Mesquite bench with curly maple bow ties


pdjms1

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I have always wanted to create a slab bench with a George Nakashima inspired butterfly or bow tie keys.  When on a search for walnut slabs for another project I ran across a very cool guy who mills his own lumber and happens to also mill for others.  He offered a piece of mesquite to me for about $25.  I couldn't pass up the deal so it became my next bench project.  Initially I knew I wanted to do a miter joint on the legs but the  slab was a little too short so I did it on one side and thought I would come up with a solution for the other end eventually..... It is in the house now and I still haven't come up with a better idea then the plywood temporary solution I currently employed.  Any suggestions?
 

 

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ok, i like the maple and opposite idea... continuing with the nakashima theme do you think legs like this in maple would be sufficient for a bench?  If so... would 3/4 stock be strong enough?  If not, what do you guys think? I am thinking like the image below or to a half lap joint in proportions that will be the same as the bow ties I used... what do y'all think?

 

 Nakashima.2.jpg

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ok, i like the maple and opposite idea... continuing with the nakashima theme do you think legs like this in maple would be sufficient for a bench?  If so... would 3/4 stock be strong enough?  If not, what do you guys think? I am thinking like the image below or to a half lap joint in proportions that will be the same as the bow ties I used... what do y'all think?

 

 Nakashima.2.jpg

Locate a piece of live edge curly maple..... My butt would crush those little legs! Or, Make a large curly maple bow tie with a small mesquite bow tie holding the leg to the seat!

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May functionally work...maybe...but it might also look disproportional.  My reaction was some sort of beefy leg....maybe a T or trestle type leg made out of maple to pick up the lighter bow ties...that is if you don't have any mesquite left...a mesquite live edge leg....heyyy...

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Yea, I'm out of mesquite... and i was kind of thinking going with something lighter to not distract from the other side and since the other side rakes forward a little bit the bench tends to tip back if you sit on the left side of it (as you look at the bench) so I need to also put something in the back area to keep it stable while people sit on it and would like it to be similar to the leg on the right (viewing the bench from the front)

 

Thanks for the input!

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Rob has a good idea...dark mesquite, black leg, it could work.  That is if you metal work a little.  If not, in DC Customs, I particularly like the rounded design of the first couple legs.  What about one of those out of maple?  I know I keep going back to that but I think the contrast in shades is nice and would go with the butterflies.

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I have 0 metal work experience... I had actually considered something like the legs in the image below to play off the bow tie design and i liked the metal idea because I could keep it light (visually) to not distract from the mitered edge.  i thought about a blued rust finish and then clear coating it.  But then the realization set in that I had no welding equipment, no cutting equipment, and no experience lol.x+style+steel+table+base.jpg

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Even with no metalwork experience or tools, you could buy a strip of flat steel from you local home center, and bend it to a form, just like a bent lamination. A 1/8" x 1 1/2" strip of mild carbon steel will bend easily enough. Even 3/16 or 1/4 is doable, if you have plenty of clamps. Remember to make the form so it allows the bar to bend more than the final shape, as it will spring back a bit. If you own a small side grinder (Harbor Freight has a nice one for $25), use it to round the corners and/or scallop the edges. Some quality time with a ball-peen hammer (before bending!) will give it a nice look. A bath in vinegar, then salt water & rinse will provide a nice patina. Shellac is excellent for sealing that patina in, especially if you like the surface almost flakey.

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I really like the idea of the vinegar and salt bath and sealing with shellack (wasn't sure what to seal with and figured I would cross that bridge when I got closer) but I am still sold on if i do metal doing something angular to mirror the same ratio i used on all the bow ties 3:1 and i think that would require welding and i don't have any experience or gear to do that. Maybe i need to see if any of my buddies have a welder and just shut up and try it....  I think a good portion of people agree metal is a good option and another group of people don't think i am crazy for trying to stick with an angular design that carries the bow tie down into that leg.  Thank you everyone for your input and help.  i will be sure to post photos once its complete.  

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Metal would be nice, but not necessary. My advice is to keep it simple. Build the smallest most streamlined leg that you can while still being stable. Basically you want the bench to appear as if it is floating. So just build something unobtrusive and paint or stain it black. Hell, maybe go crazy and bend some thick clear acrylic and use it for a leg. That would be cool.

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Metal would be nice, but not necessary. My advice is to keep it simple. Build the smallest most streamlined leg that you can while still being stable. Basically you want the bench to appear as if it is floating. So just build something unobtrusive and paint or stain it black. Hell, maybe go crazy and bend some thick clear acrylic and use it for a leg. That would be cool.

Mike has a good idea too....I kind of think this is the deal on this one...look at it until you know what kind of leg it needs....until something sparks inside of you and then you will know which direction to go.

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I have a 110V wire feed welder.  The learning curve is pretty shallow and any "rough" welds can be cleaned up with a grinder.  The trick with a wire feed is getting the right combination of heat and feed speed and then learning to push your welds.  Too hot and you burn through you sheet material.  Not enough heat and you won't get a good connection.  You can also spot weld and then fill in the gaps.  I think I paid about $110 for it but that was about 10 years ago.

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Harbor Freight has 110volt wire welders for $99, often on sale for $89. They get pretty good reviews, but most folks recommend using Lincoln wire, not tbe stuff that comes with the unit. I have seen one in action, and it does look as fit for the job as some much more expensive brands I work around. However, it does appear to have a shorter power cord and welding leads.

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I have a Lincoln 180 on 220v from Home Depot.  It is sweet.  Many years ago, I worked with a wire welder on 110v and it just didn't have the umph to make a good deep weld.  Maybe they've changed but a welder with a flux core wire with about a .025 or .030 wire will do the trick.  If you shy away because you don't know how to weld, don't...you can do this.  Think of a caulk gun where instead of squirting and dragging the caulk behind you, you push it while you squirt it out or even hold it perpendicular to the metal.  It's that easy and like Byrdie said, you can clean up booger-snot welds easy - with a flap disc.  If you like to work wood and add metal to your projects, it's a good investment but before I bought a 110v machine, I'd read the reviews. My Lincoln was $600 and if the HF is $100, I'm thinking there must be a reason. Again, it may be fine.

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Like everything else at HF, quality control is generally the issue. Even though a particular tool may be an exact copy of a big name brand, the odds of getting a dud at HF are much greater. Sometimes the price is so good it is worth the gamble, though. Especially if you don't expect to use it heavily. I'm not a proponent of "buying the best" tools, only to have them collect dust in the shop. Unless it IS the dust collector....

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