Crafty DIYers

[Griff]

That is awesome. It also acts as a deterrent to adult children moving back and a honey pot for Grandchildren visiting.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Leather doors...

[xoxoxoBruce]

One guy in Hawaii...

Albizia, aka "The Tree That Ate Puna," is a highly invasive pest. Land with a lot of albizia growing on it is less valuable than an equivalent lot with no albizia on it, because of the cost of removing the undesirable trees.
The wood is weak and brittle, leading to its most notorious feature... dropping heavy branches with no warning. It has been responsible for numerous downed power lines, crushed roofs, injuries, etc. as well as strangling out ohia forest. It is unsuitable for structural uses.
It can be burned.

But another Hawaiian...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - They are known for their broad canopies and brittle branches. Albizia trees are a nuisance to some, and something to eradicate for others. But for Gary Young albizia is a choice wood.
"I started looking around at what grew here. Albizia was sort of an abundant resource," he said.
Young turns that abundant resource into surfboards. For years he has used albizia wood and an epoxy laminate to craft a board he claims is as strong as a fiberglass surfboard.
"They weigh the same or less than a fiberglass board. And they have higher durability," he said.
Young is a seasoned surfboard maker. He has built them out of wood since 1976, using koa, bamboo, and now albizia.
"It's the best material I've ever worked with," he said.

[xoxoxoBruce]

More grog, wench!

[glatt]

I like that picnic table. Looks easy to make at first glance, but it's a bit trickier than it seems. Getting those flats of the logs even with one another to make a smooth table top when the logs are all different thicknesses. I imagine they are notched underneath, but would like to know.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Could lay the half logs face down and level a plank across them. Then run a skillsaw or router along the plank to make notches of even depth to the faces.

Or rough out notches in a stringer then set the half logs in the notches with epoxy to make them even. Have to take the bark off though.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Could lay the half logs face down and level a plank across them. Then run a skillsaw or router along the plank to make notches of even depth to the faces.

That's how I'd do it. (Assuming the skill saw blade would reach that deep.) It's not incredibly difficult. Just not as easy as slapping the thing together using 2x10s for a table top.