A tale of two benches

[RichardA]

Bench number 1    Some time ago I bought 5 or 6 sticks of kiln dried Maple. Just random sticks, at a glance they were knot free, so I didn't investigate any more than just the glance.  When I got them home and began stacking and stickering I found one of the boards was full of powder post beetle holes.  I called the guy and he said that I should toss it and next time I get wood, he'd replace it. I asked if he wanted to see it.  He said no, just tell him what size it was.  It was 4/4  x 11" wide and 8' long.  He did replace it some time ago, but for some reason I stuck it up on the rack out of the way.

About a month ago, I was digging around and re-found this stick. I was actually cleaning and doing some reorganizing when I found it. I thought , why not try something for the outside at the house or shop, pretty wouldn't be important, but function would. So I opted for a small bench. And, I thought I'd put it on our covered front porch, where it now sits.  It wasn't done especially well, mainly because it will probably be destroyed in a couple of years from people, dogs and weather. The plastic chairs will surely outlast it.  I used hand cut dovetails as the primary joinery.  I haven't done any dovetails in a very long time. I had a Leigh  jig but sold it because reading the damn manual took more time than cutting bad joints by hand.  And as I said, pretty wasn't the priority.  Here's how it turned out.

Bench number 2 is slightly different.....  This bench is made from figured Cherry and from a different wood supplier.  This bench is 42" wide x 18" tall and 14" deep it was made out of one board of 7/4 Cherry.  This bench is going at the foot of a bed, as a place to remove shoes and socks or whatever..  The request was for a trestle design, and from a rough sketch it was approved. You all have seen trestle designed tables so there's no reason to add any more info about that. The finish is two coats of Danish oil a week apart.  the bench has 3 coats of poly on the underside and the actual seat has 5 coats of satin poly. There are fixed walnut wedges and all that's left is to show it in it's natural state.   They were both fun and they both do what they were designed to do.  Any comments that are mean spirited will receive a Voodoo spell cast on them.....

[Ronn W]

Nicely done, Ric.  I realy like the arched stretcher with thru tenon.

One the cherry bench.  What did you use for attaching the feet to the legs?

[Chet]

Cool projects Rick andI am glad to see you out in the shop making stuff again.  

I do have one question, does it really take five lighters to light a cigar?  

[RichardA]

30 minutes ago, Ronn W said:

Nicely done, Ric.  I realy like the arched stretcher with thru tenon.

One the cherry bench.  What did you use for attaching the feet to the legs?

I did a draw bore to keep them on.  With a slight touch of glue. In the 4th pic you can barely see them, there are two at each joint.

 

16 minutes ago, Chet said:

Cool projects Rick andI am glad to see you out in the shop making stuff again.  

I do have one question, does it really take five lighters to light a cigar?  

Sometimes, when I'm short of breath.  Life has a tendency to get in the way sometimes. And recently, It's taking a ton of my time.

[wdwerker]

Both benches are impressive. I like the arch & the feet , they create a personality to the piece.

Signed & dated ?

[RichardA]

The Cherry one is signed and dated, the Maple one has firewood written underneath. I think I should have called the Maple one  "The pigeon toed bench".

[mat60]

Really like your benches and when  your hanging out here.

[treeslayer]

I’m stealing that arched stretcher idea right now, don’t try to stop me.  Very good work as usual Rick, great design and solid joinery make for a piece that will last a long, long time. Well done Sir !!

[Coop]

I have a hankering for some of that Vodoo crap you speak of! On second thought, you might just have the capability! Darn nice looking benches there my friend. The recipient will be proud. 

[Pondhockey]

I like both, Rick.

I like through tenons, for furniture in a mountain town, and draw bored tenons in particular.  How did you attach the top of the cherry bench?

[lewisc]

Nice work Richard. I might have to steal bench no.2 as an idea. Looks like just the challenge to build a few new skills.

 

[RichardA]

7 hours ago, Pondhockey said:

I like both, Rick.

I like through tenons, for furniture in a mountain town, and draw bored tenons in particular.  How did you attach the top of the cherry bench?

I was lazy and used figure 8's.

[wtnhighlander]

Nice work, Rick! That cherry bench is beautiful, and I like the way rounding the corners on the maple bench changes the appearance of the dovetails.

[lewisc]

@RichardA What was the final thickness of the cherry bench parts?

[RichardA]

3 minutes ago, lewisc said:

@RichardA What was the final thickness of the cherry bench parts?

The top was a full 6/4 maybe just a tad more. I had to plane an 1/8th off the cathedral area in the center of the board, It had to be done by hand plane, a thickness planner would have pressed the board so that the whole board would have been planed, instead of just the higher area.  The feet and shoulders were a full 7/4. I know, an odd size, but that's what felt right.  The stretcher was a full 5/4+, that way I could get a full 1" for the through tenon. And the upright part of the legs was a full 5/4.  The bench was 42" wide, 14" deep and 18" tall  I hope that helps.  

[RichardA]

The bench out of Cherry was picked up yesterday afternoon and he was going to put it at the foot of his bed. When he brought it into the house, his wife changed his mind about where he was going to put it.  It now sits in their living room and here is it's final resting place.  She said she wanted her friends to see it.

[wdwerker]

It looks better than the oak all around it !

[RichardA]

It sure shows the figure in it, and I have two sticks from the same tree. 16" wide 8/4 thick and 10' long, and bone dry.  There will come a day when I'll have a real good use for some of that.

[Ronn W]

6 hours ago, RichardA said:

She said she wanted her friends to see it.

That's a good feeling.