It is begun

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

I worked the blank a little this week, got all the mold marks off, rounded the sharp edges, and acid stained the front, as well as cutting it in half (I did that in the mold). It is at about a 25 degree angle, not 45 degree.

Now I just have to sand it to fit and attach handles.

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

Here is a picture of the backside:

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

I have been waiting for this for a while, once I get it mounted I can finish the pergola.

My buddy had a huge cedar, Juniperus ashei, in his driveway. Aside from the pollen, it was in the way of where he wanted to expand his driveway. He cut it down in 2008 and stored it at his brother's for the intervening years. We had been looking for a sawyer to cut it for us but none were willing or cheap enough, so we decided to do it ourselves today freehand with a chainsaw. The first piece (on the ground to the right in the last pic) is for the seat and back of a bench, the last pics of the big log will be the side pieces. The first pic is one half for my bar in the outdoor kitchen the second for a low seat in the same.

We sawed them, planed them, and sanded them. Hard work, but it sure did smell good doing it.

[Gulf]

Re: It is begun

....We had been looking for a sawyer to cut it for us but none were willing or cheap enough, so we decided to do it ourselves today freehand with a chainsaw.....

Wow! That is some undertaking for a chain saw. If I had of attempted that with one of my self filed chains there wouldn't have been anything left after 20 passes thru the planer .
Impressive, we do with what we have. Great job .

[Les]

Re: It is begun

Beautiful wood. There is a product for your saw. I was thinking about buying one a few years ago when my father dropped a black walnut tree. To late now but you did a great job without it.

alaskan chainsaw mill from Northern Tool + Equipment chainsaw mill&mkwid=spETkhde5&pcrid=9495434711&mt=b

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

I got the posts in for the bench (well, I got the holes dug), but of course I hit a big hunk of chert in one of them and my neighbor has my breaker bar and is out of town so I had to grind an old axle down to break it up. Ah well....

Once set, those will be cut level to bench height and the log seat will be notched flat and countersunk lagged to the posts.

[Derkp]

Re: It is begun

Where is the bench in relation your oven/bbq/cooking center? What finish is required for the Texas weather?

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

Here is another pic. One side of the log will be set at bar height between the pergola poles (the one with the bark still on on the left), The bar is right on the right edge of the oven house and there is 5 foot between the bar and the bench.

Here is a backyard panorama with the kitchen on the right.

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

Derkp for finish I am going to use a Sikkens sealer. It has the ability to be resealed without removing the old sealer, and has a 5 or 6 year life expectancy.

[Derkp]

Re: It is begun

Large back yards are to die for, ours is too small, I do have .93 of an acre near Hill Air Force base with all of the bee,chicken,garden, etc. located there. What is the stack in the center of the pergola? it looks like a flue?

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

It is a cast iron fireplace I haven't wrapped it in masonry yet, but it works fine as is.

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

Finished the bench and bar. It took a while to figure out how to mount the bar, we settled on carving a hole, then making a cut and using all-thread to clamp it onto the pole.

[Gulf]

Re: It is begun

Looks great TScarborough,
Some pegs cut to fit and drove in those holes but left sticking out just enough to accent them would be a good touch .

[Tscarborough]

Re: It is begun

I will plug them after a while, will let it settle in then tighten again and finish it.

[Derkp]

Re: It is begun

Tom,

How did you bore those holes in your bar height log/table? Large hole saw?

I noticed the two poles that support your wood bar in your older build photos, did you cut them off and re-cement them in or did you hike that 1/2 log/table over the ends?

I am thinking of building a log bowery type thing to cover a few picnic tables and have access to pine logs 8-12 " dia. Do you think setting them in cement would be enough or do I need to treat the ends with somethiing first?

Thanks for your brain power,

Derk