Surprise

Now it's time to finish carving the underside. At this point the back of the seat is cut out on the bandsaw, and finished, as the carving on the side will meet up with the back of the seat.

When I cut out the seats I made a discovery. A large pitch pocket completely hidden on one of the back edges of the seat. This is a thing with Eastern White Pine, but I've not run into it before.

Before and after

There was literally no indication of this from the outside

I cleaned out the pitch using an awl

Mixed up some sawdust and glue

Stuffed the glue/sawdust mixture in the hole, and let it sit overnight covered with masking tape

Dried

Smoothed - once it's painted it will be invisible and the seat will be fine