The timber frame bench is finally done! The project morphed into a flooring project and larger laundry room and bathroom update. 😅

The wood used for the top is a farm special mystery species. The tree was standing dead when we bought the place, it fell over in a storm and a few years later I finally got it moved to the log pile. It experienced a bit of decomposition, but still mostly good. I was questioning it's beauty at this stage. The rot and staining really challenged my drive and vision.

The glue up stage is the most stressful part of this project. It could make it break it and ruin hours of work. It didn't go great, but I got the job done. Oak dowels were added to give additional strength to the wide bench top.

Hand planing the uneven edges to get them close and then finishing off with a portable belt sander to final finish.

I came up with this sliding dovetail design for friction fit to the frame. My dream was always to build a project without any metal fasteners--this is actually my second project meeting that goal. Some day I'd love to build an entire home without any metal for structural support. The idea is that wedges get driven between the sides of the frame and these dovetail blocks.

Final prep with rounding the edges, filling gaps and imperfections.

Staining using some chestnut oak color. Definitely adds some pop and beauty to this otherwise unimpressive wood.

Complete!

At home, matched with the timber frame shelf!