What up Benches?

[kelLOGg]

Lot of nice benches on these pages. My question is about benches for the outdoors. My church has a project where they want outdoor benches for trails in a forest and I won't be making them but will be using my mill to produce the lumber. The logs available are downed red and white oak which aren't air-dried and 2.5" thick sweetgum lumber which is air dried. Are these viable candidates for such benches? How dry should lumber be for outdoor use and what preservatives do you recommend? What should the moisture content be before applying preservative? Since the sweetgum is already dry is there a recommended preservative for it or should it be forgotten all together? I have made many indoor benches but never outdoor - hence these basic questions. 

[gspren]

  My guess would be to use the white oak and if possible mount the legs to some "plastic" wood to prevent ground contact.

[beenthere]

Thinking that the ilk of people hiking trails would prefer to not sit on a "bench" treated with a preservative. But maybe such a preservative will be mentioned here that will be more people friendly. 

The Aldo Leopold benches seem to be popular along trails. 
Build a Leopold bench - DNR News Releases

How to Make a Simple Garden Chair | Leopold Bench Design - YouTube

[WV Sawmiller]

   I agree with the recommendation for the white oak. If you can get hold of any locust, even small ones for legs, I would use that for the the ground contact. If you can put the feet on bricks, stones or concrete that should help too. 

[doc henderson]

I agree with Howard...  white oak, or black locust, or hedge (Osage orange).  You can impregnate with epoxy, and or roll a bit of copper napthalate on the contact surface, but it will be green.

[kelLOGg]

Ok. Has anyone used eco wood?
I sawed red oak for a neighbor who finished it with eco wood. He's pleased and it looks good. 

[beenthere]

Ok. Has anyone used eco wood?
I sawed red oak for a neighbor who finished it with eco wood. He's pleased and it looks good.

Do you have a link to eco wood?  And an msds that says what is in it?

Found this, but not sure it is what you refer to being applied to the red oak.
Eco wood treatment ruined my fence

[doc henderson]

In general, oil finishes soak in and give a planer finish but are easy to reapply.  poly and other surface finishes give a smooth surface and look good for a while, but after a winter, may peel and need sanded to refinish.  On some wood, my spar varnish lasts for a long time preserving the color some and not peeling, like on ERC.

[kelLOGg]

I've never used it but a neighbor did on red oak I cut for his deck. He liked it and the deck looks good. I read it is a powder that is dissolved in water and applied with a brush. 

[doc henderson]

Just went back through this thread, and Boys we have made some stuff! :coolsmiley:

[TimW]

Awesome thread Y'all.  Keep it up, I may fall for buying more tools and trying my hand at stool making.

[tule peak timber]

Just went back through this thread, and Boys we have made some stuff! :coolsmiley:

Doc , on your engraving/carving, what software do you use? I have one of your coasters on our kitchen table, thanks!

[doc henderson]

It is called engrave lab.  many use Corell draw and develop the art in a gray scale and then send to the engraver that is essentially a printer.  I can get you more info if you would like.  My engraver is an epilog helix 18 x 24 inch bed.

[21incher]

I use lightburn that is compatible with  most Co2, diode, and fiber lasers that don't require on proprietary software.  Like doc says, they are just printers. Some good online tools also exist for prepping photos for best results.  

[doc henderson]

21 what online tools are you alluding to?

[21incher]

Imag-r.com is one I have played  with. Lightburn can do the same thing but it doesn't have a great preview and can be hard for beginners.  There are several others also that I haven't tried. Some are supposed to be easy to remove backgrounds.

[doc henderson]

that would be handy.  we have removed backgrounds the hard way.  trouble is always dark hair against a dark background, and the head looks straight on one side.

[doc henderson]

a few more pics to add.  Jake won the Custom Sawyer trivia contest at the project.  here he is in all his glory, holding down the bench, unable to make it rock despite all his superpowers.  

 

And here is a member Howard or @WV Sawmiller putting on a brave face, after seeing a bench leg can be hand sawn and not wobble depending on the spot on the concrete...  and a touch up with a flapper wheel on a side angle grinder. 

 

Presented with a challenge coin from our EMS to say thank you and honor his service in the military.

[doc henderson]

here is a plaque and engraved bulleit brand whiskey bottle to honor a former police officer and friend

[NewYankeeSawmill]

many use Corell draw and develop the art in a gray scale and then send to the engraver that is essentially a printer.

Wow, Corel Draw?!?!?! You got a copy of Freehand somewhere's, too?
Sorry, you're talking graphic design and print applications! You're in my world now, sucker!   

Corel draw is a vector based drawing program that can handle bitmaps (pictures), but is non-native and cannot manipulate pixels at all. You'd be better off using Photoshop (or Gimp) to edit and manipulate a photograph or image. Corel draw (and vector programs in general) are great for type and line work, but all of this discussion is limited to the output resolution of your imaging device (e.g. the laser's resolvable resolution).

- K

[doc henderson]

nice.  laser resolution goes to 1200 dpi.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

If the laser can crank out that high, I would stick with a vector program like Corel. Keeps your type looking sharp and clean. Adobe's Illustrator is the big-dog in the industry, which I can not afford to purchase a license to, so I use Open Office's vector drawing program when I need to do something. Free software's hard to beat (like Gimp)!
Editing the background out of a photo isn't too hard (oh, the things I've had to do...), you can make use of the various selection tools to create a mask pretty quickly... Corel can handle importing a mask as well, so no need to even alter the original picture file. Probably not a concern for your usage, but ya know, unknown unknowns exist in the graphics world, too! 

[doc henderson]

my daughter has a BA in animation by computer and does all my more complex photo manipulation.  the operating system for the Helix is called engrave lab.