Finally did some woodworking today

JimD

Jim
Senior User
I doubled the low spot drain in my driveway two weeks ago - tough part is taking out a strip of concrete. I cleaned up some water supply piping and tied in a drain for a utility sink last week. So two weeks with almost no woodworking. Today I decided to fix up an old bench that has been sitting on the brick patio rotting for several years. The ends are cast iron and in fine shape. But the back boards rotted completely off, one of the bench boards rotted in two and the fasteners were all rusted beyond removal. I had some PT I took off my dock a couple years ago to use and enough fasteners in the junk bins to put things back together. Pictures are a couple before and one after.
 

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llucas

luke
Senior User
Yep. Looks great! Don't you just love it when a job finally gets done...and in style. I hope you gave that bench a well deserved "sitting" for a spell while you were wondering what's the next thing that needs fixing.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
It did indeed need some attention - glad you saved it! Ready for another 20 years of service. Nicely done.
Do you find this type of bench comfortable to sit on? I don't think I have tried one in a long time.
 

Eric M

New User
Eric
Nice job ! I can relate , just posted about the cast iron pieces I worked on.The cedar boards on the bench rotted through too ,imagine that ! The leg on my bench broke and had to be welded. Getting new hardware for the bench was hard , went back with threaded inserts and the machine screws.
 

bowman

Board of Directors, Webmaster
Neal
Staff member
Corporate Member
I've got one to rebuild as well...finally picked up some cypress wood from Steve Wall Lumber last month
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Thanks for your comments. I sat on it right after completion to be sure it was sturdy. I picked up some 3/4 plywood for some cabinets this morning. The boards for the seat are 1 inch thick and the back boards are 3/4. All the boards were originally 3/4. So it should be fine and so far it is. I should probably sand some, right now it is as-sawn - by a 24 tooth Irwin blade I used knowing I would hit some nails.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
I have a similar bench that had all the wood rot away. I was intending to use white oak for the seat and back if I can ever get together enough to go down to New Hill. It's funny that we bought two benches and one rotted away but the other is still fine. Makes you wonder.

Roy G
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Roy, the wood may be different. My seat planks had things growing out of them but several were still fairly solid while others rotted completely through. The environment was the same yet the damage was quite different.

I changed the Irwin blade to a new Freud 50 tooth combination and cleaned the Irwin before putting it away. It was terribly dirty from the pitch in the pine. I repeatedly used CMT blade cleaner and a brass brush and still had to scrape off the worst parts. I cleaned a couple other blades just a few days ago with a tooth brush and the same cleaner. This wood had been in Lake Murray for a decade or more, I believe. I wonder how much the pitch protected the wood versus the pressure treatment. Anyway, ripping all 4 faces of 7 boards 49 1/2 inch long by 2 1/4 inches wide really gummed up this blade.
 

Brian Patterson

New User
Bstrom
Is it strange or not that we determine if we are living a normal life based on when we finished our last woodworking activity? Even if it is weird, I still like it better than any other measure...and I’ve got to get on to something pretty soon cuz I’m losing it again!!
 

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