How To Make A Log Chair – If you’ve been in awe of the wood furniture you’ve seen at Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s, author, photographer and woodworker Alan Garbers has a new book that might be right up your alley. From wood to table provides practical advice for craftsmen who want to build eco-chic rustic furniture – literally starting from wood.
The easy button answer could be to just buy rustic wood furniture from a dealer. But woodworkers like to think they can do better. And of course for less. Most of us agree with the author: “I’m not made of money.”
How To Make A Log Chair
Gathering your family around a dining table you built with a table you brought down the street from Billy Bob’s Emporium will definitely be more satisfying. Being able to hand down the works of your hands is a priceless gift to pass on to the next generation.
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Learning new skills is always a bonus, not to mention you can teach those skills to the young people in your life.
In the 152 full-color pages of From Tree to Table, Alan covers everything you need to get started and find inspiration for portable sawmills and woodworking. After an introduction to safety – in the forest, in the shop and in your products – and an overview of the different styles of wooden furniture, the book takes you straight into the forest.
There is more to finding logs than picking up fallen branches or downed trees. Alan gives advice on where, when and how to find the best specimens to build your wooden furniture and which trees to avoid. For example, “Take care of the tree in the yard” because it can once be a tree house or a cabin house. So, look for buried nails and other pieces of metal.
Sunnydaze Outdoor 2 Person Natural Fir Wood Log Cabin Patio Rocking Loveseat Bench
The book spends a lot of time discussing why wood shrinks, twists and cracks, and why a moisture meter is a good investment. If you plan to use reclaimed wood as fence posts, crates, or pallets to build your furniture, a metal detector like the Little Wizard is also a great tool to have in your arsenal.
There is some debate about barking versus felling. Sassafras, hickory, and hornbeam birch are some of the species that look best with bark, while cedar, ash, maple and pine are generally preferred without bark. For a frizz-free look, you’ll appreciate Alan’s time-saving tips that make it “as easy as pulling a shoelace.” Tip: It’s not how, it’s when.
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The book continues with sections on working with logs and dry wood. Finding Nature’s Gifts is an interesting review of the special things nature has to offer if you keep your eyes open: antler rubs, vine damage, healed wounds, tree steps, flame kasseel and fallen logs. The climbing Japanese honeysuckle vine on the plant pictured below has created a twisting pattern on the wood, making it an attractive choice for spindles.
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Before you can start to create a rustic wooden furniture, first you need to learn how to add beams and boards in a way that looks good, but keeps the piece together against use. Alan discusses tenons, dowels, nails (and why to avoid using them), nail guns, bolts, screws, and biscuit jointers as methods of joining wood depending on the application. He provides a few tricks for each method in addition to helpful tips for hiding mistakes.
Chapter 15 talks about different methods to finish your projects: HVLP spray, aerosol or brush. Alan said: “Ideally it’s great to have a separate finishing booth. Something with good lighting and an air and exhaust filter system. But instead there are other options to protect your work.
Investing in a portable saw like the Wood-Mizer will certainly make life easier when cutting boards from logs. But if you don’t have the space or funds for that size device, Alan offers a few ways to avoid it.
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“The tools are expensive, but they make the impossible possible,” says Allen. It is recommended to save money by buying big-ticket second-hand items, looking for auctions, sales and estate sales. Some other tools you may want to have handy to build rustic furniture:
• Drill – Almost all items require a hole. Alan likes Forstner drills to make a clean hole with a shallow pilot. • Clamps – essential and you will need different sizes.
• Putty Knife – Alan uses the “cutty putty low” to peel the logs. “A good putty knife will be your best friend when working with logs. Trust me on this one.”
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• Surface Planer – Takes a rough cutting board and turns it into beautiful wood. “I’m lost without my surface planer,” said Alan.
• Jointer – Using a 6-inch jointer he got at auction for $25, Alan can flatten the ends of the joists to join the boards and sheets.
•Right Angle Drill – “A right angle drill is an investment in your health,” says Alan, referring to potential twisted wrists when using the drill. The right-angle version gives you a longer handle that controls all that torque when drilling big holes or cutting studs.
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• Miter Saw – A good 12″ model can cut good sized logs in one clean cut. Great for cutting logs to length, squaring the ends or just shaving off another 1/4″ tenon.
• Radial Arm Saw – Alan created the “woodworking machine” with his 1983 Radial Arm Saw and Surface Planer.
• Chainsaw – For removing trees and cutting logs to length, a light model 12 “to 15” is great. If you need to clear or cut trees for a portable band saw, you’ll want a slightly larger model.
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• Protractor – When making the legs for benches and chairs, it helps to keep them at a slight angle. A protractor will be a great time saver when it comes to repeating the same angle from leg to leg.
Larger clamps can gently shorten the pieces to move while the studs tighten. They can also be used to separate pieces after the mock-up.
Alan then discusses gluing, sandblasting and workstations before moving on to a brief survey of the fundamentals of furniture making. It includes a list of common sizes—or “accepted industry standards”—for dining tables, end tables, coffee tables, and hall tables.
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The last part of the book is devoted to real furniture projects and instructions. The previous material gives you a broad base to build on; Now it’s time to get things done! Alan starts with a simple slab bench (“as good a piece of furniture as you can get”), giving two options for construction. Other projects include: rustic framed mirrors, coat racks (a standing version and a wall-mounted style), tables, chairs, beam lamps, quilts or rugs, and beds.
Alan starts his tables by assembling tables or tables wide and long enough for the floor.
Birch bark frames are a Northwood classic. The edges and bark seams are covered with black cherry shell. The effect is rustic elegance.
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A queen or king headboard and footboard like the one shown here requires several small to medium-sized stems.
The following chapter is filled with “a few last things”: Swiss work (sections of twigs, with bark, placed side by side to form a pattern or trim), mouse work (used to produce “a rich visual carpet”. or screen of small branches), Drawer pulls from the use of horn, shuttlecock drawer pulls, wood and log accents. Alan offers advice for flattening the four-legged piece and cutting the corner logs (beams that act as trim to cover the edge of the corner), as well as a few words about quality and hand: rustic does not mean not poor quality. “Do the necessary work for a good job, and you will create family heirlooms that will be passed on for generations. And this is a legacy that everyone will love,” he said.
Alan rounds out the book with a chapter on “Making Money From Scraps” and shows you how to make salable items, candlesticks, napkins and more with your scraps.
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Alan Garbers is an award-winning outdoors writer, author and photographer whose subjects range from turkey and deer hunting to crappie and bass fishing to tropical snorkeling to maple syrup making in Indiana.
Alan began working with wood as a child growing up in Minnesota. He also enjoys the outdoors: exploring the BWCAW (Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness) in northern Minnesota, hiking in the Arizona desert, and ziplining through the mountains of Colorado.
His writing includes hundreds of articles in Indiana Outdoor News, Indiana Game and Fish, Muzzle Blasts, Outdoor Guide Magazine, Woodcarving Illustrated and many other publications. Fiction credits include Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthologies IV, V and VIII.
The Log Chair Puzzle
Have you ever thought of building a rustic wooden furniture? Stop by your local store or shop online to get your copy from tree to table. You’ll also find all the pliers, drills, saws, glue and more to help make your project a success. We are here to help you with woodworking! Parkside Gallery celebrates the ancient craft of furniture making and
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