| Project by Thomas Porter | posted 566 days ago | 513 views | 0 times favorited | 4 comments |  |
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A client/friend of mine wanted to make two new bases for some sculptures he recently purchased. He wanted to make a mesquite base that had “cracks and natural flaws” but also had very smooth squared surfaces that would show off the grain. I took on the job not only because it tested the limits of my equipment, but because I happen to have some really large mesquite fire logs that would work perfect for the job. I love doing these weird projects. It tests your abilities as a woodworker when things stray from the average 4/4 lumber and require some creative problem solving. If you’ve never tried perfectly squaring a 8”x8” cube from a solid log of mesquite, try it sometime. It’s not as easy as it seems. I love these kind of projects.
-- Thomas Porter, Phoenix, AZ, www.thomasporter.com
4 comments so far
RobS
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1244 posts in 1206 days
posted 566 days ago
Nice work, rustic and elegant. Was it mostly chainsaw work?
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
Thomas Porter
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124 posts in 1031 days
posted 566 days ago
No… luckily for me my table saw has a 14” blade and I can raise it up to cut just under 5”. This allowed me to rough it with the chainsaw, square two edges on the jointer and square it with multiple cuts raising the blade on the table saw. The first one I did with my planer, but it was tricky. My planer will take pieces up to ~8.5”. The table saw worked better. I sanded out any minute lines that existed from the table saw. I clamped the pieces down to my sliding table to cut the endgrain and square it.
-- Thomas Porter, Phoenix, AZ, www.thomasporter.com
Bob Babcock
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1808 posts in 986 days
posted 566 days ago
Really nice Thomas. I love stuff that is different and these definitely fit the category.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Scott Bryan
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20828 posts in 722 days
posted 566 days ago
Thomas,
This is definately a unique project. I agree with Bob’s comment. This was definately a different direction and, as such, I am sure it posed a major challenge. Projects like this are how one grows and expands their innate woodworking abilities.
Well done and thanks for sharing.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.