# Red Cedar Bench



## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

I recently befriended a part-time volunteer apprentice in my shop. We made arrangements for his first 3 days 'on the job'. I had also recently acquired a nice red cedar slab and thought it would be fun to make a bench with it. We built the base which is a red oak apron and legs and sanded the top slab of cedar. A while back I bought a Craftsman Inlay kit for $10 - used, and it was Daves job to read the instructions which didn't exist and figure it out. Dave did well. The Crapsman was true to form - a piece of junk, but we made it work. 
Here is the final product.


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

nice work


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## HugeCow inc. (Jun 12, 2010)

looks good!


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## Drillbit (Jan 13, 2011)

I love the butterfly keys and the whole piece is really satisfying to look at. Nice.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Sweet bench. Dutchmans look great. :thumbsup:

Glad your new guy is working out. :smile:


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Very nice looking bench. Is that white run on the front the sapwood or another inlay? If that is sapwood then excellent job matching it and the keys and base. Looks great!


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

That's a sweet looking bench. I love the look of cedar. Great work you guys. 


And for the record, I've never been a fan of Craftsman tools either. :no:


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

now thats thinking with yer dipstick, awesome peice too


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

*Thanks Guys*

The white in the front is the sapwood and the edge is the natural edge. I didn't know what to make the butterflys with so I used pine from an old 2x4. It is soft and grainy like cedar. We weren't sure on how many butterfly to use and how many. It is really easy to 'over-do' it, so we sat on it overnight. The next day my helper came in. He is the artsy-fartsy type and he thought that less is better so I went with that. I had already made 2 more butterflys and am glad I didnt cut the holes yet.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Beautiful table. What kind of expansion and contraction do you get on a slab like that and how do you account for it?


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Streamwinner said:


> ... What kind of expansion and contraction do you get on a slab like that and how do you account for it?


I'm not really sure about how much expansion and contraction I will get, but I figure about 1/8" max. I always mount my tops with the attached clips. They are cheap and work great.


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Nice job fellas. I like the bowties too.

I got 5 cedar trees Im waiting to cut down when I the room to stack and get my kiln finished. I really like cedar too.

Robert


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