A Fallen Forest Giant Provides a Place to Rest
“Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops.”
— Maya Angelou
If you’ve been with us for awhile, you might recall that back in 2023, a large bur oak was toppled in early 2023 during a windstorm. Much of the tree was in great shape, so rather than leave it to decay on the forest floor (along with plenty of existing woody debris), the FEC applied for and was the recipient of a Day of Service grant on behalf of Hoppe Tree Service. They removed the tree to the woodland edge, and brought a portable sawmill to demonstrate the milling process with this fallen giant. After spending time in the kiln, lumber and slabs were taken to The Urban Craftsman, where they’re available for sale to local artisans.
One such artisan is our board’s vice president, Mary Ann Buenzow, who shared her process of creating a beautiful, functional bench for her backyard.
I thought about what to make with this special piece of wood for a long time. At first I thought of cutting it in half and making a bench with a seat and backrest. But because that bur oak is such a heavy wood, I decided on a simpler bench style.
I searched woodworking websites and found a simple plan for a bench with angled cuts and angled legs. I liked the design, and thought it would look nice with black walnut added for color contrast.
The plan called for using the pocket-hole joinery method to attach the legs to the bench. This was a method I had never done before. I needed a specialized tool called a pocket-hole jig, which I purchased for our home woodshop. I experimented on some sample pieces until I got the technique right.
After assembling the bench, I had some of the angled cut-off ends of the bur oak left over, and I thought that it would be cool to add a decorative piece with an engraved bur oak leaf and the word "Explore" to connect it back to the tree and FEC. I tried using a Dremmel tool and a hand-held router to make the design myself, but I couldn’t get the design deep enough into the endgrain wood for it to look good.
Through my gym here in Janesville, I learned about Monica at Ellie Joe Design Co., and emailed a rough sketch of what I was looking for. She engraved it with a CNC machine, exactly how I envisioned it! I was thrilled to support a small local business, too.
After much sanding, I glued the piece to the bench, and finished it with several coats of exterior-grade Spar varnish.
Thank you for sharing, Mary Ann!
If you purchase some of this beautiful, local urban wood, tell us what you make with it and we’ll feature it in a future blog post.