****WARNING THIS IS A LOOOONG READ ******
I havent done any turning in several years,have spent more time roughing out/stockpiling blanks actually.Concentrated on more conventional work,small furniture & things for the house,kitchen & shop.I do have a few older pics of various bowls I did in the past,will post them sometime.The shop has been full for years haha,have some lumber/blocks outside under a plywood roof,plus a few random chunks in 1 of the 2 sheds. But one of these days I'll clear off the big workbench (my 250 pound Record Coronet No.3 lathe with swivel outboard large bowl turning attachment is at back of the big bench & slide it to the front of bench for use.
If I live to be 110 no way can I use it all up,I've sold a few pieces over the years on Craigslist & FB Marketplace,helps out a little its not a primary income source thankfully.But the extra wood I sell once every couple years or so does pay for a new ripping chain,a bimetal band saw blade,a few chain saw files,other stuff I use anyway.Even a case of beer,a slab of pork ribs,a couple small sirloin or ribeye steaks.Its just a little extra pocket money,But its nice & clears out some room (for more wood later on)
One of my all time favorite projects in over 40 years of doing this stuff (not the biggest or most complex either) is this small White Oak Cabinetmaker's Bench - Built over a week or so,working a few hours daily both in the humid shop & just outside the overhead door June 2022.Temps were typical late Spring,upper 80's to upper 90's with high humidity,that takes its toll it dont matter how young & fit a person might be.....
I think one of the reasons its high on my list of favs is that its the first ''Big'' project I did after recovery/getting home in mid January 2022 from a 31 hospital stay thanks to Covid & other complications.It was early May 2022 before I had even close to my usual strength back,and didnt feel tired very quickly.So I wouldnt have attempted anything like it earlier in the Spring thats for sure.
Jan 2014 I used my Granberg mill,cut a few wide slabs 2.25" & 3.25 thick,let them sit stickered in the lumber stacks to dry 8+ years,then in June 2022 I used 4 of them to build this smaller cabinetmakers bench.
None of the larger logs my tree service dropped off were over 36" long,they varied from 32" to 36",with diameters around 24" to 36".Anything under 14" diameter that I got (tops & larger branches mainly) was split/stacked for firewood,it was burned in 2016-17.But the decent larger rounds were milled into wood turning blocks (bowl blanks mostly) and some shorter slabs -sold a few on Craigslist a couple years later,but kept most of them for future use.
3 X 3 legs,top is 1.75" thick,with a 4" apron on 3 sides.Its plenty stout even with its smaller size - It has to weigh 125 pounds (empty) found that out bringing back inside the shop after giving it a couple coats of Watco Teak Oil followed by a couple coats of Minwax amber varnish on the top.
Would've prefered a larger bench,even though I already had a larger heavy Doug Fir bench across the shop.But made do with what logs I had at the time. This ''little bench'' gets more use all the time,it may not be ''perfect'' but is perfect for my needs and like a favorite pair of boots,will get more comfortable with age.
Bench is all White Oak from one very large tree -(except for the 2 Black Cherry tool trays left one removable,right one is attached,and the lower attached shelf made from salvaged 50+ year old 7/8" thick Yellow Birch that wouldve ended up in the dumpster I brought home from a local University dormitory remodel/upgrade in summer 2008.The Black Cherry was some scraps of new millwork from a local hotel remodel/expansion in late 1997,I was lucky there,a bunch of shorter pieces,other stuff up to 4 feet long was my prize those few weeks while there.To the right of bench,there's a few pieces of that leftover thick short White Oak from the same tree milled in Jan.2014 that's waiting to be used in the next project.
One thing I miss about being retired almost 5 years now,(obviously besides a greater monthly income & employer paying for your monthly health insurance premiums) was ''dumpster diving'' haha It was different every week,you didnt know what you'd find,but it was often some pretty cool stuff. - even when you were at a larger remodeling project for several months up to a couple years in time.....That was one of the ''perks'' that came with the job,anyone could help themselves to the new scrap,plus anything that was demo'd or destined for the dumpster during the normal work day. There tended to be a greater variety of hardwood lumber,plywood & millwork at a remodel or restoration project versus a brand new building going up outta the ground.
It was a LOT easier putting aside along a wall any stuff you wanted to take home usually that day.Versus having to climb in the dumpster,finding something half buried than having to dig out the stuff,which could be dangerous if/when the pile would shift.....
Plus remodel/restoration (even a 30-40 yr old minimum building) had some would have even quite a lot of natural stone like various granites,varieties of marble & occasionally limestone compared to most new buildings.I brought home my share of that too,did all kinds of outdoor landscaping around the house,plus used some of the thinner stuff (3/4 to an inch thick) for table tops,other stuff inside the house.I didnt mind some mortar on the back side (if the stuff was from a demo) but occasionally the stone masons & brick layers let me have some their ''new'' scrap pieces also.It helped offering to take a few minutes on lunch & other breaks having a chat with the lead person,he was usually accomodating,and things worked out.
I'm done now....hope this didnt cause too bad of eye strain....lol
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. Nice bench. You've got good reason to be proud of it. Nice that wood you milled went into it. I see you are a wood hoarder like me. My basement is full of wood to be processed into blanks. More outside under tarps. I guess it's a disease.
It only took 42 years of my using and working on the rough trail to get it built out! I kind of miss the old conditions though as there was prime wildlife habitat there. Within maybe 75 yards of the ceremony site I've seen bear, deer, beaver, coyote, muskrat, green heron, and myriad other wildlife. The mating snappers were maybe 50 feet to the left of the tree to the left and behind the ribbon cutting. It was a very nice time... even if some publicity seeking politicians were there that did nothing to help the process and one who actually hindered it. She doesn't like that I and others have helped plan and spend many tens of millions of dollars on infrastructure with overall utilization of over a half million visits per year. Some of the people in the photos had zero to do with the project in any form or function... such is politics. The site of the ceremony is also from where the firewood disappeared that I mentioned a week or two ago. 
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