Friday, June 10, 2011

Friday log bench in pictures

Today we spent the morning hewing a log bench. Oliver was pretty in to it and Ben was interested for a while. This might be my favorite thing to do ever and if I was actually good at this craft it would be all I did. I'll post more pics when it's done. It's going to have a bottle opener on one end and maybe inlaid horse shoes.  

I cut a log in two with the chainsaw. I really wanted to split it by hand with wedges but the wedges are kind of pricey and I already have a chainsaw.

Working my second favorite tool ever... the draw knife.

Sanding




My #1 favorite tool ever... a hand planer

Liv likes it too

A week old fawn wandered by to see what we were doing


Mama says time to go

Ben's new game, the log balance...

and fall.

6 comments:

Damie said...

this is your best post ever.

David said...

Looks tiring...

Larry Linux said...

Very cool. I look forward to pictures of the finished product. I have never had the chance to use a draw knife, but would like to try some day.

I too love the simple way of life and really enjoy building things with practical application. I will have to send you some images of the moveable chicken coops I designed and built that my wife and I use for our hens.

Most important, it is satisfying to see the relationship you are building with your sons. So many of our young people today lack a father figure in their life. My Dad was my best friend when I was growing up; because he, like you, took time for his son.

GZ said...

Heh ... great stuff. Love the B&W.

My bro in law did some furniture like this for a bit. You guys should yap. Keep the talk to knives, furniture, guns, and girls, and he is good. He gets a bit bewildered when I bring up running.

A lot of the logs up high have the beetle track in them too (which makes for interesting pattern). Or the blue fungi color.

Lucho said...

Thanks Damie!

Dave- ya, but in the best way.

Thank you Larry. I'm a stay at home dad which is an amazing thing to have the opportunity to do. I love it.
A good draw knife is pretty cheap on e-bay and I love using it. Fiddling with logs is cathartic for me I just wish I had done more carpentry when I was young.

GZ- The beetle kill wood is very cool I think. Pine isn't a great wood for most applications though but it's easy to get and free.

Thomas said...

Great stuff - love the photos of the boys. Damie might just be right.