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Honing existing skills or learning and practicing new skills is will get this small sitting bench build in no time. For woodworkers new and wanting to learn how to build things and end up with a nice function piece of furniture, this is a perfect project. For the more skilled woodworkers, this is also a great project because they add their own features to it and make it even better and also end up with a great new piece of furniture that will appeal to all members of the family.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/XvcSQplqXfw
The version I made is from pine, and although pine is a soft wood to work with, the fact that it is glued in many places means it will last for generations without losing it rigidity that you would get with nails of screws. The nice thing with pine is that it's a beautiful wood to look at, to work with and can be finished in many different ways for clear coats to paint ...
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Some time ago I joined some cuts from a live edge slab of wood to make a somewhat square, live edge coffee table top, then I finished the top with a special version of teak oil called Teak-Olje and both those articles and videos can be found here: Part 1 & Part 2.
This final video and article are a quick overview of installing some Steel Legs to the coffee table and something I have not worked with in the past, so a whole new experience for me.
Watch this video on YouTube here > https://youtu.be/o8cCQXBZ7d4
I started off by purchasing ready made steel legs from one of the big box hardware stores rather than trying to make my own. There was not many choices of steel legs that I could purchase locally, but did find some inverted "V" shaped legs that I liked and that looked very well made ...
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Natural edge or live edge lumber has become a quite a trend in the past few years and many lumber stores are now offering a variety of species that are either single or double sided live edge. Unlike purchasing ordinary lumber, and selecting it for grain, color, and type of cut, natural edge lumber is unique because every board is different.
Often the cost of this natural edge lumber is premium priced, and of course, there are all sorts of different choices in how the edges look so, first of all, finding a piece you like at any one of the lumber stores who offer it, then getting the optimum usage from that natural edge plank is imperative.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/qz6UjJoRKVc
Probably more than any other kind of lumber, you really need to have a good idea what you are going to make and the dimensions of it before you even start looking for natural edge lumber ... unless of course, you are just buying lumber on "spec" which I do from time to time, then hope it will fit what I want to do with it when the time comes ... I still have some pieces that haven't found a use yet ... but one day .... one day ....
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Sometimes I like to make things just for the experience of learning how to make them, which is exactly what I did with this Milking Stool. I have made some stools in the past but not like this one, and so I understand the techniques and how the spline wedges that will hold the legs in place need to be placed at 90 degrees to the angle of the grain of the top of stool otherwise the pressure will often crack or split the seat of the stool.
What I had never done before was to use Arbutus or Madrone or even Madrona as it is also sometimes called, (species name- Arbutus Menziesii) in making the legs. Working with Arbutus is always a challenge, and in this case the wood was aq bit green so I wanted to see just how it turned and how much shrinkage there would be when it dries.
Watch this and other similar videos on YouTube - https://youtu.be/ynQN1Yfa28M
I have worked a bit with Arbutus in the past. When it is dry it is very hard and tends to be chippy to work with. In my experience it doesn't often crack as it dries, as long as it is allowed to dry slowly, and depending on the thickness, this can take months or even years to air dry fully. It's that dense a wood.