Log Furniture

[Jordan Laube]

Hello All -
I am passing the time until all of my stars align and am able to proceed with log home. In the mean time, I was thinking of playing around with building some log furniture (beds, tables, chairs, dresser, night stand, etc.).

QUESTION: Does anyone know of any good refernce material (books, magazines, other) that would be helpful for someone that has little experience in such a project? It would be best if the resource was fairly detailed with regard to process, tools, etc. I have taken some time looking at different "log furniture" items and many of them look fairly basic / easy to build. However, I do not know if this is actually the case...

I have done internet searches and there are a few books on the subject (not many), but reviews of the books differ regarding their helpfulness. I am thinking that there may be other sources of information that I am overlooking.

Additionally, if anyone has PERSONAL EXPERIENCE making these items - any insight would be helpful & appreciated. I am guessing that this community of people is about as good a resource for this type of project as any...

Live well,
J-

[nobleknight]

Check out Lee Valley tools. They have books and tools on the subject.

Tom
nobleknight
class 01-15-05

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Somewhere in the forums are a book I reviewed on building
log furniture. It's an e-book. It was actually pretty good too.
Informative, with a few twists in design that never would have
occured to me. I recommend it.

-Rick

[jeffro]

I too plan to build a bed frame while I am in wait. I drew a plan up the other day.

Seems to me, you either need a really large woodworking lathe to make nice perfectly round posts, or you need a drawknife, spokeshave, and some sandpaper and time. The last group, combined with a large diameter forstner bit to make mortise holes and a saw to cut things to length is all I plan to use for the "log" parts. I plan to have 2x8 ish side rails, and I will either use a powered planer or a hand plane to smooth them up. Not much sense getting things down to 1/1000" in parallel sides when it joins to a log that twists and tapers.

No books come to mind though.


Jeff

[sparky]

Jordan, check out this web site. I believe they rent a DVD on the subject in the woodworking category.

www.smartflix.com

Sparky

[Jordan Laube]

Tom / Rick / Sparky / Jeff -

Thank you for your input...The website that has had the most useful information (that I have found) is: http://www.logfurnituredirectory.com

Any additional information / suggestions are welcome.
Thx,
J-

[Kola]

boy, some of those tools are very pricey! :shock:

kola

[Shark]

The log beds & dressers are pretty neat, but I've always wanted one of these:
http://store.aspenlog.com/AD-18648V_Mule_Deer_Down_Light?sc=9&category=63

I wonder how hard it would be to make one?

[greenthumb]

Has anyone built their log furniture? (yeah this is a real old post!)
I'm collecting a few choice pieces to eventually build a few log bed frames and whatever else comes to mind.
I'm thinking about trying one of these courses, has anyone else bought it?
http://www.rusticmade.com/

[jaxsnyder]

I haven't bought that course but there are alot of useful videos on utube. I am currently in the process of starting some projects using logs and I am headed to the Library to check out some of the recommended books on building log furniture. I will let you know if I find any good resources.

[jaxsnyder]

Well the library was a dead end they carry absolutely nothing on log furniture or log homes. Sorry I was hoping I could be more of a help if I find any other good resources in the mean time I will post them.

[ramblinman502]

i havent yet..but i did pick up a video on basic log furniture building. seems simple enough. we started playing with some barn wood cabinets...ill post pics when theyre further along

[Steve Meek]

Tools used, chisle, 1" drill bit, 7" circular saw, and ax.
My wife loves it. The pic is to the left. My avatar! Steve

[emersonelk]

Try bosworth tools.They specialize in the like.I bought one of their tenon cutters a couple years ago,exspensive but worth it when compared to buying the furniture.The best advice i could have received and didnt was to cut your tenons when your logs are green.I let mine season in the garage for about 3 years.That turned them extremely hard.When your cutting your tenons, you'll inevitably hit an exceptional hard spot which the cutter will dig into,but the drill will want to keep going.That will rip the drill and cutter out of your hands faster than you can anticpate.I cant tell you how many times i almost broke one of my wrists.They recommend a drill with 9amps or more,big and powerful,they sale only the hole hawgs and design their drill holding jig around it.This I wont do with out on the next projects.I used a hf drill that worked great,still going and only cost 40 bucks.You can get a very helpful dvd sent by them that shows their tools at work.I will also never use a drill or probably any other tool with a trigger lock.When your holding on tightly and cutting and making sure your tenon is straight,you'll hit one of those hard spots and of course you have accidentally pushed in the trigger lock button.The drill and cutter then spin and fly at full throttle with no one at the wheel,all you can do is get back and around to see who the fastest cord unplugger in the world is.The last time this happened,when it hit the concrete floor,it bent the shaft on my newly acquired tenon cutter.The shaft comes out by loosing one screw and was cheap,but had some down time waiting for the new one to come.Good luck.Oh and Smeek,nice looking bed.
t