Greene Inspired Entry Bench,... @ Misc Side tables,... built out of Spalted Maple

Interesting wood Dusty. It doesn’t seem to be a warm feeling for me either. The off color is not off color enough.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Karson,

I totally understand that feeling Karson. The funny thing is it seem either you love it it you hate it. that seems to be the reaction I get from others. I have been asked several times why I keep it upstairs and hid in a corner.

I simply tell them “because it really doesn’t go well with my other Arts and Crafts and Mission furniture.

That is true, however I don’t tell them the rest of the story.

I really don’t like the piece.

Some pieces we do as woodworkers are better left in a corner I guess.

I have to remember it wasn’t my idea or for me.

Some day I will find a home for it.

(Looking towards my fire pit now)

:)

-- Dusty

see next post ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

”Some pieces we do as woodworkers are better left in a corner I guess.” - Dusty

Hey Dusty, You can’t hit home runs all the time. The piece doesn’t do a lot for me either, but those side tables and that lamp are great! Keep up the good work.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Very nice, I like them. It must be a lot of work. I have never tackled a project like this and you have my admiration. Nice work and nice wood.

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

TomFran,

Thanks for the comment.

I agree with your comment.

If I think about it I never have built a “perfit” project. I never think any of the projects I have designed or built are good enough or meet my standards.

That is the perfectionist in me. That is the part of me that always is trying to do better.

I never feel my work is worthy enough for some one else.

That is what keeps me building. Each time I try improve.

In this case I did my best I could. Simply said this piece is not my taste.

I worked very hard on this project but at the end of the day I still don’t care much for the project.

However I am glad that not all of us have same tastes either. It would be a boring world.

-- Dusty

I like it, though I’m not sure I’d build one. You’re right about the wood. I think it takes a woodworker to appreciate this piece. It might just get lost of anyone else. It’s a good effort, and I agree with Tom, the other pieces are really nice.

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

I just read about the orginal finish formula for greene & greene furniture if youre intersted send me a email. blkcherry

Treebones,

Your right, this was one of the hardest projects I ever took on.

There are several reasons for this, as near as I can tell they are as follows.

1. I had only a small picture to recreate the “spirit and look” of the intended piece, that being a Greene and Greene piece.

2. I have very little history building these type of pieces.

3. The curves and back of the bench was a very difficult angle to calculate and make fit properly because of the mortise and tenon construction that was used to avoid any nails or artificial fasteners in the project.

4. The wood I choose to use was spalted maple with worm trails. The densisty of the wood had to be taken in account and in turn large quantiles of wood had to be planed and cut to accommodate enough for the final project.

5. Specific plans and dementions were absent and in turn required me to do the conversion from my free hand drawings in per portion to the small picture I was furnished.

6. From the beginning I never really was warm to this style or project.

7. I ended up redesigning and changing the “box bench ” construction and method to allow for not only appearance but a much stronger construction.

-- Dusty

Great looking bench! Was seat storage traditional in their benches?

Seems like a good use of space.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary,

Great question.

Depends on who you talk to or what sources you are using.

I have researched this fairly extensively. I still am unable to say with 100% certainty that seat storage was part of the original design and intent. They (the Greene’s ) had some storage in their bench’s.

The short and honest answer to this is I really still don’t know and am unsure. Many of the benches they first designed were simply non functional “box’s” that had tops that were non function giving it a “seat storage” look.

I choose to have bench storage in my design., and used that as an opportunity to strengthen the bench and add functionality.

f you ever figure this out definitively let me in on the find ok?

-- Dusty

Great bench.

-- Jiri

Excellent benches

Thanks for sharing

-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison