Arts & Crafts style benches with Axis Deer Hide seats

[jason thigpen]

I built this pair of benches a few months back. Just now getting around to posting some pics! They are all QSWO. The only machine work involved using my bandsaw to resaw some 1/8" thick veneers for the legs. I made sure all four faces were quarter sawn. Other than that, everything else was done by hand. All joinery is mortise and through tenon construction, draw bored with square pegs for most of the joints. The square pegs were much more involved than round ones. But the overall look was definitely worth it. The Axis hide used for the seats was harvested on our ranch. I think it fits the style well. The wood was fumed with 29% ammonia for six hours, then a few coats of BLO were applied. I finished it off with some dark brown paste wax. The fuming process made the sapwood really pop. I took advantage of that on the top rails of both benches. If you look closely, you can even see the sapwood extending through the end of the tenons! Overall a very satisfying and educational project. It was my first time with through tenons and fuming. I'm very happy with both processes and will definitely utilize them again. Any and all feedback is welcome.

[Chris Griggs]

Nice work on those Jason. Joinery looks very very cleanly done. Great color too, and lovely work all around. Looks like a fun build, I bet you had a really good time with those. Thanks for sharing.

[Andrew Hughes]

Nicely done Jason,the craftsmanship,the axis hides,best of all the scenery really makes it.Thanks for posting.

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

Jason, those are beautiful. I was totally surprised by the spotted hides! I expected just leather - I love them. Great photos, funny to see them where you'd see the deer grazing.

The lines are nice, are they your design?

[jason thigpen]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys! The design is based off of a project I saw in Wood magazine a few years back. I change up the dimensions a bit and decided to use the through mortise and tenon joinery instead of biscuits. And I have been looking for an excuse to use those hides! It was my mother in laws idea to take the pics out in the field. That's actually in our front yard. She has a better eye for photography than I do!

[jason thigpen]

Here is a recent pic of one of our Axis bucks. Beautiful animals!

[Joe McMahon]

I build quite a bit of arts & crafts furniture for my wife and I must say that these are very impressive! I really like the clean lines and well executed joinery. You mention that it is a Wood Magazine plan. Do you have the issue or plan name? I would really like to build a pair for my wife. Also, what kind of "tent " did you use for fuming?

Thanks, Joe

[Jim Matthews]

Are those true through tenons I spy?

I would be very interested to here about your layout to cut the mortises for the stretchers.
Not that I have a project that would use them, they just look kewl.

[Jim Koepke]

Nice work.

Are the Axis tasty?

jtk

[jason thigpen]

Joe, the Wood magazine I referred to is issue #200, the October 2010 issue.

Jim, I used my brace and auger bits to hog out most of the waste for the mortices. I didn't have mortice chisels at the time, so cleanup was done with standard bench chisels. I just made sure to go from both sides and meet in the center. This guaranteed I stayed on my layout lines. This step is critical for through tenons. I then fit each tenon to the mortise using my tenon saw for rough shaping and a shoulder plane and chisels for fine tuning. The chamfers on the tenon ends were done with my low angle block plane. Then the peg holes were drilled with my brace and the sides squared up with chisels.

Jim, Axis meat is delicious. Less gamey than whitetail. And on average, I can get 100-150 lbs of meat from a mature doe. The deer are very large and thrive in central Texas. Plus, being exotics there is no defined season. They can be hunted year round. They are our primary source of meat.

[Joe McMahon]

Jason, can I get some information or pictures of your fuming set up?

Thanks, Joe

[jason thigpen]

Unfortunately Joe, no pics. But I can tell you how I did it. You need a lot of wide plastic drop cloth, two sawhorses, some 2x4's, and duct tape. Put a layer of plastic on the ground. I set my benches on top of the plastic. I put a sawhorse on each side and set two 2x4's across the top. I then draped the other drop cloth across the 2x4's and let it hang over the edges. Using the duct tape, I taped the top layer of plastic to the bottom. I spent a lot of time making sure all of the seams were secure. The 29% ammonia packs a surprising punch. You want it contained as much as possible. You also need a respirator with filters made for ammonia. I purchased my setup at woodcraft for a fair price. Leave a section of the plastic open. Slide a 9x13 Pyrex dish through the opening and pour about 1" of ammonia into it. Seal the opening. I place a scrap piece of QSWO into the tent a well. Every hour or so I'll pull it out and check the progress. Once the tone is to my liking, I open my garage door, turn on several fans, and take my tent down. The area clears out within 15-20 minutes. Faster if you have bigger fans. The wood has a depressing, gray-ish tone after fuming. Once you apply a coat of oil, this rich color appears. This project took two coats of BLO, and two coats of dark brown paste wax.

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

The tenons make such a difference over biscuits, and the square pegs are fantastic.

[Mike Cogswell]

Seeing the title, I found myself wondering if the seats were made from the hides of Japanese, German or Italian deer.

[jason thigpen]

Axis Deer originate from India, actually.

[Jack Curtis]

Jason, is your ranch a hunting ranch? How do you deal with bullet holes in the hides?

[jason thigpen]

Jason, is your ranch a hunting ranch? How do you deal with bullet holes in the hides?

As a matter of fact it it, Jack. We try to avoid having bullet holes in the hide by utilizing careful shot placement. If we can, we will try a neck shot on the deer just so there aren't any holes in the finished hide. Sometimes that clear of a shot isn't available though. Instead of risking injury to the animal, a shot through the vitals is sometimes necessary. On these two benches, one hide was blemish free, the other had an entry and exit hole. I had to cut around the holes in a football-ish shape. Then I pulled the hole together and stitched it shut by hand. I ran a bead of superglue over the stitches to help keep them in place. Hand stitching through tanned deer hide is no easy feat!

[Charlie Stanford]

If you can build your project to that level of fit and finish then everything in the genre is your oyster.

[Jack Curtis]

...On these two benches, one hide was blemish free, the other had an entry and exit hole. I had to cut around the holes in a football-ish shape. Then I pulled the hole together and stitched it shut by hand. I ran a bead of superglue over the stitches to help keep them in place. Hand stitching through tanned deer hide is no easy feat!

Thanks. I bet it is hard to sew deerskin. My favorite shoes are Minnetonka deerskin moccasins, which last forever, even when worn outside for dog walking.

[Bryan Schwerer]

Jason,

I made the same bench from those plans this summer. Great to see the through tenons. I like the square pegs. I used one of the Jeff Jewitt mission finish techniques, but I like yours better. Mine got a little dark.

[jason thigpen]

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments guys! This was a pretty satisfying project to take on. I had just rid myself of all of my power tools except for my bandsaw. I learned a lot and really appreciate the precision that hand tools offer. Every through tenon fit like a glove and had zero gap where it came through. I'm thinking a big 'ol Morris chair with Axis hide cushions might be next.

[Rob Dickson]

Very cool Jason....gives me ideas using a couple of moose hanging around the back yard....;) Did you tan the hides yourself? Thats one of the big issues I've had...we usually give our hides to the elders on one of the local reserves. I've always been intimidated by the thought of treating my own hides...

[jason thigpen]

Very cool Jason....gives me ideas using a couple of moose hanging around the back yard....;) Did you tan the hides yourself? Thats one of the big issues I've had...we usually give our hides to the elders on one of the local reserves. I've always been intimidated by the thought of treating my own hides...

We let our local taxidermist handle the tanning duties. I wanted to make sure it was done right. Wouldn't want the hair falling out a few years down the road!

[Rob Dickson]

We let our local taxidermist handle the tanning duties. I wanted to make sure it was done right. Wouldn't want the hair falling out a few years down the road!

Been there....I once had two wolf hides that were supposed to be used by a local military band...one was usable while the second looked as if it had been attacked by a group of PETA hair dressers.....

Thanks again for sharing the project!