I've been wanting to try my hand at greenwood carving, particularly spoon carving.  I decided that, to give myself every chance to succeed, I would need a bench dedicated to carving.  I checked youtube, carving forums, etc and decided that a log mule/carving bench would fit the bill.  It just so happened that my mother, last week, had asked me to remove some downed trees from her yard.    Enter this weekend's project. 

 

 

First, stripping the bark from an oak log.......

 

 

Then, it's time to cut the legs to size.........

 

 

And then, the shaping begins.  Doing this with hand tools only is quite a challenge (a Poulan is a hand tool, right?)

 

 

And thus, ends the first day of work on the mule/bench.

 

 

Looks like alot of work.  Look forward to seeing how this turns out.

Thad, great topic man! Keep the progress shots coming, I am completely hooked into this topic, for selfish reasons too.

So happy to have a fellow greenwoodworking fan along here with me, I think it's just you and I in the entire community here.

10 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Thad, great topic man! Keep the progress shots coming, I am completely hooked into this topic, for selfish reasons too.

So happy to have a fellow greenwoodworking fan along here with me, I think it's just you and I in the entire community here.

We're in good company, then!

13 hours ago, Gunny said:

Looks like alot of work.  Look forward to seeing how this turns out.

It is a LOT of work, even using a chainsaw to help with the bulk of removal.

We had some visitors today so I didn't get a lot done but that's no excuse to skip leg day!

 

1 hour ago, Thad said:

We had some visitors today

I thought you were going to say - so we put them to work.... 

1 minute ago, p_toad said:

I thought you were going to say - so we put them to work.... 

I tried but no luck!

Thad, I've been admiring that cross cut saw on your wall.  Is that a 2 man or 1 man cross cut saw?  We used to have one about 65 years ago.  

 

That is one smooth cut with a chain saw.  I thought you may have made that smooth cut with the hand saw you had pictured.  Either way, that is a great job.  

14 hours ago, FlGatorwood said:

Thad, I've been admiring that cross cut saw on your wall.  Is that a 2 man or 1 man cross cut saw?  We used to have one about 65 years ago.  

 

That is one smooth cut with a chain saw.  I thought you may have made that smooth cut with the hand saw you had pictured.  Either way, that is a great job.  

The one on the wall is a to man.  I haven't had a chance to make new handles for it yet.  The one on the bench is a one man.  A sharp chain on the chainsaw makes a big difference.  That and a little planing.

Didn't get much accomplished yesterday on the bench due to celebrating the holiday with the family and I am out of town on business until Tuesday evening. But rest assured, updates are forthcoming a little later in the week.

The shaping of legs is a lot harder than I thought.  Getting the taper, length, angles all just right is incredibly simple, but not at all easy.

 

2 hours ago, Thad said:

The shaping of legs is a lot harder than I thought.  Getting the taper, length, angles all just right is incredibly simple, but not at all easy.

Man those legs sure look skinny Thad, you sure those are the right size?

18 hours ago, John Morris said:

Man those legs sure look skinny Thad, you sure those are the right size?

I modeled them after my own legs.  They been doing me good for years!  LOL!   There is still a lot of work to do, but, those oak legs are better than an inch around.  It DOES kinda look like a spider when I set it upright........

Still shaping the legs and they still look like spider legs.  I really need to pay more attention to actually using angles when I'm making legs.

 

Edited September 11, 20205 yr by Thad
Added detail

On 9/10/2020 at 5:21 PM, Thad said:

Still shaping the legs and they still look like spider legs.  I really need to pay more attention to actually using angles when I'm making legs.

It'll be functional enough though Thad, the great thing about these Greenwoodworking projects, it's easier to justify making another if you are not satisfied. It's not like you built a huge workbench and hated it!

2 minutes ago, John Morris said:

It'll be functional enough though Thad, the great thing about these Greenwoodworking projects, it's easier to justify making another if you are not satisfied. It's not like you built a huge workbench and hated it!

Function over form is a valid concept.  Right now, with a little more shaping, the aesthetics are coming together,

 

6 minutes ago, Thad said:

Function over form is a valid concept.  Right now, with a little more shaping, the aesthetics are coming together,

Nice save on the legs!

Shaping and trying ........

 

 

and cutting and trying....

 

finally get this thing to look like a bench!!

 

 

Add a few dog holes........ and presto!!  It's actually a workable bench right now.  Considering adding a rope vise, though.

 

And finally, installing the rope vise.  I hope you can see how it's supposed to work.  It's not a tight hold, just a steadying hold.  The work piece will move, but it won't fall out.

 

 

 

From the underside.......

 

 

And an overview.....