Fir Woodcutter’s Stool

by Prairie Bench0

At 18″ tall (45 cm dining chair height) this little stool is the perfect size for woodcutters to enjoy a quiet lunch. But looks are deceiving, despite its small stature, this stool weighs 40 lbs (18 kgs). That’s a heavy slab of fir. The legs are also bulky, approximately 3″ thick lengths of maple.

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The joints are notched out then pounded together to form a tight fit when the fibres dry. The legs have dowels inset and the fir top is pounded down with a heavy mallet. Some glue was added to the maple joints to prevent splitting. There are four legs, with pairs connected by a trestle. The pairs are then joined with a third trestle. The front legs have a wider gap to take advantage of the odd shaped round, with a narrower gap at the back of the stool. The design takes a lot of adjusting in the mitre saw to fit all pieces together. It’s patient work. This is a very sturdy stool. The wood is thick and heavy, and this becomes obvious sitting on it.

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The fir top was rough sanded with 60 grit and then the entire round was smothered in left over clear oil finish to seal up any cracks and prevent new ones. Once dry, the edge was ground to a smooth, touchable surface and the entire top was coated in water-based polyurethane semi-gloss finish. The legs were quite light in color so a torch was used to add some artificial age. The result is a warm, soft appearance that begs to be handled. The bark is left on.

The goal was to give some reverence to a nice fir round we found in a wood pile. It had a unique crescent shape probably formed from this tree growing too close to a neighboring tree. The wood came from a farm down the road and the maple is grown at our site. We grow pine, hazelnut, maple, fir, spruce, cedar, apple, cherry, plum, walnut, hawthorn and mountain ash.

#10-22-19 is spoken for and will find a home in a cozy cottage near a hearth. It will be a great stool to perch on in a big housecoat and warm up by the stove. For these images, we took the stool out back to a creek under a Tree of Heaven. The autumn colors make a great setting to sit, have a snack, and watch rush hour… Prairie Bench style.

Reclaimed Fir Hairpin Coffee Table and Footstool

by Prairie Bench1

A few years back, we received several fir floorboards recovered from demolition at the Riverview Hospital site. The institution was constructed around 1913 and the boards looked worn, scratched, and were full of old square head nails. The tongue and groove planks were in different thicknesses, but we were able to pair up some matching sizes.

In order to focus on the floorboards, we tried several table designs including wood frames and legs. In the end, we settled on steel hairpin legs from Rusty Garden (on Amazon) in 2 sizes: 12″ and 16″. The footstool would fit underneath the coffee table. Minimal sanding of the boards removed any burrs or slivers. A mix of 30% thinner plus 70% polyurethane was used to seal the wood in a thin layer without gloss, giving it a light sheen and a handworn look. The fitted boards were glued with PL polyurethane.

The sizes are: table, 40″x 20″x 18″tall; footstool, 22″x14″x14″tall.

Numbered 06-06-19 as a set. Check back, we have used the ends of the reclaimed boards from this project to make a small end table … reclaimed-reclaimed wood!

Baby Squirrels Our Guests

by Prairie Bench0

We live and work on an ecological reserve. Animals wander about as they please. We work around bears, deer, ducks, geese, owls, eagles, songbirds, beaver, river otters, raccoons, and squirrels. Recently, we heard the distinct call of a young animal in distress. It was a baby squirrel. We left it with some vegetable pablum and water and waited for the parent to return. At the end of the second day with no momma squirrel in sight, we decided to capture it and give it some proper nutrition. That’s when a second baby squirrel appeared, then another, and another.

They were quite emaciated and weak. A diet of vegetable protien mix, mushed peas and sweet potatoes, and almond milk did the trick. They gained weight over the next week as we watched out for the mother. Unfortunately, she did not reappear. We constructed a 7′ x 4′ x 4′ enclosure complete with glass roof, branches, hoops, ropes, and baskets for a play area and set them up in a secure cage with warm hammocks to sleep in. We kept warm water bottles in their covers to keep up their temperature. They survived and grew.

They are like little food pirates and will try to steal each others food even though there is plenty. They are now on baby rat pellets, sunflower seeds, fresh cut peppers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, grated carrots, apple sauce, and sliced bananas. Food had to be cut fine or puréed to prevent choking – they will try to stuff themselves when learning about solid food. Also each squirrel had to be hydrated by hand to ensure their water intake was constant. Each had to learn how to drink from a hamster bottle.

The two small pictures above show how small the first found squirrel was in he folds of a jacket. Later, a squirrel enjoys sweet potato and carrot baby food. They are much cleaner eaters now, and cooperate sharing their food.

Three brothers and a sister. The sister is the smallest, but the bravest, and would approach if food was offered. The boys wait until she checks out any new feature in the enclosure. She is the tamest of the pack and will come when called.

They will soon be able to explore the trees onsite and take their role in the wild. This was a fun and challenging opportunity to learn about squirrel behavior and help some young ones get a start in life. We at Prairiebench.com are proud to have received a commendation from the City of Port Coquitlam for our efforts in animal rescue over the years.

For fun, watch “Brunch with Baby Squirrels” on YouTube to see these darlings have a polite snack for the camera…

From right to left: little sister, big brother (first one found), grey (second one found), charcoal (last one found and the shy one). The little sister approached for food after two brothers were discovered.

Ragged Edge Cedar Counter

by Prairie Bench0

The ragged edge cedar counter was a project to use up some leftover barn wood found in an old shed. The slats are trimmed to approx. 5″ wide. Then the boards were glued and clamped together side by side, while staggering the length of each. Then the end of the glued material was trimmed at 45° and glued to form a square edge. The matching wood grain aligns to give the appearance of wood folded to make a counter.

Clamping was a trick and several spring clamps were used to maintain an even line at the join. Vertical slat cedar with angle supports complete the farm look. No nails or screws are used. The piece is unfinshed, with only a light sand to remove slivers.

The ragged edge cedar counter is unnumbered and designed as an experiment to highlight the rustic appeal of an old fence or barn wall, knot holes included.

Gold Pocket Watch Found

by Prairie Bench0

Metal detecting near an old farmhouse revealed several treasures including a tractor part, an old bent nail, two cabinet hinges, a tin can lid, some foil, and… a Gold Pocket Watch!

Ever seeking fun old things, one of our carvers discovered this cache near the remains of an old farmhouse in an abandoned site. The watch was located within 5 minutes approx. 6″ below the surface. The tractor part was beneath a tree root and had to be extracted to avoid damaging the tree.

The tractor part could be a hitch or a cleat to steady a backhoe.

The watch appears to be gold plated, with corrosion now appearing from beneath the plating. It looks to be a member of the Waltham product line, a US manufacturer, circa 1925. No restoration plans are in order, the find was fun enough, and the tractor part now rests in a place of prominence in a small garden.

A small glass goblet was also found. Unfortunately, it was cracked. It would have been fun to use it to toast the find.

The metal was detected with a Radio Shack Discovery 1000 on the high setting.