Viking Furniture In Progress

Vaughn McMillan

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OK, just so the Picture Police don't get hand cramps from writing me tickets, here are a few pics of the "furniture" I've been building for my brother-in-law Jaan, the Viking re-enactor. (He gets paid for playing make-believe.)

His Viking group had a decent collection of small benches, but the member who owned them quit the group and took his furniture with him. Since they have a big event coming up in a couple months in Solvang, CA, the rush is on to replace some of the furniture. So far, nothing quite as elaborate as the Viking bed we made a few years ago. Just simple stools, with a few tables coming up next.

Jann has been collecting scrap lumber for the past few months, so we're using as much reclaimed wood as possible to keep costs down. He had gathered some 2 x 12 cutoffs, so the first weekend, we decided to make some Lund stools. Here's an example of one he already had that was made by the now-departed member:

Viking Furniture 2009 01 - 800.jpg

It's a simple 2 x 12 seat with 1 1/4" dowels for legs. In this example, the legs aren't even glued, so they are loose most of the time. I talked Jaan out of using more dowels, and instead we went with pressure treated fence posts. A few hours on the lathe, and I had 44 of these:

Viking Furniture 2009 02 - 800.jpg

Although I don't think the Vikings used them, I wanted to wedge the round tenons, so I also needed a bunch of small wedges. Some scrap mahogony went into these:

Viking Furniture 2009 05 - 800.jpg

We set up a jig for drilling the angled holes on the drill press, but I didn't get any pics. (I know, that's a citeable offense to the Picture Police.) :p We didn't go with the 20º mentioned in the link above, but ended up with something more like 15º.

Over the course of last week, I got all the legs epoxied and wedged into place, and we ended up with these. You'll see we also made a few 4-legged bences while we were at it:

Viking Furniture 2009 03 - 800.jpg

Yes, they are on the roof of my house. I don't have a handy place to store them, and they need some weathering anyway, so we're killing two birds with one stone. :D Here's a shot showing the wedges in the leg tenons:

Viking Furniture 2009 04 - 800.jpg

Due to lack of time and disregard for perfection, I did not angle the shoulders on the legs to mate flat with the bottom of the stools. The joint is only getting its strength from the tenon itself, but between the epoxy and the wedge, they seem pretty stout. Much better than what he had previously. :rolleyes:

We're working on tables now. I'll post more pics in this thread as things develop. At least now the Picture Police will back off a bit. I'm getting tired of being beaten down by The Man. :rofl:
 
I really like the roof area for storage.

YOure neighbors must think youve lost it this time.

Vaughn:Hi, whatta doin tomorrow, why dont you come over for dinner?
Neighbor: No thanks vaughn, were afraid of heights.
Vaughn, : Oh no, those?(laughing) those are for my brother, hes a viking
Neighbor: OK, really, my brother is a gladiator.(turning to his wife after he hangs up with Vaughn. Honey, Vaughns lost it, he put his chairs on his roof and thinks his brother is a viking)
 
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the real question is, how did he get those really nice rustic-faux-norse benches UP there?

Your old arch-nemesis...The Ladder. :p (My roof's not nearly as high as your shop siding, though.)

Allen, I like your thinking. This might be a nice gesture for Rob to extend to his NN:

_E0M6812 Cropped 2 600.jpg
 
Very cool Vaughn :thumb:

Why do you think the original Vikings would not have used wedges?

Wedges would have been one of the first simple joints to use, I think....:dunno:

Cheers!
 
...Why do you think the original Vikings would not have used wedges?

Wedges would have been one of the first simple joints to use, I think....:dunno:

Cheers!

So far I've not seen any references to the Vikings using them in the end of a flush tenon like that, but since they were using them in other joints, I'm sure they had the "technology". That said, the wedged joints sure did work nicely for me, though. Some of the tenons I turned were a bit small and loose, but the wedges tightened them right up. The epoxy will just fill the gaps to keep them from rocking loose (I hope). :rolleyes:
 
PT legs!? Don't put those shavings on your garden! :rolleyes:


good looking benches, Vaughn. I'll be a character witness when the Picture Police come knocking... :rofl:
 
Viking furniture.... Another name for Colonial, or Pioneer, or Rustic, etc.... Has more of a Ruggid Europian Flair... But I like it, especially the Roof :thumb:
You can wiggle them and use the sand from the tiles to level uneven legs... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the posting and pictures. Although it may not don the pages of Fine Woodworking Mag. etc. It is some nice projects and worth considering for future endeavors.

And Did I see..... On one of the pictures you have a strip of Velcro along a bench to attach "Not yet used up" sanding disc? What a great Idea! Thanks again for the posting, I am about to stick some Velcro in several locations, I will pirate your idea....
 

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vaughn two things: First, no offense to you or your brother, but when I looked at the picture of the vikings attacking, all I could think of is "whats in your wallet?"

and Id bet you dollars to donuts there werent many vikings who had a powermatic lathe to help them spin the legs.:D
 
...And Did I see..... On one of the pictures you have a strip of Velcro along a bench to attach "Not yet used up" sanding disc? What a great Idea! Thanks again for the posting, I am about to stick some Velcro in several locations, I will pirate your idea....

Yep, it's stuck to the backside edge of my bandsaw outfeed/extension table, right next to the headstock of the lathe. Very handy. :thumb: I stole the idea from someone else who has a strip running along the front edge of his lathe. I happened to have some 2" wide "Industrial" Velcro on hand, and the adhesive has held on very well.

and Id bet you dollars to donuts there werent many vikings who had a powermatic lathe to help them spin the legs.:D

You're thinking they would have preferred a Oneway or Nova?

I think they were using the European lathes...Record or Vicmark or another one from over there. :p Shipping from the Canada or New Zealand would have been a dealbreaker back then. :rofl:

And Allen, no apologies necessary for thinking of the "What's In Your Wallet?" line. I still scratch my head about the re-enactment stuff. These guys are into it bigtime, but it doesn't really float my boat. I was an "extra" for the photo shoot where that "Charge" photo was taken, so I got to play dress-up with them once. I think I rolled my eyes so many times that day they became dizzy. :rolleyes: :p
 
Im not knocking the reenactments. I cant tell you how many times Ive paid for tickets to see reenactments of various times of America's history.
You just really gave me a laugh when I saw the benches on top of the roof.
Id use that space also around my house if I wasnt afraid of heights.Cant ever imagine having too many adirondack chairs.
 
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