A Drifter's Bench

Wow, pirate ship, life raft and barnacle boards! What a find. I made an exceptional bench and what a story that you can tell of how it came to be.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Even driftwood is bigger in TX!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Any sand or other related issues for working with driftwood. I’m wondering if it is worth a trip to the coast… Is this another potental source for reclaimed wood?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Thanks OS!

Yes Scott, although.. I suppose it could be left over Katrina remnants. Just adds to my story…

Wayne,
I definately noticed sand in the larger plank as I was sanding it for final finishing, it has numerous tiny holes and as i brushed it off after sanding, I could still feel loose sand on the piece, after some high pressure air the feeling almost subsided. Other than looking closely for nails, no other worries.

As far as a source, for a few projects sure, I will definately be looking again next time I go. You have to be picky though, some boards I looked at were too far rotted or water logged.

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

Great Story Rob.

Nice bench.

Scott great comeback on TX driftwood.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Wow you get your wood presanded!

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Great project!

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

Nice bench, great story, great find….I’m heading for the beach….I’ve got 1500 miles of coastline to search, and that’s just Massachusetts.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

That’s funny Dennis.

Not as likely to find Katrina wood up here, much more likely to find bits of pirate ships, or maybe an old whaling ship!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

I knew Noas Ark was real,finally some evidence! LOL

Thanks for all the great comments. One rather obvious point that you need to consider when searching for driftwood of the larger variety. Your public/ state beaches are normally pretty clean. All of the driftwood/ seaweed, etc is gathered up and disposed of, so you need to get to those out of the way, semi private beaches, that’s where all the good garbage (uh I mean wood) is….. :)

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

Maybe you can find an old shipwreck on a beach. That would give you lots of wood (unless it is steel).

Good job on the bench Rob.

Gotta love it…shark bitten ends….

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

What a great bench and story. Great comments too. “Even driftwood is big in Texas.” HAHAHAHA

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

what a great story behind this wood—- now THAT is history!

what I want to know is: is the family still shaking their heads? Or are they loving their little drifter’s bench

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Oh, they love it, even my 16 year old son said, “Dad, why don’t you sell this stuff, there is not another bench like this anywhere in the world?” Maybe next time I’ll have more hands on deck as I comb the surf.

Thanks for the kuddos, Bill, Mot and MsDebbie!

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

sounds like the time I dragged my daughter through a cemetery as I was doing some genealogy work—now, she can’t pass by a cemetery without wondering what/who she might find …
Your family won’t be able to look at a piece of driftwood in the same way (or not look) ever again!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi Rob;
—-well now here is a great story….great bench….great history, and if this is what sharks are eating down in Texas, I would like to see a picture of that shark!

Rob;....I really like that top there, and then those legs….now I know where ZZ and Willie ; get their songs from down in Texas Town ....

Thanks for sharing this one.
GODSPEED,
Frank

-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/

Thanks Frank, I was hoping you’d get a chance to see this. I always think of you when I’m working with the free form pieces. Great song videos too.
Thanks again!

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

Rob, you my friend are a ‘complete’ worker of wood. From start to finish, you leave nothing undone. I really enjoyed all the thought you have put into this. Being from Central Texas my boys thought this was sooo coool.

-- Making sawdust is what I do best

COOL project! You sound like a free sprit.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."