Robert Hill
Pomona, Qld

My oval table
jarrah wine keg

‘My sister always wanted a jarrah dining table, so I thought now was a chance to make one. I bought a heavy duty bandsaw laid it on its side, put wheels on it and made a bandsaw mill which after considerable time and changes, works very well. I split the jarrah planks in two. The outside of the keg slabs were used on the tabletop and you can see some of the surface cracks, which I filled, but left them to tell the story of the old weathered keg.

‘For the legs I found a river willow (Acacia stenophylla) not long dead and with the chainsaw cut the timber required for the centre part, using the bandsaw to cut the four shaped legs. I left some of the chainsaw marks on the finished timber, just to show the grandchildren how things used to be done.

‘I am a farmer who works with wood in my spare time. I only use native wood, which I mainly collect myself and some of it is very difficult to work with, but it is extremely rewarding when you have finished the piece.’