Monday, December 4, 2017

A Driftwood Hall Bench

Driftwood Hall Bench

Last week, a faculty member stopped by with a big slab of old pine driftwood. It measured about 36" by 12" by 3" - something you would be hard-pressed to find new these days. He generously offered it to me, but I decided it would be better served in his small cabin near Lake Michigan. We tossed around a few ideas, then decided on some sort of bench or table. Eventually, he thought it would work well as a small bench to be put by the door for folks to take off their boots. I worked out a small sketch, then gave Hazem a call for some metal working help.
The process was a lot of fun. Hazem bought the 1" square tubing from Menards and I cut it into the requisite sizes. While he welded them, I sanded then distressed the slab with chains, pliers, and other assorted objects of mayhem laying around the shop. I sanded and painted the base, then put a coat of tung oil and shellac on the slab. I had to chisel some tenon holes on the bottom of the slab in order to center it on the base, then put it all together. It was a quick project and I learned a bit more about metal working, a goal of mine. 


Hazem welding the square tubing to make the base


The distressed slab before the finish



The finished product :)

No comments:

Post a Comment