I’m finally getting around to posting some news about the bench that was designed and build for our very good friends, Wendy and Aaron.  My previous post featured a picture of the walnut slab that will make the bench top.

A heavy bench requires pretty beefy legs. These legs are curved to match the design profile of Wendy and Aaron’s custom made dining table. Here I’m using the bandsaw to cut the 4″ solid walnut legs.

Fast forward a few weeks, now it’s time to dry fit the mortise and tenon pieces that make up the bench under-structure.

Everything is fitting nice and snug.

Now it’s starting to look like something.

The final profile is revealed. Still lots of wood to remove and detail finish work to do.

Once the wood working is final, everything is glued up into a solid single structure. Now we can start applying the oil. Note the color change from raw wood to oiled wood. The walnut is looking good……

Time for a break and a little Old Potosi.  You can see some of my hand tools that are used to craft the wood in the traditional manner.  Keeping them sharp is key.

Finally, the finished bench.