Assembling a twisty oak bench with corner bridle joints, oak pegs and a small amount of glue.

Chainsaw milled from a fallen branch, the grain twists and turns far more than a straight tree stem. As it seasons, the timber shrinks and the twist in the grain is reflected in the shape of the finished board. The seasoned board could be planed flat but the result would be a thinner board, much thinner in this case and too thin to use as a bench seat.

This all makes for major challenge when marking out traditional joints without a consistent flat and square reference point. Scribing, slowly paring with a sharp chisel and lots of patience are required. The corner bridle joints used are an open type of mortise and tenon, though not usually used in this way. These are then held together with long oak pegs which also stop the bench racking.

This ‘simple’ twisty bench will be available in the online shop next week after trimming the pegs, planing the joints flush, sanding, waxing, sanding, waxing ….