Rustic wood

"Where is the Fillmore County News First"

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Rich Sather has always liked to chop wood in the woods. Due to changes in the farming methods of his farm, the hillside behind his house is overgrown with thousands of trees considered to be "weeds", including longevity trees, sea buckthorn and cedar. Initially, his plan was to only cut down and burn all these trees; however, Rich saw and bought a coffee table and coffee table made of cedar by his wife in Preston, Michigan (near Branson, Missouri) Later, Rich decided to try it on the table himself. Before that, he had made cedar canes, low stands and coasters.

Rich uses simple tools to process wood. His tools include chainsaws, broaches left in his home many years ago, high-quality folding knives and hand-held electric sanders.

After cutting down the trees, he let them dry for a year before continuing to make his country furniture.

Rich uses most of the trees for carpentry. He can get three to four pieces from the lower trunk of the tree to use as a table top for the coffee table. He and his friend Arlan Henderson saw two coffee tables 45 inches or 46 inches longitudinally of the wood.

Cut the next part of the tree to create the coffee table base. Cut the limbs of the tree into shanks, coasters and legs for the coffee table. Smaller limbs are used to make crutches and hiking sticks. Canes vary in height, but are about 50 inches tall. Trekking poles are 18 inches higher and are often used by morel mushroom hunters on hillsides.

After the wood dries, Rich uses an antique drawing knife to remove most of the bark from the wood. He used a folding knife to clean the smaller corners and crevices of the log. Sather estimates that it will take him 13 hours to completely remove the bark from the small coffee table, 15 hours for the large coffee table, and 32 hours for the coffee table.

After removing the bark, Sather sanded the slices with an electric hand sander. He started using 80 grit sandpaper, and then changed it to 150 grit sandpaper to fine-tune the sanding. Once they are properly smooth, he uses gorilla glue to secure the top to the bottom of the table, making sure to check the level of the top. On a recent coffee table, Rich changed the desktop by adding a lazy Susan, turning the desktop around. Then leave the table for two or three days to dry thoroughly.

Rich finished the game with five layers of urethane glass. Initially, polyurethane spar was used to preserve the long wooden poles that supported the sails. Carbamate

Provides a very durable surface. Suther emphasized that his furniture can only be used indoors. When he first started making furniture, he used to make tables for colleagues. He finished the table with seven layers of tung oil. The colleague put the table on the outdoor deck and put it there after winter. result? The table top turned black, and part of the table began to rot. Rich sanded the table at last, and then removed the rot with a jackknife. Although the carbamate he uses now provides more protection than tung oil, he still reminds people that furniture can only be used indoors.

Rich's finished table is one of them. Each table has its own unique appearance. The annual rings of wood slices will produce different images. An imaginative person may see birds, dragons or other creatures, just like people do to clouds. The table is indeed a rustic and natural art form, which can be used for almost any decoration.

Sather did not make any modifications to the coasters and tripods he made. Many people who got his belongings enjoyed the fragrance of cedar. Some people even sand them lightly to release more wood smell.

Before his retirement, Rich worked at the Houston County Board of Appraisal. "I spent a lot of time working before retirement-I am a workaholic!" he announced. When he retired, he did not do anything for about a week. Afterwards, he knew that he had to find something related to the newly discovered time. His first project was to beautify the yard, plant many new shrubs and create a huge garden. He then set up a camp on the house in Looney Creek, a quarter of the camp at a time. When he remembered being stuck in the creek several times during the project, he laughed.

Sather and his wife Marlene travel between the two projects. They have gone to all countries except the five states in the United States. They still need to visit Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey, Hawaii and Alaska. When the COVID hit last year, the plan to visit Michigan was cancelled. During the trip, Marlene likes to take photos with his smartphone. Later, she used her own photos and cardstock to make note cards.

For the past 10 to 12 years, their travels have taken them to South Padre Island in Texas, where they like to beach and pick up shells. Of course, they don’t just preserve shells; they preserve shells. They make jewelry with them!

This creative couple has been together for 56 years. Rich refers to Marlene as his confidant and points out that they are high school lovers. Their hobbies support each other, and everyone likes the time spent on personal hobbies, saying that you also need your own time.

Rich will continue to create his country style furniture together with other projects. You can rest assured that this busy person will always find what he likes to do to keep himself energetic and active. Over the years, many people will like this result!

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