I had hoped to finish the bench I’ve been working on, last week. A series of 97°f (36°c) days with 95% humidity made that impossible. The few remaining steps include sanding the seat slats and applying the finish to the areas I won’t be able to reach after the bench is assembled. When I sanding, I wear hearing protectors and a dust mask—not something I want to do in that kind of heat. Besides, the finish I plan to apply would never dry in that humidity.
I did make some progress before the heat came on. I pinned the tenons in the mortises, I made plugs for those mortises I cut by mistake and I cut the seat slats. Those pictures are in the gallery below, along with a couple pictures from the back yard. In the good news department, Cee’s arm is no longer in a cast. She might be starting up her challenges soon.
I had to add a small bit to the curve of the front rail. Glued in place, it’s cut in with a spokeshave.The screw will be used to pin the tenons. The bit on the left makes a nice round hole to be plugged. The middle bit creates a countersink bevel for the screw head and the bit on the right will make a pilot hole.The pins (wood screws) only need to pass through the tenon and both sides f the nmotiseI like to cut the plugs for the screw holes from the same material as the project.Once the plugs are cut, they are cut loose of the board.I cut some long shims for filling a few gaps in the bench.Some of the seat slats had to be cut to the rough thickness before planning.The seat slats were planed down to 3/4″The mortise plugs are too small to try and cut on a machine,Let’s see if this guy fitsTest fit of a rough cut plug Before proceeding with the final steps, I wanted to get a feel for how comfortable this bench would be. It passed the test.Laying out the seat slatsDry fitting the plugs for those mistake mortises.Linus’ pumpkin is growing nicely.A new pumpkin is starting in Linus’ patch.One of the bigger babiesItty bitty bunny
Hi Dan – looks a very pretty bench … well done – those plugs look like you got the hell in and decided to have a few bottles of champers?! Brilliant run through of your bench in process … love it – congratulations – cheers Hilary
I looked at that photo of the bench and gasped the same as I do when I see any of Judy’s quilting work. It just boggles what’s left of my mind. There is so much learned skill that goes into such beautiful handmade things, but also inborn talent. I’m grateful to people like you and Judy who take us away from the world of AI and “your call is very important to us.” Real people making beautiful things. A good beginning to my week!
Thanks Maureen. It feels good to use tools and techniques that have been in use for centuries. I use some modern machines, but mortise and tenon joints date back over 7,000 years. No AI back then, just very smart men.
Oh my, that bench is a piece of art that will last for years. Applause to your woodcrafting skills, Dan, because they are certainly on display with this project. Beautiful!
Dan, it is such an immense pleasure to see your hand crafted bench almost at the finish line as opposed to seeing something from Ikea that was scotch taped together! This bench will be an heirloom!
Bunnies galore here too! Linus’ pumpkins, especially the one that’s the size of a grape, are a riot.
Have a great week. Apparently rain on the way, but where have I heard that before? :+)
Thanks Ginger. Somebody, perhaps somebunny, has been eating the little pumpkins. My wife says, “at least they aren’t eating my garden.” Linus is going for that most sincere pumpkin patch ever.
A little rain would be welcome here. We had some overnight Friday and Saturday, but we could use a good soak.
With a little luck, I’ll get that bench finished this week. I hope it’s a good week for you.
The bench looks great, Dan. Those little plugs are cute! Do you do anything with the piece of wood they are cut from? Seems like a cool piece to do something with…not sure what but it looks like it could be something fun to play around with.
Well done Dan. Thank you for the great photos of the process and your heard woodwork. The bench look great! It looks comfortable, too!
The bunnies are so cute! And your pumpkins seems to be enjoying the heat and prospering nicely. Stay cool, Dan.
That garden bench is absolutely fabulous! I’m blown away by your creation. Well done. Hopefully the weather will lighten up and you can finish the staining and remaining final steps for completion.
We have new baby bunnies, Kerfe (they just keep having more) and they are so cute.
The pumpkins are crazy. The plants are everywhere in our yard. There’s only one squirrel that buries the seeds (Linus). I hope he isn’t disappointed when he goes back to get them and they’re gone. We will let the squirrels have to pumpkins or the seeds (if they get big enough to cut and dry).
The weather looks a little better for finishing the bench this week – I hope.
Belatedly I mut say what a great looking job and also expressing admiration and envy at your workshop environment and equipment. I love doing a bit of woodwork but my gear only extends to a table saw, mitre saw and all the usual stuff, occasionally a router, hand electric planer etc. So I’m more of a plank worker than a woodworker. Enjoyed seeing the details and imagine you are a frequent flyer at the hardware store.
Time is on my side in the shop. I’ve been collecting tools for a long time. I operated a cabinet shop for a short time. Some tools survived the “going out of business sale.”
Your carpentry images are inspiring me to take up carpentry, but I won’t because here in India, it can cost me a lot. Plus, I understand that there is a difference between paper-based craft and carpentry. Back in my college days, I accidentally chose Mechanical Engineering in my first year of junior college and we had this huge workshop. I was told to buy all these saws and tools which I did. However, I ended up losing marks in practicals because I was always behind schedule and my projects were incomplete. I was 18 years of age and my weight was around 30 kilograms (66 lbs). Any physical work given to me would take time to complete. They would not allow us to use electric cutters. So, we had to cut wood/metal with a hand saw and later file it to smoothen it. On the other hand, I was good at theory. So, during exams, I would secretly write my friend’s paper as well and he would do my practicals and we would both pass with good numbers. I quickly realized that being in a workshop was not my thing, so I started skipping those classes. However, now looking at your images I am wondering if maybe my professors were not good enough to create enthusiasm in me?
When intelligent people (a group you fall into) do not do well in class, I often wonder about the way the class is being taught. I was learning woodworking from a very early age, but I always had good instructors.
Thank you for the compliment, Dan. I think of myself as a very average intellect person. I’m not pessimistic but I know I’m a slow learner. For instance, it has been 8 years, but I still haven’t done anything substantial with my travel blog, but I’m not giving up. There is a lot to learn and talking to people like you make me a better person. :)
It’s looking really good! I’m so behind is it finished now? I can see many years of sitting feeding the critters and enjoying the cool breezes on that bench.
It’s not finished yet. I am ready to install the seat slats. Then I need to give everything a good sanding and apply the finish. I hope to be sitting on it soon.
You are a true craftsman! Charlie did nice work, but he (as he, himself, would say) cobbled things together with pre-made elements. He made some BEAUTIFUL built-in bookcases for Mom’s house using lumber he cut but pre-made trim. He made it look all bespoke, but you would have milled (or whatever the true term is) the trim yourself. Both are talents. I loved seeing how he could take already made things and turn them into new arrangements (how I cook, now that I think of it), but I REALLY love seeing how you make your own pegs!
Thank you. I’ve made trim, when I wanted it to be from the same stock, but it’s a lot of work. Wooden plugs are so expensive, and not available in all species. Making your own save money with the first batch. A beautiful built in bookcase is a very nice thing.
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