Had to do something with the remains of the oak and cherry tree that fell in the spring storms.
The rustic oak bench was built using mortise and tenon with wedged dowels - no glue (except a bit to hold the bowtie where my tenon was a bit tight and split the wood) or hardware and is surprisingly sturdy. No finish was applied, only planed off the roughest of the chainsaw grooves and sharp edges to avoid splinters and feel a bit better to touch.
The cherry bench went opposite extreme using metal for supports and carriage bolts to secure the wood. Finished with a couple coats spar varnish / BLO /MS mix which undoubtedly will need to be redone much too soon as the wood is still pretty green.
The rustic oak bench was built using mortise and tenon with wedged dowels - no glue (except a bit to hold the bowtie where my tenon was a bit tight and split the wood) or hardware and is surprisingly sturdy. No finish was applied, only planed off the roughest of the chainsaw grooves and sharp edges to avoid splinters and feel a bit better to touch.
The cherry bench went opposite extreme using metal for supports and carriage bolts to secure the wood. Finished with a couple coats spar varnish / BLO /MS mix which undoubtedly will need to be redone much too soon as the wood is still pretty green.
