Im building a bench...

my woodworking class is really starting to get exciting!! this morning i came across a gorgeous piece of Utile, [yu-til] other-wise know as Sipo or African mahogany. sadly, (kinda) i cut this lovely beam into pieces to use as the seat of the bench i am working on. unfortunately we have to stay within certain size restrictions so it wont turn out as sleek as i had imagined but either way this is the coolest shit i've done in a long time!

so what we have up top here is the Utile on the right and the legs of the bench. for these i just chose Poplar (probably one of the cheapest and most easy to find of the hardwoods), because i am going to stain it black.

I may not have had to include all these pictures but I love looking at it so i figured i would include you too!

Here you can really see the grain on this piece. this is why i got kinda sad to cut it up. look how freaking beautiful that is! it stuck out to me in the lumberyard like the holy grail. I'm sure the dude wearing camouflage cargo shorts, construction boots and a goatee that was braided down to his belt line didn't think i was gay at all when i proclaimed, "oh my god! how beautiful! that's it right there. that's the one!"

If i'm not too much of a retard this is how it should end up looking. like i said earlier, i hate that it is going to look a lot shorter than this but hey, this is the first of many, you know what i mean? that joint going through the legs is (hopefully) going to be a piece of steel piping that i am going to have custom welded. i don't want to get too crazy but i may give it a little personality. ya know, just leave it outside for a week or two in a puddle of mud and let nature give it a little bitch slap.

I don't know if you can tell in the drawing but the seat cross-pieces are supposed to be drawn to look like they are wrapped with material. this material that i have been having a hell of a time trying to find is industrial pressed wool felt. the closest i have come to a sample was a pair of rain-boots i found in nichole petrini's thrift store. the liners are not wool felt (i think) but the thickness is perfect! I really like that grey too. although the original idea was to find some sort of army green or chocolate. I know they make it because i've seen it online but its so hard to find a company that will sell me a small amount.

this is what i had to turn that lovely plank into. obviously i'll sand out the burn marks from the band saw and make it look pretty again though. but this is where i am at so far with the design and i just wanted to share it with you all! hi ho