GOVERNMENT STYLE PARK BENCH

Alright This customer stopped

by with this 

naked metal bench, badly in need of wood.

 Now the reason I call this a Government style bench 

is usually our money is no object for them to spend

and most people couldn't afford a bench of this nature.

This customer found it at a yard sale for a very good price

and wire brushed it and gave it a good coat of paint.

It was decided Southern Cherry was the wood of choice

and would go well with the bench frame color.

I cut and processed the 21 Cherry slats and he picked them up

for the clear coat, this was done to save money.

 when brought them back he also supplied the fasteners which was

 84 bolts washers and nuts, YIKES,

That was a lot of hole drilling.

Anyway it turned out well and become a bench anyone would be proud 

to own.

Don't forget to click on the photo to enlarge.

 TABLE FOR THE BIG GREEN EGG

All right It's been a while and time to update here.

Had a customer stop by the shop and told me he had bought a komoto cooker

 also known as the Big Green Egg, some time back But didn't want the table they offered with it an option, because of price. So after looking and studding the cooker a bit

 It was agreed I would build the table for him, but he would have to go shopping 

for the pressure treat wood and wheels etc.

I also decided I didn't need the lid to it as that would be just something else to handle at the shop.

 I gave him the list and soon the materials arrived and I got started.

As I built the table I decided to make sure all the fasteners {screws}

were on the bottom side

away from the weather as much as possible { no screws on top}.

This would help the wood as much as possible weather Florida's ever changing 

environment.

Well when it came time to install the wheels, I discovered they where gigantic.

 I had to cut and install a type of skirt around the base of the 3" legs to 

create the necessary  surface area for the castor plate to mount to

but it looked fine and will do the job. this is the only area where 

the fasteners are exposed to the weather. 

TURKEY OAK TABLE

Well it's been a while again sense I updated here.

Had a customer stop by and was interested in having a dinning room table made.
As we talked I learned they wanted sort of a rustic table with character
 and they would like it about 36" wide, no problem, and 10 feet long, Problem.
If the stock was available 10' in length,  that's doable, but the species of wood 
decided on was Turkey Oak, More on that in a second.
 The majority of hard woods in my shop are 8' in length, tho I do have longer in some species.
The Turkey Oak was 8' in length and random width, so I told them I could stretch it 
 to maybe 9' by doing a bread board end technique which they were happy with that.
  Now Turkey Oaks around here are mostly a scrawny/spindly Oak  that many people mistakenly call Blackjack, However Blackjacks tend to grow more from the panhandle north.
 The turkey Oaks tend to die out at around 6-8" in diameter or at an age of 30 - 50 years.
 I was able to acquire some Turkey oaks that were mill able which were 14" up to 18" and up to an age of around 125 years old. Oh and by the way, since they are so slow growing they have a very tight growth ring, and lots of character in the wood.
 Now all the joinery techniques were tongue and groove.
The legs were glued up to about 3" thick and then a slight taper cut on 2 sides
 to give them a bit of a splayed look.
 The table had a nice radius edge around the parameter and was sanded and ready for the customers finish.
Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge.