Project: Best Birthday

Best birthday – my birthday was on Wednesday and it was the best!

Why? First up, my husband didn’t make me wait to open my gift. It was so awesome.

Best Birthday

Next up – the decision chart. I got to pick what to do. So rad.

I made one modification – I didn’t want alone time while Bryce went to get Mexican food…we went together.

My Kitchenaid 14 cup architect food processor was the perfect gift. Again, so rad.

Okay. Time for chainsaw lessons.

Up first, leaning how to take it apart. How to clean it and how to fill it with oil and then the oil and gas mix. I got to put on a new chain, too!

After the lesson time to put my new skills to the test. See that raw log? It’s about to become 2 couch tables that will double as stools. One will even have a lid to hide the remotes.

Step one – level off the bottom. We did this by adding shims to make the bottom level. Then, we created a level pencil mark as our cut line. Next, strap down your log.

Time to cut! Make sure you’ve got a good stance and go for it.

That’s me, sitting on our old red couch – it’s in the shop for the girls to hang out on while Bryce works…I stole a seat today, though.

We made the lid nice and big so that it had some weight to it. Both tables are the same height, which is great, too.

Now to carve out the hole for the remotes. We used the Kutzall Sanding and Carving disks – you can get them at Lee Valley.

Time for the sides – we used our grinder with a soft head on it to debark the log. Then, we use 80 grit sand paper to eliminate all the swirl marks.

Hinge time – be sure to notch out room for the hinge so that the lid sits flush. We also burned the inside of the bowl part, just to give it some depth.

For finishing we used a clear sealer. We actually purchased it at a cedar decking store and it’s what they use to seal logs on log homes, so it’ll be good for our living room. If the stuff can handle rain and snow, it can handle my little glass of water! haha.