Project Information
We had a 50+ year old European Weeping (Silver) Birch tree that reached the end of its life. I could not locate a great photo, but you can make out the trunk here. Rather than burn or chip it all up, I had a 6.5 foot length of the trunk saved and milled. I chose to cut into various thicknesses from 5/4 to 10/4, and cut it through and through to provide a range of grain patterns and possibilities. It cured for several years out doors and in, and waited for a project quietly…...
Fast forward about 5 years, and we needed seating for our entryway for each of us during a renovation; this seemed a fitting use for a tree that grew just outside our house!
We choose to use handcut dovetails and bookmatched seats with a simple design. They turned out to be a very comfortable set of benches to sit and deal with footwear, etc. The figure in some parts was pretty stunning, and I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent stability of this gnarly air-dried lumber!
This was a super fun project, and I can't wait to find another one for the rest of this Birch!
Thanks for looking!
Fast forward about 5 years, and we needed seating for our entryway for each of us during a renovation; this seemed a fitting use for a tree that grew just outside our house!
We choose to use handcut dovetails and bookmatched seats with a simple design. They turned out to be a very comfortable set of benches to sit and deal with footwear, etc. The figure in some parts was pretty stunning, and I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent stability of this gnarly air-dried lumber!
This was a super fun project, and I can't wait to find another one for the rest of this Birch!
Thanks for looking!