medieval – Page 3 – PRAIRIE BENCH

Wooden Crest

by Prairie BenchJanuary 6, 2014December 11, 20190

In the age old tradition of carving family crests on thick wooden shields, we did our own. It’s a representation of a lion on a field of leaves.

Our carver created a fine line etching and finished the work with a custom frame holder. The crest is made out of a few select pieces of fine grain spruce and the holder is fir. Spruce is a softer wood but quite strong and pleasant to carve and whittle. A light stain of mixed antiquing oils was used to penetrate the etching and darken the lines. The piece is soaked in linseed oil and cured to a hard finish. (If you are working with oils, remember to place the rags in a sealed metal container or they might spontaneously ignite. Or hang them outside to dry.)

A retired furniture manufacturer from the UK saw this piece and pronounced it definitely guild quality. We don’t know about all that, but humbled considering we are just whittling out back.

Approximate size: 31″ x 21″ x 1.5″ thick with a 5% curve.

Wolf Throne

by Prairie BenchSeptember 11, 2013November 29, 20158

Continuing with the Elk and Wolf Dining Project, the frames for the two thrones are complete. Each uses hazelnut posts with balsam fir supports. The backboard and seat are Sitka Spruce. The dowels are hazelnut and hemlock. No screws or nails are used, just glue and pressure. The posts were measured to fit then hand chiseled to fit the interlocking fir supports. No stain was used, just clear finish and some charcoal was sanded into the joints.

The hazelnut posts are grown onsite and have a muscular, sinew look with a slight purple hue. The spruce backboard is from an old log claimed from the Fraser river by a local tug operator. The arms have carved paws and there a some roughed meadow leaves and branches on the edges and seat. When sitting, the wolf appears to be looking over your shoulder, a bit scary and intimidating for your subjects. That’s the look we wanted!

The seat had a natural band that seems to create a scene with a knot moon in the background. Wood contains it’s own art, but it was fun to add our carving of a wolf. So much fun, we made a spruce shield to indicate when the Wolf King or Queen was in town. If the shield is hanging on the throne, the wolf is around.

Check back to see the Elk throne. It’s almost done.

Prairie Bench Throne in Concert

by Prairie BenchAugust 19, 2013November 29, 20150

Local metal band Altered Throne sought a stage prop for their act and brought the request to Prairie Bench.

The entire frame buckles together and can be wheeled, or broken down into four components: two sides, the back board and the seat. Hardwood plugs guide the pieces together and steel clasps lock everything in position. The seat also locks the sides together. The throne can be assembled in under a minute and is designed for strength.

Made entirely of spruce and finished in Prairie Bench’s Storybook theme. The backboard is engraved with the band’s logo.

See more of the throne here: #J95-BL-07-12

Altered Throne

by Prairie BenchAugust 10, 2012November 29, 20150

This was designed specifically for a band’s stage prop. We enjoyed the challenge of building the six foot chair, cutting it in half and then buckling it back together. There’s four components: left and right side, the hand-carved back of a band member’s tattoo, and the seat. The construction is durable includes wheels to move the chair into position.

Spruce finished in dark walnut stain and polyurethane. Includes four steel hasps, four buckles and the seat is positioned on dowels to lock the frame as well.

#J95-BL-07-12
Approximate dimensions: 6’x27″x27″. Seat height is at 18″.

Click on the thumbnails to see assembly. It’s actually quicker for one person to assemble the chair in an upright position, lock, and go—takes thirty seconds.

Replica Medieval Fantasy Throne

by Prairie BenchJune 23, 2012November 29, 20150

This solid spruce throne with Prairie Bench Storybook finish was designed for stage shows. It is very stable and heavy, built so the performers could sit and climb all over it.

It is termed ‘a replica’ because we used metal screws for added strength. In our traditional medieval thrones we use no metal in the frame construction and they are authentic thrones. The back and seat are ground with disk sander and gouged to look battle worn. Dragon bites are also visible.

93-BL-06-12 Solid reclaimed spruce and finished in dark walnut stain and polyurethane finish.

6′ 5″ tall. Seat height 18″, and approximately 29″ square. Click images to enlarge.