Power-Carved Side Table

Turn a log into a sculptural statement piece.

- Katie Freeman

PROJECT #2101

Skill Level: Intermediate

Time: 4 days

Cost: $200

Have you ever come upon the opportunity to get some logs either due to a downed tree on your property or somewhere else within your community? A very familiar story is someone has to remove a very beloved tree and they want to have it turned into a piece of furniture. However, once they learn about the process to have the tree milled into useable lumber and the price associated with all of that, the tendency is to decide to do nothing further with the tree. There are other options, such as creating a unique piece of furniture with a log from the tree like a side table. That is just what I have done with a log cut from an ash tree that had to be felled to the emerald ash borer.

Getting Started The process is really pretty simple, you start with working from the largest tool down to the smallest. First, you need to get the log to the right size for a side table, which will be somewhere between 18 to 22 inches long, and the best tool for the job is a chainsaw. If you are either sourcing a log right from the lot of a tree service or working with a tree service to take down your tree, you can usually have them cut the log to the length you want.