Garden Bench

**-=Drifter=-** · 18 February 2007, 04:20 PM

Hahahaha. I love it!!!

**matelot** · 18 February 2007, 06:02 PM

Hi there Parahandy,

am impressed with your work but (as an amateur woodbutcher who is more interested in period furniture) I was hoping to see if you had morticed the uprights in the backrest - I can't tell from the pix. I do note however that you butt-jointed the main parts of the furniture - tell me, do you use screws or nails and why?

My son who lives in the States, has wanted me to build him a bench as seen in English parks and estates and somewhat similar to yours. I have some elm that I cut down in 1954 and have dragged across Canada from Ottawa to Halifax and now from there to British Columbia. I seem to remember the benches and lych-gates in Yorkshire were all made from oak. Considering that
the climate here in the Lower Fraser Valley is not unlike that of Yorkshire, will my elm do as well?

matelot

**parahandy** · 18 February 2007, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by matelot

Hi there Parahandy,

am impressed with your work but (as an amateur woodbutcher who is more interested in period furniture) I was hoping to see if you had morticed the uprights in the backrest - I can't tell from the pix. I do note however that you butt-jointed the main parts of the furniture - tell me, do you use screws or nails and why?
will my elm do as well?

matelot

Hi Matelot, all the joints are mortised, all 60 of them with the belt and braces backup of pinning with dowling at bearer joints, the only joints not mortised are the seat bearers as the upright legs were not thick enough to support mortising. How I envy you your elm, a really beautiful hardwood to work with, I do not know enough about its reliability to stand the weather (I only took up this hobby when I was 80 years old ) but ordinary pine if woodtreated will last about 25 years (so I'm told) oak as you know weathers beautifully but very expensive in this country, especially when one gives away ones work free of charge. By the way the back slats are the slats from old louvered doors and hardwood at that. You have had that elm since 1954 so that should tell you whether it will last or not as long as it has been stored properly. Thank you for your interest.

**WolfMoonHP** · 21 February 2007, 03:39 AM

That bench would certainly look good in MY garden...the temperature here will be in the upper 70's tomorrow. Today I had the top down in my car and it was wonderful. My tomato plants are starting to ripen already. This is what winter should be like...LOL...and with global warming, maybe it will be like this for more and more people!
---
Will

**parahandy** · 21 February 2007, 03:21 PM

The finished bench in situ in neighbours garden.
Will, the temp here is 12deg C

**The Doc** · 21 February 2007, 04:11 PM

Absolutely superb, you are a very telented craftsman.

**handrawn** · 21 February 2007, 04:20 PM

looks lovely should brave the elements nicely
well done

**matelot** · 22 February 2007, 02:30 AM

Parahandy,
"all the joints are mortised, all 60 of them with the belt and braces backup of pinning with dowling at bearer joints" - great work and I congratulate you.

I have worked up some of the elm, a beautiful rich creamy wood and have almost finished a swing garden seat for my son and family. If I can remember I will post a pix of it to you. I have quite a bit of lumber that I have moved around with, though it seems to get less and less each time the moving companies get into it! In Ontario and Nova Scotia I used to buy 'cut-offs' from the sawmills, they were glad to get rid of it and would only charge a few dollars per half-ton pick-up load. As a result one could find cherry, ash, mahogany, walnut, acacia and many pieces of different softwoods in a load. Just now I at loose ends because I decided to tear my workbench apart and smashed my thumb with a blacksmith's flogging hammer in the process. I was busy making a footstool from old mahagony furniture that I salvaged from 2nd hand dealers and needed to make sure the bench top was free from grit. One great project for the future - I purchased some B.C. fir when they decided to scrap the old 'temporary' Defence H.Q. in Ottawa, the pieces are 12 and 14 inches wide by 2.5 inches thick and 12 feet long. My wife always wanted a 'Welsh' dresser and I guess I will have to get to sometime. I am only 78 soooooo, if you can do it, I should be able to.

Don't get too deep in the sawdust.

matelot

**parahandy** · 22 February 2007, 02:24 PM

Thanks to all of you who wrote in.
Matelot sorry to hear of your accident,one can never be too careful in this hobby. How I envy you your timber supplies, the timber merchant suppliers are expensive here, $6 for a small offcut of ash for instance, so I look around for bits and pieces being dumped etc.. Please post your pictures of your finished product. I am not sure if we are stepping out of line here? it is after all a graphics forum maybe a photograph is a graphic form maybe not. Do you have a website like mine where you display your work? also do you get Norm's American Workshop on the telly? now there's a real craftsman. If you like send an answer via PM so as not to clog up the works.
regards Norman

**Intbel** · 22 February 2007, 02:40 PM

Well done, Norman, another quality piece.
Hope the new owner varnished it rather than paints it.

Incidentally- bumped into an old friend the other day.
He tells me that a stool I made for his youngest son when aged two is now proudly owned by the grandson who is also just 2yo.

Yup - 'tis almost spring-like here.
Haven't needed to turn on the heating for three days now.
And I've started spring-cleaning ...