Cherry Slab Bench

[Prashun Patel]

I made this bench as a companion to a live edge cherry table for my father.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167977-Natural-Edge-Cherry-Coffee-Table&p=1729519#post1729519

The finish is Waterlox+BLO, then waxed.

My previous favorite method of applying oil/varnish is to wetsand up to 1500g. However, I notice that it's hard to control for streaks. I had better success on this bench by wetsanding up to 600. The steel wool does not leave noticeable scratches after this. It's just easier (for me) to achieve a streakfree finish.

[Scott T Smith]

Prashun, that really looks spectacular! It appears from the photo's that the horizontal brace between the two leg sets is also curved to match the top? Is that correct?

Did you add the BLO to the waterlox, or put it on as a separate coat? If the former, since waterlox already contains BLO, what is the logic for adding more?

Thanks for sharing.

Scott

[Bobby O'Neal]

Well you've done it again. You're cranking out beautiful work faster than I can run and get some lumber! Great job.

[gary Zimmel]

Another sweet piece Prashun. These legs sure do justice to the tops. Real nice work again.
Is there another piece in the works that will compliment these last two pieces. Your dad must be very happy with these..

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, All.
Scott, the stretcher is curved to match the top. I don't believe Waterlox contains BLO; it contains tung oil. Regardless I believe this product is a straight varnish; any oil has been reacted or whatever away and now it's a pure resin varnish. Waterlox builds extremely quickly. I wanted an in-the-wood finish that had zero build. When you add BLO to the Waterlox, it thins it and increases the open time. If you try to apply pure Waterlox in this manner (wipe on, wipe off), it gets sticky very quickly and starts to build.

OV finishes take longer (for me) to apply, but they are just so wonderful to feel. They are also kind of easy to apply vis-a-vis film-forming finishes. Perhaps they're not as durable as varnishes but...

[glenn bradley]

Beautiful work and +1 on oil/varnish finishes. They are a bit of work and take some patience but, are becoming my favorite.

[Jim Becker]

Awesome...and in the Patel style, too! :D

[Russell Johnson]

Great work on the bench very nice match for your table you made.

[John Thompson]

Great looking piece of work....

[Mike Null]

Prashun

Another piece more beautiful than the last. This reminded me a bit of the George Nakashima piece done for Nelson Rockefeller. He used a buttlerfly as a practical and decorative element at the crack/check area on the slab.

I really enjoy looking at your work.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Mike. I've done those butterfly inlays before (too many times). Since I pegged the legs, I thought the bowtie would be too much.

[Gordon Eyre]

Prashun, this is a beautiful piece and one you can be proud of. Love the legs.

[Jeff Monson]

Great bench, the legs and stretcher really make it unique. The craftsmanship is top notch. Do you use alot of the joinery that was used on your Maloof chair?

[Prashun Patel]

The past year, I've been doing a number of these Maloof-style joints. It's really a genius joint because it's so easy to make. You can do it on the tablesaw and with a plunge router without any special jigs or skills. It's easy to get it tight fitting. The leg/stretcher joint probably would have been better served as M&T, but I liked the exposed joinery look, and reinforced the joint with a screw.

Those walnut bands on the stretcher are also stolen from Sam Maloof via Charles Brock. Instead of using an 8" wide pc of cherry, I made a lamination. The nice thing about this is that the contrasting woods give great visual cues to keep the sculpting symmetric and smooth.

The 3rd pic shows a booboo: I cut the stretcher 'wings' too wide and the tops of the legs ended up wider than the seat. I had to trim the wings back, which forced me to cut thru one of the laminations. To be honest, I've come to love making mistakes and then finding ways to fix them. Even if it means beauty marks on the end product.

[Rhys Hanna]

Stunning Prashun .... Overcoming problems and problem solving are part of the joy of woodworking.

Rhys

[Jeff Wittrock]

Prashun,

That is just a beautiful bench.

[Curt Putnam]

Gorgeous! I especially like the joinery in the base - very Maloof. What did you do to stabilize the crack?

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. Dyed epoxy.