What are you building with your milled wood? merged

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Bench from milled redcedar driftwood log

Here are a few pics of a yard bench that I made with lumber milled from a driftwood log. Here in the Aleutian Islands we have no standing timber, but lots of driftwood logs of all kinds. Just getting started with chainsaw milling. Would like to hear from anyone else who has been milling and building with beach salvage.

Alaskan Mill, AK Small-log mill, AK mini-mill
Stihl MS 460, Husky 266SE
 
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Here are a few pics of a yard bench that I made with lumber milled from a driftwood log. Here in the Aleutian Islands we have no standing timber, but lots of driftwood logs of all kinds.

Good looking bench you got there! :cheers:

I find it hard to imagine living in a place where there there were no standing trees and going to the beech to pick up Logs
 
Nice looking rustic bench... it looks like it fits the scene behind it. Curious what kind of wood is it? Looks reddish... like some kind of cedar? Like Bob, I too would be hard pressed to live in an area without standing trees. Then again, I don't have your perspective. Nice scenery behind the bench there, but I'd want to turn that bench around to watch the ships coming in etc.

Welcome to AS
 
Nice looking rustic bench... it looks like it fits the scene behind it. Curious what kind of wood is it? Looks reddish... like some kind of cedar? Like Bob, I too would be hard pressed to live in an area without standing trees. Then again, I don't have your perspective. Nice scenery behind the bench there, but I'd want to turn that bench around to watch the ships coming in etc.

Welcome to AS

Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement. It is nothing fancy, but I like the rough-sawn look and simple blocky framing. When we moved in to our house there were two similar benches left behind by the former owners. They were completely rotten and fell apart while we were moving things around and cleaning up. Those old ones were just made of regular non-weatherized untreated lumber. I just simply traced the pieces (some so rotten they were incomplete) onto a pine 1x6 and made a set of patterns, which I have kept. A good idea, because as soon as my mother-in-law saw it she wanted one too!

Here in the Aleutians it can get very windy. So you can't leave ANYTHING out in the yard unless it is lashed down or so heavy that it won't budge. The bench is light enough that you can just pick it up and carry it to wherever you want to sit. The rest of the time it sits on the deck against the house! All these mountains and no trees anywhere does seem strange at first, but you get used to it. No matter where you are, you can see striking views in every direction. It is hard to get lost when you can see every detail of where you have been and where you are going!

The wood in the bench is western redcedar (Thuja plicata). We have LOTS of it on the beaches around here. It is very easy to identify on sight for me now as I drive the beach roads. We also get other types of very large cut timber that usually falls off from log freighters I would imagine. Fir maybe? I have not milled any of those yet.
 
Nothing Fancy but a Quick and dirty picture frame for a friend made out of some birch that I milled.

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Nice frame... but it looks much better than "quick and dirty" to me. Did you do that with one compound bit or did you do it using several bits different heights/angles? I too like working with birch, but not as much as oak/ash/redcedar/walnut. Birch tends to burn a little just like maple and cherry if my blades and bits are not super sharp. Sure gives a nice clean surface though, the kind you can get glass smooth if you finish it that far.
 
Nice frame... but it looks much better than "quick and dirty" to me. Did you do that with one compound bit or did you do it using several bits different heights/angles? I too like working with birch, but not as much as oak/ash/redcedar/walnut. Birch tends to burn a little just like maple and cherry if my blades and bits are not super sharp. Sure gives a nice clean surface though, the kind you can get glass smooth if you finish it that far.

Two different bits,

Combo for the outside
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and a bead bit for the inside...

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That only took about 30 minutes which I consider a quick and dirty as I did not sand or finish it.

Also I just glued and shot a brad in the corners as opposed to a mini biscuit and I did not put on a backing...
 
What do I build with the wood I mill?...

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The first day of my biggest Christmas craft show of the year today was very successful in spite of the economy. I actually sold more product in one day today than I did in the entire history of my fledgling little business, which at this point is my 24th show in 4 years. Point of the post though, in keeping with this thread, is that every single wooden item you see here in my booth for sale started out like this...
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Very nice display Woodshop. Forgive me if you have already answered this question to me in the past but are the items on the right front side of your booth a curtain hanger-rod?
 
Very nice display Woodshop. Forgive me if you have already answered this question to me in the past but are the items on the right front side of your booth a curtain hanger-rod?
... good guess, and close. They are compression type quilt hangers. You unbolt that bar going across the front, put the hem or edge of your quilt behind the bar, and when you screw those wooden nuts back on it pinches your quilt behind that bar and holds it there, displaying it on your wall. Obviously I sell a lot of them at quilt shows, but even standard craft shows like this they move. I make them in three sizes, to fit up to 26" ($22), hold up to 36" ($29) and up to 48" wide quilts or remnants of quilts ($49). I made 18, mostly oak and cherry for this show and sold 11 of those today. Might sell a few more tomorrow although Sunday of a two day show is usually a slower day than the Sat.

Bobl I named my woodshop after my three daughters who used to come down to my shop and watch me work wood when they were younger. Now that they are older (17, 22 and 24) of course they don't do that any more, but the name stuck and thus that is what I call my little business... thus my DBI (doing business as) and EIN (employer ID number) officially are Three Sisters Woodshop for tax purposes etc.
 
Nice! I like the quilt hangers...i know some people who may receive something
similar soon...

About the only thing I have built with my wood is my woodshop..and it isn't really complete..at least my tools are out of the weather.
 

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