With so much mass manufactured furniture these days, custom made furniture is both unique and refreshing. Even when someone builds a piece of furniture from scratch, they don’t usually start with a tree! That is what David did when a tree fell at a friend’s place. Here’s what David has to say about his process:
When a grand oak tree fell in a friend’s back yard, my urge to reuse and create took over. The process involved drying and cutting the wood [then] curing the heavy slabs for 18 months. Then came the planing and sanding. With a coat of epoxy, a beautiful deep-grained custom bench was born. Your beefy tube-steel bench legs are the perfect compliment to the bench.
Thanks for sharing, David – what a treasure you’ve created! It can be a long process to start with a tree (or any raw wood) but the outcome was a piece of furniture that will last a lifetime and is truly unique to you.
If you are interested in undertaking a DIY furniture project but are not sure you have all of the equipment necessary, there are places that will help out with such a project. A local sawmill will be able to cut custom boards, for example, or sell you boards if you don’t have your own fallen tree. The bench legs David chose are also a great choice. Of course, we have many styles of hairpin legs to choose from, but with this solid dense bench not only will the bench legs be sure to hold up all the weight, but they nicely compliment the solid look and feel of the oak itself.
Great job David!
