About a month ago, I got an e-mail from a couple who had the maple tree from their yard cut down and milled into boards. And they wanted to turn it into something useful.
So I ventured into New Westminster to have a first-hand look at what we were dealing with. The maple that they had was very dark for a maple, and I could tell that this wood was special. Aside from the colour, the slabs also had two natural edges each. We decided to make a bench from one slab to get started.
I started by debarking the edge, as part of the bark was falling off. Next, I surfaced both sides with a scrub plane and scrapers and finished off by carving the ends of the board. I delivered the bench, and upon seeing how amazing it looked, they decided that it was too nice to sit on, and that it was destined to be a table.
Here is side A.
And here is side B. It has not yet been decided which side will be the top.
Upon delivery, they asked me to make a small table slab of the same style.
These are only slabs, as the clients have decided that they like the look of a metal base. I am in awe at how these slabs look. Simply amazing.
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 