bench 2

 Construction and carving

In my previous blog I explained some of the processes involved in bringing a project to realisation. In this blog I hope to explain how I go about turning an agreed design in to a finished product.

The clients had agreed the design and from the dimensions I knew I would have to biscuit joint 2 boards edge to edge to make a single large board, the idea being to minimise movement of the timber by alternating the curve of the end grain.

Selection of material was also important. American oak is not as dense as European oak and as such is not as weather resistant for outside projects. 

I sourced the timber Jointed it as described then transferred the design using carbon paper. The back of the board was also marked out to allow for the jointing over the vertical slats in the back of the bench.

 

 

 

 

 Carving and finishing

The lettering was cut out first whilst the rest of the board was flat. Then the flower and leaf design was outlined and the background was lowered. Flowers and leaves then had detail added to give a rough project.

The joints were formed in the back of the panel to allow for location of the vertical slats of the bench.

The board was then sanded and the carving refined where necessary, prior to applying the grey colour wash varnish requested by the clients.

Although not an exact match, the grey colour wash toned with the rest of the bench but the whole project looked a bit flat. Speaking to the clients they agreed to some colour being added to the lettering which helped to lighten the appearance of the board.

The final stage was to attach the board to the back section of the bench using stainless steel screws, then collection by the client.