The Hackberry Bench — amir.click

I cut down this hackberry tree myself. Brought the trunk home on a trailer — and this is what came off of it.

Milling

I bought a chainsaw mill — a Farmertec — and gave it a shot. My first time milling anything into slabs. Hackberry is not a softwood, so this was not a gentle introduction.

Chainsaw mill clamped to the hackberry log

Worth every bit of it though. Here's one of my quality control managers standing on our fresh cut.

Standing on a freshly milled slab

Drying

I didn't have my solar kiln yet, so these just got stacked in the yard for a few months. Chickens approved.

Hackberry slabs drying in the yard

That pile produced a lot more than just the bench — I still have slabs from this tree waiting for their turn.

Flattening

I built a router sled out of steel and angle iron. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done. Running a flattening bit across a slab this size takes a while, but the sawdust trail tells you you're making progress.

Router sled flattening the hackberry slab

Sanding

This is where the team really came together. Three kids, three sanders, ear protection mandatory.

The sanding crew — all three kids with sanders and ear protection

First Finish

After sanding through the grits, time to put something on it and see what we've got. Applying the first coat by hand — that moment when the grain pops for the first time never gets old.

Applying the first coat of finish

On Its Legs

I welded the legs myself — simple steel, flat black. The bench lives on the front porch against the brick now. The live edge on this piece has a nice sweep to it.

Bench on welded steel legs, kids and cat inspecting

Refinishing

This bench went through two or three rounds of finishing. Epoxy fills in the cracks and voids, sand it back, recoat. Each pass gets it a little closer.

Back to bare wood for another round

Full length after refinishing — the grain swirl stands out

The grain detail on this wood is something else. Hackberry doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Evening light showing the grain detail and epoxy fills

The Steel Legs

The slab was ready. Now it needed something to stand on. I fabricated H-frame legs from square tube steel — two matching sets with a crossbar for rigidity. Leveling feet welded into nut plates on the bottom so the bench sits flat on an uneven porch.

Two pairs of freshly welded H-frame steel legs with leveling feet

Nut plate detail — a threaded bolt welded into a steel plate for the leveling foot

The legs got a heat treatment and a quench in a water bath. The steel picks up beautiful blue and gold tempering colors.

H-frame leg being quenched — tempering colors visible on the steel

Then the moment of truth: mounting the legs to the slab. Pilot holes drilled through the hackberry with a countersink bit, bolted through from underneath. Minwax polyurethane on the slab first so no raw wood touches the steel.

Steel legs mounted on the hackberry slab — drill and finish can visible

Full length of the bench with both leg sets attached

Final assembly — legs painted black, slab finished

The Finished Piece

After everything — milling, drying, flattening, sanding, multiple rounds of finish, welding the legs — here it is. Front porch. Brick wall. Done.

Finished hackberry bench — front view

Finished hackberry bench — angle view showing the live edge

This was my first slab project, start to finish. Cut the tree, milled it, dried it, built the jigs, did the work. Took about a year from log to bench. I've still got more hackberry slabs from this tree — if you're interested in a custom piece, get in touch.