Lovely Log Bench

I love this bench I made with my husband. Love, love, love, love it!

Want to make one? It's pretty... um... hard, and it requires a lot of specialty tools, but here's how! 

Step 1:

Take your chainsaw out into the forest and cut down a {dead} tree. Or two. (You probably need a permit) Really.

(And yes, I used the chainsaw! We have a little pact: he taught me to use the chainsaw; I'm teaching him to sew!)

(You can also buy logs from a logging company, which is where we got the logs for the legs and plank for the seat.) 
Skip peel the logs with a draw knife, removing all of the rough exterior bark and leaving some of the inner bark - however much you think looks cool. (To me, less bark is definitely more!)

(skip peeling)
(Yes, I know I am not wearing proper PPE, but I don't love shoes.)

Step 2:

Prepare the base of the bench for assembly. The plank for the seat is 18"x 48"x 3". We drilled holes 3" in from each corner for the legs with a 1.25" forsner bit, cut the legs 20" and cut the tops with a 1.25" tenon cutter to fit in the drilled holes. 

(tenoning the legs)


Then cut the bracing, tenoned the ends and fit them to the legs.

Forsner bit:

Tenon cutter: 


(It's like a great big {pencil} sharpener for your drill! You can get forsner bits and tenon cutters from Rockler)


(When working with logs, you have to do a lot of eyeballing and guesstimating. It is hard for me to do this, since I am usually an OCD perfectionist freak, but since no two logs are the same, I have to let go!)

Step 3:

Assemble the base. I counter-sank lag screws to hold the legs securely to the seat, then he attached all the other joints with Gorilla Wood Glue. 

Let dry overnight!

Step 4:
We found an awesome curved limb to use for the top of the back. 

The end pieces were tenoned extra long to fit through the top, and the 5 spindles and the arms were cut to fit.



 We glued it all together with Gorilla Wood Glue, (hurry! the moisture from the glue makes the wood expand slightly, and with this project, we had very {little} wiggle room! oh, and you totally need a craft spotter for this step! It is a two-person job!)


Then I made plugs from a scrap piece of log to cover the lag screws using a hole saw, and glued them in place. Because we used the same wood, it will be virtually {invisible} once it is sanded down. 



Hole saw:

Let dry overnight! (again)


Step 5: 
Sand. Sand some more. Keep sanding! (Including the plugs. Sand them down level with the seat)





Step 6:

Apply several coats of finish. We used Deft Clear Wood Finish over the whole bench; applying several coats allover, and twice as many as that on the seat. 

Step 7: 

Stick your beautiful bench in your garden and enjoy the last few days of {fall}!

UPDATE (P.S)


I have had bunches of emails asking for more information on the tools used for this project. So I feel I must add a disclaimer: I don't own these tools! They are quite expensive, so I borrowed them from my FIL. I also called around, and you can rent tenon cutters, forsner bits and the like from most all-purpose rental places. (You know the kind, they rent everything from chainsaws to nacho-cheese fountains) The one in my town rents them for less than $10 per day.  So if you're interested in making this project, or one like it, look into that before you put out a lot on $$ for tools you may not use that often!


P.S. again - my bench made the Top 10 on the DIY Club (So exciting!) and a guy emailed me wanting to buy it... *giggle*! 

<3 AmberLou

This is my entry for October's Party @ the DIY Club.

and I will be sharing at some of these parties

Dude Gifts

By {show of hands} how many of you have a hard time with homemade gifts for guys?

me too...

My BIL had a birthday last week, and I really, {really} wanted to do something homemade for him. 

The men in my life fall into three categories: 

1) Hunter-gatherer, do it your self-ers

2) Computer geeks / LOTR fans

3) 4-year olds 

This particular BIL is solidly in category 1. 

So I created.... {drumroll} the Man Roll!

(Slogan: "It's like a Crayon Roll, but for a Man!")

(Did you know you can actually buy one of these at Sears? Why would you though, when you can {make} one?)

You will need:

Something manly to put into the roll 

( I used a set of open end wrenches, $6.99 at Harbor Freight Tools)

2 contrasting fabrics 

a fastener (velcro on a strap, or a big snap)

***

I decided to use a pair of jeans for my main fabric. Herr Handsome informed me that his bro will get these wrenches greasy, and that it should be made out of some {manly} fabric that he can, I don't know, wipe clean or something. You could use canvas or nylon, or something like that, but I chose to use denim. I cut off both pant legs to use, but if you're buying fabric, 2/3 yard should be adequate. 

In an attempt to blend manliness with cuteness, I chose this fabric for my inside fabric

nuts and bolts! {So cute!}

The dimensions for this particular project were 19x11" for each of the denim rectangles 

and since my largest wrench was 9" 

I made my contrasting fabric 18x19", and folded it in half so it is 9x19.

Lay your folded contrast fabric on {top} of one of your rectangles

(Pressed fold pointing up in this pic...)

Take whatever manly items you're making this roll for, and lay them on the contrast fabric, pinning so there is an acceptably sized {pocket} for each item

once you have all the individual spaces pinned, appreciate how {cute} wrenches look in a roll. It's like they're sleeping!

Now sew a straight(ish) line down from the top of your contrasting material to the bottom of the roll. 

Dang, I just realized that I'm giving this to my BIL, Scott who as an ex-Navy fabricator welder guy will probably totally notice if the lines aren't {perfectly} straight. 

Hmmm. All well. 

Since this is for a {man}, make sure you securely reinforce the top inch or so, so he doesn't have to treat this man roll delicately. 

Tuck in your cute little wrenches  big manly wrenches, and pin beneath them in a diagonal, so that they will sit {more or less} evenly. 

Here is a close up of the pins to give you a better idea...

now sew a {diagonal} line from one end to the other, following the pins. (Make sure you take the wrenches out of the roll before trying to sew...)

Say some bad words when you realize you ran out of bobbin thread 10 inches ago

Decide what you're going to use to fasten the roll. I made a band with a leftover piece of my contrasting fabric, but you could use snaps, nylon webbing, whatever to attach it once it is rolled up.

Pin your large rectangles right sides together, and stick your strap (if you're using one) in between, (like the pickles on a sandwich...)

Pin it. {Do it!} If you don't it will fall out, and you'll have to get out your seam ripper, blah-blah...

Make sure (If you're using jean legs) to NOT line up the seams. It will make the fabric waaay too thick to sew through, and you'll feel stupid. {Really}. Learn from my mistakes, sister. 

Now sew around the edges, with a 1/2" or sew (get it?!) seam allowance, leaving a hole big enough to get your hand through on one edge. Turn and press, and sew the hole shut. Stick your wrenches in and admire. 

Roll the man roll up, and wrap the strap around, marking with a pin where the two spots meet (so you'll know where to put the velcro/snap, whatever)

Sew on the velcro, and give to a man for his {26th} birthday (his 22nd would probably be okay, too)

(Happy Birthday, Scott!)

Other items you could put in the man roll:

drill bits

saw blades

fishing stuff (and yes, that's a {technical} term)

bullets

shaving supplies 

whatever your man is into... 

<3 AmberLou

I'll be sharing this at these parties

1. Have you ever broke a bone or anything on your body?
never broken. I had a cracked toe once when a horsie stepped on it

2. What is your favorite drink?

Dr. Pepper. (It makes the world taste better!)

3. When is your birthday! You don't have to tell the year you were born!

October 1st

4. Do you have an allergies?

Vicodin and dissolvable sutures. (don't ask...) Oh and fabric softener!

5. What is one of your all time favorite movies?
Love, Actually (the clean version... that movie is so dirty otherwise!)




p.s. Check out this new, fun blog! She has some really great ideas, and is brand new!