Working with Driftwood

Content Inspired by the book “Driftwood Furniture”. The book was written by Derek Douglas.

It isn’t difficult to master the techniques needed to work with driftwood. In the book shown below, everything you’ll need to know  is outlined to be confident in building your first project.

Mirror-Cutting

Quoted by Derek Douglas “It all came about when I was having trouble finding two matching arms for the bench I’d been planning on building.
There was a particularly lovely piece of wood in my pile – it had a well-shaped curve and a distinctive, worn,root-shaped end; however, it was a tad too big. Then the idea struck me:Why not try to cut it down the middle? Once i split it, I would end up with a nicely splayed out look on either side of the bench, Unfortunately, it was too think and hard for my little band saw. So I did a local check around for someone who had a larger band saw than I did, and I was referred to Bill Kelly, a quiet unassuming man who is a complete wood craftsman.”

Mirror cutting can open  up whole new avenues for designing. One warning however: Once cut, some pieces will warm. Warping mainly occurs when the wood is not fully dried. After the pieces is cut, the forces of tension within it are released and the shape becomes somewhat distorted. Don’t despair, though. Those same warped pieces can come into use on a later project.

Joinery

It is common to join almost everything with screws and lag bolts. All holes are predrilled for this purpose. This is a must. The main drawback of using nails is that they are hard to remove if you want to rearrange pieces of wood. And by pre drilling, you’ll avoid splitting the wood.

Broken Bits

Broken drill bits and screws are going to become a more regular part of your life. The solution is simple. If the broken piece is sticking out just a small amount – enough to get a gold of it with a vice grip – then you will be able to easily twist it out if not, then just take your trusty hammer, and bang the broken end into the wood and drill another hole next to it.
There, isn’t driftwood furniture building a forgiving hobby?

Check out Derek Douglas’s book