Nice bench, Heath
Let's see at least another photo or two ?
The bamboo cut and milled easily enough -- no real difference from other hardwoods, so far. There is a resin-infused "rebundled" form of bamboo that reportedly makes a harder flooring. They stain in six ways from Sunday . . .
Multiple varieties of eucalyptus were imported to the California coast a century and more ago; the idea was that it would be good for building. The users didn't find it that way (it reportedly twisted and did all sorts of bad stuff) -- so they used it for windbreaks and firewood. Too bad; we probably just had the wrong varieties ? An ancient row of big old trees used to line a popular road up in Sonoma County. Don't know why it was finally taken away . . .
I'll post some more when the blasted thing is finished. Eucalypts have a tendency to drop branches and have killed a few campers here and damaged cars, they also like to burn so I imagine thats why they were removed. This stuff goes under the name Tasmanian oak, people in Tasmania just use it for firewood, up here the local timbers are so full of twist and tension and are so incredibly hard they are rarely used as cabinet timbers, thats probably what you got there.
They're beautiful trees,
I think; property owners complain about falling limbs and bark, and general dander -- plus fire. And some people think of them as non-native species and want them removed on philosophical grounds, or something.
I like their colors and movements. Leaves can be gray-green, on reddish strands, and they dance nicely in the wind. But you can't please everyone, apparently. I like them better here in NoCal than the (also non-native) palms -- which to my eye seem really out of place.
Thanks, they both need a bit of refinement though, the ply shell is strong enough without the spine underneath so I'd like to do something different with it that exploits that. The over-sprayed oil has left little craters where the second coat hasn't stuck to the first, the whole thing needs to be washed with de-greaser and sanded back.
I like the cabinet shape, materials, and interior a lot. I can make it go either way as far as top-heaviness--it's on the line for me, I think. So no big deal there.
The stenciling, though---that kind of nouveau Victorian scrolly stuff has been very, very trendy for a few years now and is so pervasive that it's got to be on the way out, I'm sure. Something to consider.
Nice work ! It's a pleasure to see anything well thought out, and accomplished flawlessly. I say, screws should be driven to consistent torque, and let the heads (especially Phillips) end up where they may ?
My take on the stencil: Why not ? But the cut-off top of the pattern might better have been made an aligned "free edge" ? Looks fine, anyway.
The hold-open hardware -- did you find that, or make it ? Slick . . .
SDR
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