Post #796614 by Commodore on Fri, Aug 2, 2019 7:36 AM

On 2019-08-01 13:41, Prikli Pear wrote:
Zounds! That looks equal parts amazing and ambitious. You guys are setting a crazy high standard for the rest of us to live up to!

A question, if I may--why walnut for the trim? It's a beautiful wood, but after looking at various options I ultimately went with pine, torched, stained and sealed for all of my routed/carved trim thus far. It just seems easier to work with and is far cheaper than hardwoods (which makes the inevitable screw-up slightly less painful to bear). I'm probably going to have to go with western red cedar for my next bar project, tho.

Thanks Prikli! The hardwoods do look great but they are costly - on the front end of this build I became friends with a guy who owns a reclaimed wood company... that set the bar as I was able to get my hands on an ample amount of African mahogany and oak - super fortuitous for the build and of which most of the structure is made - especially the back bar, bar top (coming), and outside carvings. When I did the main beams I wasn't sure what would bend well. Oak was too heavy, the lighter woods would bend but not hold shape with any strength. the walnut seemed to not just bend well, but be strong in its new shape and... so it kind of became the go to. and it looks great I bought one large board and then table cut it into the strips that you see I'm using now. I'm careful as I have to keep any mishaps with the router - I'm not torching them, but I stain the grooves before varnish. That bottom board did almost break - yikes! - you can see one of the pictures it has one lone clamp on it - that's holding the beginnings of a crack that is being glued back together. Also - I do have some red cedar in the main support beams - its super light and looks great. but its sandwiched between walnut and some other stuff. Mahalo and appreciate the support - I think I'm seeing daylight at the end of this now!