Following a visit to the Trapp Lodge in Stowe, VT, my friend Caitlin asked me to make her an Austrian-inspired bench for her shoe area. I love the curves of old Bavarian style furniture and was happy to take on a project that allowed me to develop my skills with chisels. The bench is all held together with joinery; no screws, nails, or glue.

Caitlin drew the curves of the legs and stringer on paper and I transfered them to 1/8” plywood to make a template for the legs. I rough cut the legs on the bandsaw and then used a flush trim bit on the router to complete the shape. The stringer was just cut out on the bandsaw and taken to final dimension using the spindle sander.

Within the folklore of Finland, Ireland, and other cultures, Alder is said to be a wood possessing magical and supernatural qualities, sometimes described as symbolic of strength and nobility. It proved to be a great choice, being very sturdy but not overly rigid for the use of hand tools.