Reclaimed Glory

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Salvaged Mystery Wood

Hi Wood lovers - I came upon some "trash" wood with some casters attached (not sure what it once was) discarded in a dumpster behind a renovator's shop destined for the landfill, but fate would have other plans for it. The wood seemed in great shape with some good character beneath, so I rescued it, bundled it up, and rode it home on my bicycle (yes, thats right).

When I got it home and sanded it down, I was AMAZED at the figure of these boards. Problem is I couldn't figure out what species it is (see what I did there), and it soon drove me mad (not stark raving, but close).

I hand sanded down a portion of the most striking board to 400 grit and rubbed it lightly with Watco rejuvinating oil to show the gorgeous grain pattern. Wow!

(**Pic above has been changed after I remembered I used an instagram filter on the previous one, which really doesnt help the identification process, sorry guys. This is the original image)

I became so caught up in identifying this wood, as some of you may have seen my forum topic on this, that I neglected the wood itself, leaving it in its gnarly found condition for weeks.

Everyone was really helpful on the forums: suggestions ranged from Black Locust/Honey Locust to Osage Orange or a tropical variety, Lauan (Meranti/Phillipine Mahogany). I'm not certain what it is and due to my discovery of this band of deep orange in another of the boards from the same lot, im now more confused. Recent comments suggest meranti/lauan, and rule out osage orange.

I cleaned up another couple of boards to see that we may be dealing with 2 species of wood here anyway.

I have it in my mind to turn this into a tabletop. I'm really excited to get a replacement hook & loop pad for the Makita 5" orbital sander (it fell apart on me one early summer afternoon, it was quite old), and the Black & Decker sandstorm locked up (don't buy this POS), so I did it all by hand.

Hand sanding, if you're not used to it, is a great workout. Make sure your doors and windows are open, for dust sure, but more because you WILL be sweating. But I did notice a distinct lack of gouges in the wood from using the power tools to sand, and I was pleased with the results. Very pleased.

Check out the wavy grain pattern - I was so stoked to uncover this:

Stay tuned for further progress, and PLEASE, if you have a definitive answer as to what species I may be dealing with, let me know.

-Joseph, Lake Forest, CA

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Reclaimed Construction Lumber Bench

So I'm working on another project: I have some various pieces of what I believe is Douglas Fir, some 4×4x4 posts, shorter 4×4 pieces and a nice Pine slab (I think, could be Fir as well) from a construction project nearby that was advertised as "free firewood" after they were done pouring the concrete, & why you would wanna burn such great wood, I'll never know.

I set the slab up on some 12 inch 4×4s to get a feel for how it might look.

I've hand-sanded the posts to 400 grit (started with 80 > 120/150 > 220 > 320 > 400) and applied a couple coats of tung oil (steel wool in between applications). I plan on putting on at least 4 more coats, but we'll see how it comes out.

These posts have great character and seem quite old. One even has some great burn marks as if it was in a fire previously.

The color and figure of what will be the bench seat really pleases me. This is without the flash, for a more true representation of the color. (although its blurry)

I'd like to use this bench in the backyard patio, so I may need to look into waterproofing it. Will Tung Oil do that for me? Please someone comment on that, if you know how many coats i'll need or if i need a sealer too. I have Danish oil too (Watco).

I'm gonna be going for a chunky, simplistic design. I want it to be rock solid and yet actually quite comfortable.

I'm wondering if I should slant the bench seat back, about 7 degrees, for comfort. We shall see. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Reclaimed Construction Lumber Bench

So I'm working on another project: I have some various pieces of what I believe is Douglas Fir, some 4×4x4 posts, shorter 4×4 pieces and a nice Pine slab (I think, could be Fir as well) from a construction project nearby that was advertised as "free firewood" after they were done pouring the concrete, & why you would wanna burn such great wood, I'll never know.

I set the slab up on some 12 inch 4×4s to get a feel for how it might look.

I've hand-sanded the posts to 400 grit (started with 80 > 120/150 > 220 > 320 > 400) and applied a couple coats of tung oil (steel wool in between applications). I plan on putting on at least 4 more coats, but we'll see how it comes out.

These posts have great character and seem quite old. One even has some great burn marks as if it was in a fire previously.

The color and figure of what will be the bench seat really pleases me. This is without the flash, for a more true representation of the color. (although its blurry)

I'd like to use this bench in the backyard patio, so I may need to look into waterproofing it. Will Tung Oil do that for me? Please someone comment on that, if you know how many coats i'll need or if i need a sealer too. I have Danish oil too (Watco).

I'm gonna be going for a chunky, simplistic design. I want it to be rock solid and yet actually quite comfortable.

I'm wondering if I should slant the bench seat back, about 7 degrees, for comfort. We shall see. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Reclaimed Construction Lumber Bench

So I'm working on another project: I have some various pieces of what I believe is Douglas Fir, some 4×4x4 posts, shorter 4×4 pieces and a nice Pine slab (I think, could be Fir as well) from a construction project nearby that was advertised as "free firewood" after they were done pouring the concrete, & why you would wanna burn such great wood, I'll never know.

I set the slab up on some 12 inch 4×4s to get a feel for how it might look.

I've hand-sanded the posts to 400 grit (started with 80 > 120/150 > 220 > 320 > 400) and applied a couple coats of tung oil (steel wool in between applications). I plan on putting on at least 4 more coats, but we'll see how it comes out.

These posts have great character and seem quite old. One even has some great burn marks as if it was in a fire previously.

The color and figure of what will be the bench seat really pleases me. This is without the flash, for a more true representation of the color. (although its blurry)

I'd like to use this bench in the backyard patio, so I may need to look into waterproofing it. Will Tung Oil do that for me? Please someone comment on that, if you know how many coats i'll need or if i need a sealer too. I have Danish oil too (Watco).

I'm gonna be going for a chunky, simplistic design. I want it to be rock solid and yet actually quite comfortable.

I'm wondering if I should slant the bench seat back, about 7 degrees, for comfort. We shall see. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Reclaimed Construction Lumber Bench

So I'm working on another project: I have some various pieces of what I believe is Douglas Fir, some 4×4x4 posts, shorter 4×4 pieces and a nice Pine slab (I think, could be Fir as well) from a construction project nearby that was advertised as "free firewood" after they were done pouring the concrete, & why you would wanna burn such great wood, I'll never know.

I set the slab up on some 12 inch 4×4s to get a feel for how it might look.

I've hand-sanded the posts to 400 grit (started with 80 > 120/150 > 220 > 320 > 400) and applied a couple coats of tung oil (steel wool in between applications). I plan on putting on at least 4 more coats, but we'll see how it comes out.

These posts have great character and seem quite old. One even has some great burn marks as if it was in a fire previously.

The color and figure of what will be the bench seat really pleases me. This is without the flash, for a more true representation of the color. (although its blurry)

I'd like to use this bench in the backyard patio, so I may need to look into waterproofing it. Will Tung Oil do that for me? Please someone comment on that, if you know how many coats i'll need or if i need a sealer too. I have Danish oil too (Watco).

I'm gonna be going for a chunky, simplistic design. I want it to be rock solid and yet actually quite comfortable.

I'm wondering if I should slant the bench seat back, about 7 degrees, for comfort. We shall see. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Will found oak ladder lead to new heights of woodworking adventure? Lets find out

Riding home I came upon a discarded solid oak ladder from a nice bunk bed bed I'm sure. ( I love Orange County).

I parked the the bike to inspect it closer

It was super heavy but I managed to balance it on my handlebars and ride it home. (not my first rodeo)

I got it onto my workbench and sanded down a section, put a lil oil on

The posts and rungs are laminated but all in all, not too shabby. gonna think about how to use the lumber here. The possibilites are ENDless…

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Will found oak ladder lead to new heights of woodworking adventure? Lets find out

Riding home I came upon a discarded solid oak ladder from a nice bunk bed bed I'm sure. ( I love Orange County).

I parked the the bike to inspect it closer

It was super heavy but I managed to balance it on my handlebars and ride it home. (not my first rodeo)

I got it onto my workbench and sanded down a section, put a lil oil on

The posts and rungs are laminated but all in all, not too shabby. gonna think about how to use the lumber here. The possibilites are ENDless…

Click to expand...

palaswood said:

Will found oak ladder lead to new heights of woodworking adventure? Lets find out

Riding home I came upon a discarded solid oak ladder from a nice bunk bed bed I'm sure. ( I love Orange County).

I parked the the bike to inspect it closer

It was super heavy but I managed to balance it on my handlebars and ride it home. (not my first rodeo)

I got it onto my workbench and sanded down a section, put a lil oil on

The posts and rungs are laminated but all in all, not too shabby. gonna think about how to use the lumber here. The possibilites are ENDless…

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