rustic – Page 2 – PRAIRIE BENCH

Cedar Burl Scrying Bowl

by Prairie BenchNovember 12, 2015November 29, 20150

An ancient (over two hundred years old) river bourne cedar scrying bowl set upon Rowan branches.

This is a one-of-a-kind, very unique showpiece and an original Prairie Bench design. The hand ground Cedar Burl Scrying Bowl has been displayed in local studios and used by fortune tellers who look into future events.

The rich burgundy tones pop on the polished surface which holds approx. 1 liter of water. The legs are twisting and interlocking English Mountain Ash known as Rowan (used for wands) and harvested on site, then joined without metal to create a stunning tripod that cradles the bowl.

The burl is large with an oval shape 40″ long and 24″ across. It’s approximately 12″ thick and set on the stand, the surface is 30″ tall.

‘River bourne’ means this burl came from a tree which fell naturally, swept into a river and later harvested by a licensed tug operator. On the ocean, we call it beachcombing. The source tree fell of it’s own accord or came down naturally. The only cut was to separate the burl from the timber.

The cedar burl has deep burn marks attributed to a lightning strike. You can see in the cross section where a bolt traveled into the wood. This is a unique feature showing burns directly next to untouched wood.

Scrying is a custom used by sages and fortune tellers to ‘peer’ into the future through a medium such as water in a bowl. The practice is most commonly associated with Nostradamus.

The Cedar Burl Scrying Bowl is precious and one of a kind so packaging will be extra heavy duty. The burl will need to be set carefully onto the legs once you have chosen its perfect position.

This unique showpiece is the original created by Prairie Bench Poco Canada, our small woodworkers studio that locates interesting examples of wood and uses them in designs. We use natural and safe synthetic materials to preserve and enhance features left by nature. See our moonlight test of the Cedar Scrying Bowl… click here.

Empire Stool, Country Style

by Prairie BenchJune 20, 2014November 29, 20150

This is our version of the classical empire stool with some western flare. We also refer to it as an attendant stool when teamed up with the repose chaise.

This piece is made of reclaimed spruce and finished in our Country Rustic finish using water-based stain and finished in polyurethane for durable shine.

The center seat height is lower than a regular dining chair, only 15″, and makes a great stool in the entry or anywhere you might like to stop for a minute or set down an armful. We have one in the bedroom constantly covered in clothes. This version includes a little cubby built into the frame.

Country Style Empire Stool #21-6-14-BL
Approx: 28″wide x 16″ tall x 18″ deep
Finished in polyurethane

Ready to serve: a customer submitted this beautiful shot of our stool in its new abode. Thank you! — Ready to serve: A patron submitted this beautiful shot of our empire stool design in its new abode. Thank you!

Low Back Sectional Chaise Combinations

by Prairie BenchJune 12, 2014February 6, 20200

Combine two left hand, low back sectional chaises in our original design and you have lots of patio options.

Each chaise sits next to the other and creates nooks, corners, tete a tete lounges, adjoining or back to back. Rows of chaise lounges can create seating for outdoor entertaining.

The Low Back Western chaise is approx 28″ tall, 28″ deep and 70″ long They are finished in our country rustic finish and polyurethane. The chaises pictured have 48″ long seats with open ends for easy access. Combine with coffee tables or fire pit. You can also combine them with double chaises (reclines on both sides). Click the images to enlarge.

Hemlock Bistro Bar

by Prairie BenchFebruary 21, 2014February 7, 20201

prairie bench hemlock bistro top 5 — A traditional 36″ counter bar (background right) is dwarfed by the massive Hemlock slab.

It’s big.

The piece:
Local Hemlock slab 3″ thick 60″x 20″ live edge
Local rough cut Fir timbers 4″ thick hand chiseled
Hazelnut dowels on frame
Hemlock dowels to moor slab
42″ tall
Rubber skid pads
Finished in polyurethane for easy polishing and durability

The hemlock slab was our work bench until we flipped it over and saw it had nice grain. So we polished it up with a hand planer and some high grit sand paper, and the result was stunning.

This piece is a fine example of West Coast Hemlock, and very strong. It is a soft wood, an evergreen, so the surface may get nicked and bumped—but that’s part of its story. We even left some of the original mill saw marks, and there is a compression mark from early in the tree’s history. It’s a wain cut so the slab does have a slight twist, compensated by the custom frame. Belly up to the bar, we estimate the load bearing for this unit to be about eight tons, however we only recommend the table for lattes and a few brews.

One side has a nice arc that invites patrons to sit around the server and bartender side has a convenient knot hole for tips. Each post of the fir frame is hand chiseled and joins in a locking pattern on three sides, then pinned with sturdy hazelnut hardwood dowels. Sanded smooth, the blunt dowels and over cut edges give the piece a sturdy wild west look and in the category Country Collection.

For matching chairs, we’ll shop for some nice iron ones to complement the piece.

Size: 42″ tall x 60″ long x 20″ wide
Finished in polyurethane
#270-BL-02-14

prairie bench hemlock bistro build — Frame of the Hemlock Bistro Bar being built on the new work bench, a huge cedar slab. Looking forward making something with that monolith.

Rustic Cedar Rail Bench

by Prairie BenchDecember 13, 2013May 29, 20190

Like the elves, we wanted to squeeze in a couple extra projects before the holiday season. A client found a large slab of fallen cedar near a rail line in the Nelson area. The sample has unique features and a natural bowl shape. We believe the wood may be a remnant from a lightning strike due to the pattern of the burn and its location on the inside core. The wood was aged and weather worn, and full of splinters, however the structure was still good and could be preserved as a bench.

We suggested continuing the rail line motif with an industrial style combined with the wood. We ‘tracked’ down a nice piece of I-beam from the recyclers and then went straight to Steve at Hawk Metalworks in Poco (leave a comment if you want the tel#) where the frame was cut and welded to our exact specifications. For ties we used hemlock 4″x3″ rough cut beams.

The challenge with old cedar is the breakdown of the long grains resulting in slivers and and fractures. We soaked the piece in poly several times, sanding extensively to create a natural finish without gloss to the client’s preference. If cedar does get a sharp edge, sanding just exposes more of the sliver, so for anything too nasty, we cut across the grain in a scoop motion, soak with finish, and sand the divot smooth. The goal was to preserve the natural bowl shape that caught the client’s attention back in the forest.

The rail is left natural and local fabricator, Sawitall.net, helped design the brackets which were torched to look old and we applied a little flat black paint. Four bolts lock the rail to the ties from underneath.

#4BL12-13

height: approx 19″, length 52″, width 18″