Lately, I have been receiving some requests for commission work. I feel blessed that folks are seeing my work and are appreciating it enough to consider having me craft pieces for them.
The first was for a rustic country-style bench based on an existing piece that the client liked. It was 6 feet long x 15,5" wide by 18" tall. The client wanted the bottom painted black, and they would finish the top.
The original was made from pine. However, I chose fir for it's straighter grain and strength. I did manage to find some pieces with character to go with the rustic theme. One piece had a nice shallow split that I used for the seat. Since the spit was already dark, I filled it with epoxy resin to smooth it out. The fact that this will not take stain should be fine as the dark color will carry through.
The top and legs are created from two edge-glued lengths. This also made creating the mortices in the legs for the crossbars easier (cut before edge-gluing). Both crossbars are mortice and tenon joints, and the seat is attached to the top crossbar with hidden screws and the legs with pocket joints.
