# Contemplation Bench Build



## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

The design is Tom Iovino's (Tom's Workbench) Power-Sculpted Contemplation Bench that I found at Woodcraft.com.

The wood arrived last week and has been acclimating since then. There is nothing like the feeling of beginning a new build.:clap:
There's Black Walnut (the wood has a much richer/darker color than the first two pictures) and Curly Maple for the seat and Maple for the legs. 

This evening I cut the pieces and did the glue up for the seat. I made two modifications to the original plans. The first was that the outer two pieces of Black Walnut were reduced to 2 3/4", making the width only 8.5". The change was necessary because the rough cut board was not wide enough. The other change was I did add some biscuits in the jointery. I placed them a half inch from the bottom. The article said not to do so because they would show when carving. I deliberately placed them below any area to be carved. I add them mainly to help with the alignment for glue-up and to add a little more strength to the joint.

If you've got the clamps - more is never enough!


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking forward to seeing this come together.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I had some fun in the shop this morning. I took the glue-up out of the clamps and ran the bottom side through the planer just to make sure the bottom was dead flat. I then created a template for the seat profile. I cut the bulk of the waste material off with the bandsaw (as per suggestions from others on this site). I then pulled out the angle grinder and tried out my new wood carving blade. The article recommended the arbortech blade and some of y'all recommended a lancelot blade. I really didn't want to spend the extra money, so I tried a Bad Blade BBC450 that I had picked up online. I finished roughing out the profile with the grinder and then refined it and smoothed it up with a 40 grit sandpaper. (Another fine suggestion by a member!). So the the seat is good for now and I can begin to work on the legs this afternoon.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

A few more pictures from the morning.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

By the way: Are Black Walnut and Curly Maple cutoffs good for smoking meats? I thought nut and fruit trees were safe for smoking - as long as there are not any glue on them.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

This afternoon I began working on the legs. I followed the same procedure as for the seat. Make a template, rough cut it with the bandsaw, and refine it with the grinder and sander. Still a lot of rough patches on it, but I needed to call it quits for the day. It is starting to take shape.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

I learned something new today. It never occured to me to use and angle grinder with wood. I use mine for just metal and thought that was it always was used for.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That's awesome looking. I like the curves to it. 
But need a better photo. To dark.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

That's going to be great!


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I have a design decision to make on the bench and wanted to get your thoughts on it. As you can see, the seat is made of curly maple and black walnut. I am considering adding a small inlay of black maple vertically on the legs about a 1/4 inch from the inside edge to mimic the top. If I do add it, should it be just straight (which is a heck of a lot easier) or should it follow the interior profile which has a slight curve at the bottom? If it is straight does that clash with the curved elements?
Looking forward to y'all's thoughts.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

ThomasOSB said:


> I have a design decision to make on the bench and wanted to get your thoughts on it. As you can see, the seat is made of curly maple and black walnut. I am considering adding a small inlay of black maple vertically on the legs about a 1/4 inch from the inside edge to mimic the top. If I do add it, should it be just straight (which is a heck of a lot easier) or should it follow the interior profile which has a slight curve at the bottom? If it is straight does that clash with the curved elements?
> Looking forward to y'all's thoughts.


Nice looking bench. Great progress. :thumbsup:

If I were to consider such an inlay, it would need to follow the curve. I know you want to hear make it straight, but I think straight would not look good. Better no inlay than straight as I look at the project.

You could get creative, and make a line to match the profile with a V carving chisel and then use indelible marker like a Sharpie to colour the groove. These are available in many colours. There are also special felt tip pens for repairing scratches in a finish which can be used. Again available in many colours.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Dave Paine said:


> If I were to consider such an inlay, it would need to follow the curve. I know you want to hear make it straight, but I think straight would not look good. Better no inlay than straight as I look at the project.


I did want to hear just make it straight, but a part of me thought it wouldn't be right and wanted someone to just tell me, "NO!!!!" :wallbash: 
I think I am going to see about routing a rabbet (3/8") on the curved outer edges of the legs and lay a strip of the walnut. I think that will not be too difficult and provide the continuity with the top that I am really wanting.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

ThomasOSB said:


> I think I am going to see about routing a rabbet (3/8") on the curved outer edges of the legs and lay a strip of the walnut. I think that will not be too difficult and provide the continuity with the top that I am really wanting.


That should look good. Just be aware the router bit will follow the curve exactly, and so any lack of smoothness will appear in the rabbet. So watch out for this and try to clean up as much as possible so there are no gaps with the walnut inlay.

When I have had small gaps with inlay's which are dark woods, I normally fill them with CA glue. The glue is clear, but the dark wood fools the eye and the small gap appears dark. I mask around where I need to fill so the CA glue does not fill the pores of the surrounding wood.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

It doesn't appear as if there was too much progress today, but it was a lot of finesse work. I cleaned up the seat more and smoothed out the curves on the legs. I also rounded over the inside part of the legs at the base and created a small cove on the base of the legs on the outside. I decided to follow the advise in the article and use whatever it takes to carve out the wood. I used a block plane to help unify the thickness and rasps for the curves. I hit all the carved sides with 40 grit sandpaper to get rid of the rasp markings.
*NB*: I should note on the coves in the base of the legs, I did not make them as deep as the article's drawing. After having penciled it in, it looked too deep and so I shortened it. I think it turned out okay.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I added a little water to the seat so that you can see how wonderful this wood is.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I only had a little bit of time in the shop this morning so I didn't get much done. I drilled the holes for the screws and the cut the holes for the square plugs. I also cut a test piece to see if a 3/8" thick piece black walnut would fit the curve. The curve at the top is too extreme. I cut a few more test pieces and it needs to be 1/16" if I want it to fit. 

That doesn't seem right to me.:blink: Anybody have any tips on how to bend the wood? Or should I make the thickness less or should I just leave the legs as maple with no strips of black walnut inlay?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

ThomasOSB said:


> I also cut a test piece to see if a 3/8" thick piece black walnut would fit the curve. The curve at the top is too extreme. I cut a few more test pieces and it needs to be 1/16" if I want it to fit.
> 
> That doesn't seem right to me.:blink: Anybody have any tips on how to bend the wood? Or should I make the thickness less or should I just leave the legs as maple with no strips of black walnut inlay?


I did some experiments on trying to curve walnut for a future project which will be a display case which has curved glass. A bit of a restoration - save the glass, replace all the wood.

I was able to bend piece which were 1/16in thick. Depending on the grain you may be able to bend 1/8in. Anything thicker will likely need other techniques, either steam bending or saturating with water. The problem with the latter is the wood expansion. Potential for gaps when the wood dries.

You could make an inlay of 1/16in walnut, 1/16in maple and 1/16in walnut. Should be interesting.

Edit - forgot to say terrific progress on the bench.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking good.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

I love this bench! 

This would look good next to my (substantially smaller) table

I'll be watching this build intently.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Phaedrus said:


> This would look good next to my (substantially smaller) table


That is an awesome table. I think I am going to have to scale your's up to my size, and I then I might have an Asian-inspired writing desk and chair combo!


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

*Good enough is good enough!*

Someone far wiser than I said that sometimes you must leave well enough alone. I decided to forgo the inlay on the outer edges of the legs. I went ahead and did the "glue-up" - I actually used JB Weld's wood epoxy - and reinforced it with 2 1/2" scews. It actually can hold a fat man! Now I will be able to finish out the top.

BTW ... Since I am wearing my UT hoodie, I am obligated to say, "Hook'em Horns!!!"


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Great job man!


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Well done. :thumbsup:

Looks smaller once someone is sitting on it.

I like the slanted legs of Phaedrus's terrific doggy table. I think if you did another one, matching the curve of your top with slanted legs may look even better.

How about a final shot of the top with the finish applied. You were teasing up a few posts ago with some water to show how good the maple looks.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Well done. :thumbsup:
> 
> Looks smaller once someone is sitting on it.
> 
> ...


I was thinking the very same thing about the size, unless you are just a giant. Don't get me wrong, those are still some substantial pieces of wood, but not as big as i had thought. A while back this year, there was a four-legged stool (perhaps made by Oldmacnut?) with a bunch of grinder usage to remove material and shape the surface like this. I like that yours combines the flowing curves and shaped seat with some nice crisp edges along the front. I can imagine perhaps two of these and a pair of similarly built benches with a matching table. I can't wait to see how this ends up!

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Woodworking Talk


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Phaedrus said:


> I was thinking the very same thing about the size, unless you are just a giant. Don't get me wrong, those are still some substantial pieces of wood, but not as big as i had thought.


To satisfy my curiosity I weighed the bench. It came out right at 14lbs.


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## Fishinbo (Jul 23, 2012)

What was that? I think I just saw something great in the dark! 



____________________________________

www.sawblade.com


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Spent a couple hours refining the seat. I trimmed the legs to be smooth with seat. I pulled out the tape measure and discovered that one side was an 1/8" thicker than the other. I pulled out the angle grinder, rasps, block plane, and sanding disks to even it out. Since there are only refinement work left on the bench, I got a little impatient to start the next project and so the glue-ups began. The bench is in the background of the pic.

In case you are wondering what the next project will be, it is the Machinist Chest found in Woodsmith Magazine #183. Mine will be made from Silver Maple.


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## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

mengtian said:


> I learned something new today. It never occured to me to use and angle grinder with wood. I use mine for just metal and thought that was it always was used for.



Oh man, the things you can do with an angle grinder. I first learned about using them last year, I did my shop stool with my grinder..


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

oldmacnut said:


> Oh man, the things you can do with an angle grinder. I first learned about using them last year, I did my shop stool with my grinder..


Awesome stool, oldmacnut!


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## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

ThomasOSB said:


> Awesome stool, oldmacnut!



Thanks.
Including the grinder in some projects is a must now, great tool to have. However I do not use the blade with the chainsaw edge, the idea of that just scares me.

I'll make a cherry version of that bench after the holidays, was alot of fun to make.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I am in the home stretch now. Tonight I sanded the whole thing down to 220 grit and cut and fit the Katalox (Mexican Ebony) plugs. Health Note: If you use Katalox, make sure you wear good respiration. The first time I used it my sinus went haywire and I couldn't stop sneezing and having water eyes for about 20 minutes. I don't remember which episode it was, but the technique for making the plugs I learned from the Woodwhisperer (it was one of the ones he did on Greene and Greene-style furniture). AND I put on the first coat of shellac!

I found the Woodwhisperer episode for making plugs. It is #116 - Ebony Plugs.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Dave Paine said:


> How about a final shot of the top with the finish applied. You were teasing up a few posts ago with some water to show how good the maple looks.


As requested... (2nd Coat of Shellac)


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

Wow, that looks great! The plugs look awesome and that grain is simply amazing.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Great job, Thomas. This bench is looking very cool so far. And that maple is incredible!


EDIT: Oh, there's a second page...

I see you got the bench done already. Wow! That's one sweet looking bench. Well done.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Very nice, Padre!


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

*Consummatum est.*

It is finally finished. It was a really fun project to do, getting to try new things is always awesome. I admit I was intimidated by the angle grinder carving, but taking it slow and being cautious worked out well. I think I will find a few more opportunities to use that technique again. Besides, thanks to Phaedrus' awesome dog table design, I now have a matching writing table to make. There are a few errors in the project that just scream out to me, but I have come to find that what I consider a massively obvious flaw (thats what dwelling on a problem over the course of several days will do to you), most people who aren't woodworkers don't notice.

Anyway, the finish was four coats of Bulls Eye Amber Shellac (3# Cut). BTW this was my first time using shellac. I did a light sanding with 800 grit sandpaper in between coats.

Thanks for all the encouragement, help, and suggestions. ...On to the next project.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Last Pic.


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## USMCSergeant (Aug 21, 2012)

Love that bench! I will have to start one of these when my dining table is finished. Thanks for the pics and info!


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## Sorrowful Jones (Nov 28, 2010)

Most excellent work! A+


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