Lightning Strike Juniper Stump (His and Hers seating)

This project was formed from a juniper tree that had been struck by lightning who knows how many years ago. It is amazing how half of the tree was dead and the “surviving” side just kept growing around it. These stump seats were made for a friend to put in his outdoor patio area. At first, this “log” was going to be a stand around table, (while waiting on his decision, it served as a temporary flower pot stand) but he decided to have me cut it in half and make these seats instead. This took about 2 hours of pressure washing to get the bark off, followed by Many Many Many hours of shaping with a flap wheel grinder and orbital sander down to 220grit. I then hand sanded the top with 320grit and wet sanded in 6 coats of Tung Oil with 600grit. I wish I had better pictures, the tops of these are smooth as glass. My only criticism on my own work is that I didn’t know what to do with the holes on the tops. I could only reach down so far to sand it with the tools I had so it just looks unfinished, and unfortunately the solution came to me after I had already given them to him. On the next project, (which was a stump from the same log, http://lumberjocks.com/projects/50014 ), I used a torch and burned out the inside of the holes. It adds a nice black shadow that takes your eye out of them and on to the perfectly sanded tops. The trick is to take your time and burn carefully so you don’t set the whole log on fire with all the sawdust and dry rot in there!!!!

-- Juniper Canyon Design