davewyo

You may have to use an inset door hinge in order for your doors to open as far as possible.

For solid wood you could make it as if it's a frame and panel which would require a gap around the panel to allow movement of the maple. This gap can be rather decorative.

It's my understanding that Brendon is going to spin up a batch when he drops by to borrow the bench. Thanks everyone for playing along. I'll try to remember to post a follow-up photo when I refinish the bench in (hopefully) a year.

The bench is at the front entry (which I seldom use.) The finish isn't as wet and glossy as in previous photos. It's more of that oiled deck furniture look, but the color is still plenty dark and rich. I'm happy with it. We'll see how it ages outdoors in the elements.

I hadn't put finish on them yet.

Yeah, I'm trying to move along rather than my usual pace. I put on the finish today. I ended up using a deck and outdoor furniture product called Preserva Wood.

Today I completed the shaping of the legs. It's subtle but it's there. Then I added some cleats to attach the top later and I glued up the lower assembly.

Yes, the method I used is certainly not the only "right" way. Like all things woodworking there are often several valid ways to get a job done. To my way of thinking, any method that creates a solid, long-lasting joint is "right". The beauty is that we all get to decide which of the "right" ways is the way we want to do the task.

That bench looks great! I might have to break down and buy a finish rather than use the Tung Oil.

Thanks, Paul. I don't recall you having any trouble getting nice clean joinery. All of your projects appear to be top notch to me, so your aspirations are coming true. I had to play a couple of Y-Tube videos to find out who Bonamassa is too.

Thank you JBag. I've been trying to use some finishes that I have on hand rather than buy something new, but I'm not going so far as to put on an inappropriate product just so I can use up what I have. So...I am thinking of using some Hope's 100% Tung Oil that I got a while back. Or alternatively I'm thinking of buying some kind of outdoor deck oil like Thompson's or the like. I'm certain that I don't want any type of finish which builds up a film, mainly because I plan on re-oiling the bench on a yearly basis and I don't want to strip any old finish which has flaked or lifted in any way. Can you go into more detail as to how the Cabot's held up over time? Have you refinished the benches at all? Are they dry looking or discolored? Does this deck stain have any pigment in it? I'm looking for a clear oil without any varnish.

I did up the lower section of the bench yesterday. Eight more M&Ts went pretty quickly. I tapered the back sides of the legs with a quick and dirty tapering fixture. I pillowed one of the legs and cleaned it up with hand planes to remove the saw marks. I saved the other three legs for later but still had to dry assemble the bench to see what it looks like.

Thanks, Kev. The grain, contouring the seat, and tapering the legs are the really interesting things about the project. The fun of it certainly isn't doing dozens of M&Ts. And, you're right, It probably wasn't necessary to round all those tenons for the strength of the bench, but woodworking is a process and I'm never in all that big a hurry to blow through all the steps. I enjoy the whole process. Plus I need a bench. But, I'll tell ya, I was considering raising the dado blade and narrowing up those tenons. There are 32 M&Ts in the top alone! Before the glue-up with epoxy I contoured the seat staves, did some clean up with a plane, and hit the sharp edges with 180 grit.

Yeah, I've been trying to get straight-ish grain for the top. The legs won't be straight grain, and I need to decide if I want to cut into a new board to make the aprons the same.

I ended up rounding all the tenons. It didn't take very long, maybe two beers. Then I rough cut my legs for later on, and I got set to contour the seat slats. I stuck a thin piece of scrap between some bench dogs and transferred the curve to my template.