woodland – 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.

Welcome to PrairieBench.com

by Prairie BenchJuly 19, 2013March 30, 20164

Greetings! At PrairieBench.com we make benches and so much more…

We find wood with history and design furniture with a story.

Twin Cedar Benches

by Prairie BenchJuly 18, 2013November 29, 20150

Here’s two more benches to add to our Woodland Collection. A client chose two cedar slabs for patio benches. Each was approximately 7′ long x 18″ wide and 3″ thick. This enabled us to lop off the ends and stack it upright for legs and a seat. A hemlock trestle was added for stability. We split the leg, notch out the join by hand, and glue the entire piece back together with hazelnut dowels for support.

Each bench was left with live edges, saw marks and unique knots. The surface was ground with 80 grit, then 120. The edges were ground to remove any slivers and the entire bench was soaked in poly. The bench is turned upside down and poly is poured into the open grain to make it last for years outdoors. Any finish will eventually wear away with use, sun, and rain, but the client can easily wipe some on whenever they want to restore that sheen.

Cedar has long strands that like to peel away from the core. It’s a good carving wood for vertical designs, however the cut edges can remain rough no matter how much sanding. That’s just a characteristic of this wood. Hardwoods, like maple and birch, can be polished to a fine finish from any angle, but cedar is great for that rugged, outdoor style.

#137 BL 07 13
#138 BL 07 13

Approximate sizes: 42″ long 18″ deep 17″ tall.
Wood source: hawleyscape.com

Woodland Oak Bench

by Prairie BenchJuly 18, 2013November 29, 20150

This wonderful piece of English Oak came to us locally. The harvester saved it for the unique grain with a lot of character. We didn’t have enough material to do the seat and legs, so we used some sections from a dried alder round that was saved for a special purpose. The result is a very heavy boot bench for an entry way or alcove.

The live edge was left on and the entire piece is sanded to a smooth finish and coated in polyurethane in case it has stay on the patio. There are no screws or metal in the design. Each leg was notched to slide into the seat sideways with a few taps of the mallet. This final was eventually glued with PL 8x for a permanent bond. The bottoms are also sealed with a waterproof poly cement. This oak bench is big, heavy and will last a long, long time.

#135 BL 06 13
Approx: 18″ tall x 16″ deep x 48″ wide
Wood source: hawleyscape.com

Maple Writing Table

by Prairie BenchJune 17, 2013November 29, 20150

A local tree harvester saved a nice round of Norwegian maple from the chipper and we had it slabbed for a future table and bench. The wain with the bark was wide enough to sand out and turn into an interesting table.

There were some band saw marks that needed to be ground and the piece included metal that someone hammered in long ago.

Next the sand with the grain to highlight the wavy quilting. The result is a surface with subtle ripples and quite smooth. We didn’t want this piece perfectly flat , only that it caught all the available light.

The legs are hazelnut, two with the bark polished to a natural bronze and one that had lost it’s bark but had an ideal curve. They’re inset and doweled, then glued into a tripod design that’s quite stable. The surface finished in poly so it’s durable and sits just shy of 28 inches (71 cm) which makes it a decent desk height.

The result is a space to compose or read–on a surface made by someone wonderful, nature. The maple grain is truly inspiring and the live edge creates a new environment anywhere you sit.

Approximately 28″ tall, 42″ long and 20″ at its widest.#137-BL-06-13