Hand Crafted Log Home Bench

~Our log bench prior to being stained

If you played sports as a kid you may have at some point spent at least a little time on the bench. I'm betting good money, however, it wasn't a log bench. If by some outside chance it was a log bench, I'm doubling down that it wasn't a handcrafted log bench carved into the butt-end of a 38 foot long 200 year old western red cedar tree that ran completely through one side of a log home and protruded 8 feet or so from the southeast corner of the log home it was part of...more than likely.

If that description comes even close to describing the bench you sat on while you were a sophmore playing basketball for the 1975-76 Rolla Bulldogs, than we'd have at least one thing in common. Now, back to the bench...

Not everyone wants an integrated log bench on their log home, but I've found most do. Of all the people who've seen ours over the past 10 plus years, most think it's pretty cool and certainly unique. It makes a nice conversation piece as well as a fun and reasonably comfortable place to sit. Most folks who've sat on our log bench were sitting on one for the first time in their life.

I made the mistake of not staining our log bench when I initially stained the house logs. I thought that leaving the log it's natural light color would look nice against the stained logs, but as I found out later, the un-stained log weathered and turned somewhat gray over time due to exposure to the UV rays bearing down daily on the front of our south facing cabin. I ended up touching up the log bench 2 times before hiring a friend of mine, "Super Elias" to do it the right way. Super lightly sanded the bench down to bare wood (the wood was as good as new after 9 years exposure to the elements) and re-stained it with a water based product out of Canada called Sansin. Now it looks better than ever.
Going forward, a clear maintenance coat brushed or sprayed on every two or three years should keep the bench looking like new and keep me from being a log home Goober; that is, investing in a nice handcrafted log home and not taking the necessary steps to keep it looking it's best.

I didn't put captions on all of these pictures but I'm hoping you'll get the idea. A log bench serves many purposes and over time will likely become part of a good memory for those who sit in it...or perhaps just stand next to it!

Yes, I was intentionally puffing out my chest and pulling in my belly in an attempt to make Chris and Craig look much, much older than me. Then again, maybe I was just a little proud of our Pioneer log bench...did I mention it was handcrafted?