finished over two days from a dry poplar log we had sitting out back. A Stihl MS170 and an MS261C were used. Poplar is a “soft” hardwood and not the best for intricate work, but the log was there and its time had come.

The house was fun to make. Wearing ear protection with the saw revving, little imaginary stories start to form, and playful ideas become inspirations. Several plunge cuts were made for the doorways first, then the roof line and chimney were cut. The staircase resembles rock slabs and winds around the log, passes behind a waterfall, and goes over a bridge. A poplar tree is fashioned on one side, and a vignette of a mountain scene is under the bridge.  Three brass drawer pulls are used as footings to raise the standing log. LED lighting is threaded into the log interior to cast a warm glow…like someone is home.

It is finished with a torch and several quarts of polyurethane/thinner/boiled linseed oil mix. Poplar has a grey, mouse color when dry and the poly/linseed mix adds some rich yellow tones. The torch treatment is done before finishing and gives brown tones to the shadows and highlights.

The finished piece stands 6′ (2 m) tall, 15″ (40 cm) diameter, and weighs approx 120lbs.

Knight’s Shield

by Prairie Bench0

This is an original design for a patron who requested a knight’s shield to display. It is fully functional defensive armor for various axe, sword or arrow affronts.

The ‘Knight of Sword and Cross Shield’ was created in spruce. The frame was cut and glued, then a design was sketched. Next the design components were chiseled and sanded. Then the shield was stained in Prairie Bench Storybook and finished in polyurethane. The rivets or ‘clavos’ were fired from bolts and the heads were ground. These are to dull the opponents’ blade in battle. A handle was fired and bolted to the back. Finally, the shield is branded and hand numbered.

Designed in spruce. 32″ tall. Finished in Prairie Bench Storybook. #17-03-11-BL

 

Carved Wizard Wand

by Prairie Bench0

 

This is a wand carved from a hazelnut branch and bears an affirmation in runic Middle Earth script. It is approximately 15″ long and 1.5″ thick. The natural color displays beneath a clear oil finish. The storybook style is typical of wands used by wizards in training.