Firepit Bench project

[EddieWalker]

To seal the wood and keep it looking beautiful, I would look into boating supplies and use an oil to rub into the wood from time to time.

Eddie

 

[woodlandfarms]

Thanks guys. More than likely these benches will not make it next to the firepit. We had purchases some of those plastic chairs that look like Adorondaks from Home Depot and they are so friggin comfortable the bench is just a joke. Instead we have 40 acres in the hills and are creating view areas so we will probably put the benches out there. The round ones will wrap around our huge maples (we have some massive ones on the property - saddly our huge cedars were illegally logged by the previous owner to fund his meth manufacturing business). I will look into these ideas for covering the benches...

 

[Midniteoyl]

Ya.. next to a fire, use plastic

 

[woodlandfarms]

Bwahahahha Didn't think of that. People get to take there chairs home with them, stuck on skin.

I have to say that up until recently I have always had logs to sit on around camp fires and never have I seen one catch on fire. I have seen the ground brush get toasty, but never wood bench or log.

 

[cqaigy2]

I chuckled at Midniteoyl's comment too.

 

[jejeosborne]

Awesome bench. I too will now be looking for some curved logs.

 

[forgeblast]

We have those plastic chairs around our fire pit also. They work fine, 4 years and still no issues with them.

 

[radioman]

I really like that huge bent wood shape. If you made a few and sold them - you'd be making good money I bet. also find some locust wood and cut a notch to hold log off ground. should last long enough to enjoy many years around fire pit.

 

[MotorSeven]

Like Eddie said, an oil based wont peel and can be re-applied with a rag once a year. As far as feet go it would really look good on stone...very Neanderthal

I still would like to see how you cut those...you did a amazing job on such a tight curve. Btw, if that 8 wheeled Grapple disappears one night, don't worry...I will just borrow it for a few days...I'll bring it back....I promise. That thing is the wicked.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Well, I seem to have found a new use for these twisted logs. My neighbors saw this, and we live in a logging area, and the phones were dialed. Now I am supposed to hook up with some logging outfit, They find these trees all the time and usually just leave the bent stump. I guess they will drag some up for me if I want.

As for how I did it, well, I wouldn't repeat my procedure. It is an alaskan mill with a 32" Stihl 044. I put an aluminum ladder down, one end to the other, got my estimated height in the middle and then set the ladder to the middle with cribbage. As I got to that point, I stopped and rotated the ladder so it wen to the other end.

NO BUENO

Ladder tilted, things got mucky and you can see the wow in the cut.
l
Next time I get a piece like this I will sacrifice a 2X8 or a 2X6 and some 2X4 cribbing. Cut the 2X6 at angles to get it to make a relatively flat turn... like _/

Carl

 

[woodlandfarms]

duplicated

 

[woodlandfarms]

And motor, thank you for the kind words but up against a master craftsman and an artist like you, and I don't use those words lightly as I am in the business of "art", I just cut a piece of wood in half.

 

[MotorSeven]

Ha...well let's just say I can bluff my way through just about anything(and don't look too close):laughing: I have not used an Alaskan set up, both my CSM's were fixed on a track like a band mill so cutting a curved log would have been "interesting". What kind of feet or base did you decide on?

 

[woodlandfarms]

I was thinking Cedar rounds. Cedar is a choice of wood in the PNW for direct burial. so I figured it would work fine as footing.

I do like the idea of Rock, but we don't have a lot around here and itwould involve my wallet. Given the cost of the sealants suggested, even cheap rocks are getting my wife in an ire.

Again motor I strongly disagree with your self analysis. Your work is amazing.

 

[crazyal]

I have a curved Cherry that I had a guy with a portable band mill cut up for me. It was a large model mill and he didn't mind playing around some. He cut half way down it, backed up the saw unit, spun the log around, and cut from the other side. The two cuts lined up really close, nothing a planer couldn't remove.

If you have walking trails on your land I would be placing benches all over the place. I have some I made but I don't have ceder so I used red maple. They only last a few years.