Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The bench is finished!

Linking up with the Shanty2Chic sisters  ....







 
Once upon a time we had a railing around our back porch.  And then we dog sit for our daughter a few weeks ago.  I put the dog on the porch for a while, didnt even latch the gate, and she knocked the gate completely off the hinges.. I guess she didnt want to be put on the porch.  Well then!  A few days later we decide to just take the whole railing down, Tyler took it down.  The boards were a grayish/blueish color and old and worn out already.  Jeff piled the wood up with plans to burn it.  I had another idea in mind.  I had just seen a bench that Gail at My repurposed Life made for her daughter and I knew I could use some of the scraps to do something similar.  Believe me mine doesnt compare to hers.  She does some amazing repurposing of all kinds of found items.  
 I  used one of the 2x4 and cut into two equal pieces (40 inches long i think) and two pieces for the end that measured 14 inches.  I removed what seemed like a billion little nails from the slats and cut them into 18 in long pieces.  I wasnt real sure about how to  make sure the thing was square but Jeff checked it for me after I screwed it together and it was only off by 1/8 of an inch,, that sounded good to me.  Experience carpenters everywhere are fainting as they read this.. ha ha.   I'm sure this explanation of my bench is just clear as mud so here are a few pictures to help visualize.. 

Made a box first and then used a little board ( 2x2? maybe) in the center for support. 
BEFORE

Cutting the small boards for the seat. 














Spacing to get somewhat of an even arrangement.. there are small gaps but I think its just adds character.  I used the nail gun to put these on. 

All the small boards are on and ready for a little bit of sanding.  Pay no attention to the pile of trash in the background. 
Tyler helping his mama with the sanding.  He said it was one of the best things I've worked on  and was impressed that I actually finished something. 
I used some 4x4's for the legs that my brother had given me. Thanks Robert.  They were going to be used to make big candle sticks to sit in front of the fire place but I never got  around to it.  And the dresser that the bench is sitting on is another unfinished project.. kind of stuck on what to do next.  But it'll come to me one day. 
Screwing in some more reinforcement.. dont want a wobbly bench. 


And here she is .. ain't she purty?   And she's very sturdy. 
AFTER
If you look closely in these pics you can see several unfinished projects. (dont look closely, ha )

6 comments:

  1. I LOVE it! you did a great job! love the chunky legs. Maybe you'll get on a roll now and finish a couple of more projects?
    Thanks for the shout out! I shared you on my sidebar. Maybe some of my friends will stop over.
    gail

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  2. I like your bench! I want to build a couple, one to hold plants, one to sit on:) Yours is an inspiration!

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  3. Awesome!!! I love it!!! I wish I had the ooomph to get a big project like this done. It looks GREAT!!!

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  4. You did a great job on this! Love it... love the slates!!

    Kendra

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  5. This is so great! Thanks for sharing it on Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory

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  6. This reminds me of the little rustic bench I just finished on the weekend! It is so fun to make something out of "nothing" or what others would call "garbage"! As for your question about the wood, 1x stock is wood that is 1" thick (well, it is actually 3/4" thick but they refer to it as 1") and however wide - so a 1x4 is 1" thick and 4" wide, 1x6 is 1" thick and 6" wide. The wood for the adirondack chairs was all 1x2s, 1x3s, 1x4s, and 1x6s. If you don't have any 1x2s or 1x3s you can just use 1x4s and rip them to the correct width with either a table saw or a circular saw with a cutting guide (that's what I dide). Any more questions, just let me know! Thanks for stopping by!
    Chantelle

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