I got the slab bench finished today, wedging the leg tenons, sawing and sanding them flush, adding a bit of steel to strengthen a crack (largely a decorative measure), and finishing with Danish oil. As you can see from the photo, rustic work is an invitation to explore textures and to introduce other material. The 20 p. nail was hammered on the anvil to flatten and distort surfaces, then bent in the vise with a 90 degree bend at each end. I cut off the end with the head and sharpened it to a point. Pilot holes nearly the diameter of the nail were drilled in the wood to prevent further splitting as it was hammered into place. The idea for this repair came from George Nakashima's use of dovetail keys to control splits, and the use of bent nails in the repair of the lid of my great grandmother's bent-wood Norwegian box.