Project Information
Wood And Materials Used
Western Red Cedar
Location
Vancouver Island
Made from Western Red Cedar that that was sitting neglected in my basement for more than 12 years originally acquired for a project I never pursued. I used the plans from the June 2020 issue of Woodworker’s Journal.
All in all it was a good project with pleasing results. Tricky’s for me included template routing due to chip-out issues in the cedar, especially along the rounded areas going against the grain. I was not entirely happy the plugs in the seat slats which are suggested to be installed post-finish – While all the other plugs tuned out great, many of these chipped-off during trimming and flush sanding was difficult due to the curved orientation of the slats and not wanting to created gouges. The result is that several of these plugs have small chips below the slat surface or are a bit proud. Re-finishing of the sanded plug areas did not completely colour match the previous finished areas but I suspect this will mill mitigate over time. Finally, I was not real happy with the finish/stain options available to me (I’m in western Canada).
Overall, I am happy with this project. I made use of material of that had been sitting around for a long time and while I don’t know exactly where the bench will reside (on the deck or actually out in the yard) it looks great, is comfortable and will be enjoyed for years to come.
All in all it was a good project with pleasing results. Tricky’s for me included template routing due to chip-out issues in the cedar, especially along the rounded areas going against the grain. I was not entirely happy the plugs in the seat slats which are suggested to be installed post-finish – While all the other plugs tuned out great, many of these chipped-off during trimming and flush sanding was difficult due to the curved orientation of the slats and not wanting to created gouges. The result is that several of these plugs have small chips below the slat surface or are a bit proud. Re-finishing of the sanded plug areas did not completely colour match the previous finished areas but I suspect this will mill mitigate over time. Finally, I was not real happy with the finish/stain options available to me (I’m in western Canada).
Overall, I am happy with this project. I made use of material of that had been sitting around for a long time and while I don’t know exactly where the bench will reside (on the deck or actually out in the yard) it looks great, is comfortable and will be enjoyed for years to come.
