| Blog series by newTim | updated 267 days ago | 5 parts | 3012 reads | 16 comments total |
Part 1: In progress: base
So here are some progress picks of the bench seat and sides. It is all joined with mortise and loose tenons cut with the mortise pal (see my write up in Reviews) http://www.newcalshop.com/Gallery%20Pages/Outdoor.htm
Part 2: Pal-ing Around
I love a plan when it comes together! So when is woodworking fun? When you can steadily progress through the various steps with ease and accuracy. Yesterday I had a lot of fun cutting mortises with the Mortise Pal. If you’ve seen my review you know I’m a fan and my experience yesterday really confirmed my view. I watched Charles Neil’s demonstration of Jessem’s Zip Slot Mortise Mill and although I haven’t used that tool, based on the video I’ve...
Part 3: Dry Fit the Bench: Mortise Results
I downloaded the plans for this project from Fine Woodworking and purchased the full-size templates, although I see now that wasn’t necessary. All in all, I think this is a pretty cool and fun project. With the right tools – and isn’t that always the case – it is pretty easy. I’d say maybe intermediate. I was looking for a deck or garden bench design and this really popped off the page. Since I’m pretty tall and have pretty far to fall I don’t li...
Part 4: Back Splats: More Mortise Pal
Got some time out in the shop, next step was to cut, fit, and join the back splats. Once again the Mortise Pal worked exceptionally well producing very tight and accurate fit. Here’s the breakdown of the center splat assembly.
Part 5: Finishing Up
By popular demand. ;) So here’s the finished project with the first coat of stain. I made some modifications to the original plans one of which is the seat height. At 6’5” it is perfect for me, but about an 1” too tall for my wife who’s about 5’8”. The bench is very sturdy and relatively light weight since it is made out of redwood. I imagine it would be much heavier if I had used oak. Like I said before, this was a fun project and not too diffi...
By subscribing to the RSS feed you will be notified when new entries are posted on this blog.
