Here's the cypress bench i built for my father in law. After this project, i found that a mortising machine is a must have tool. It took forever to dig out the back panel with a drill press and chisel.
realy nice bench ,good lines and clean appearance .
maybe you could make a plunge router jig for mortices , then square by hand , or round out the tenon corners .
at least until you get a morticer .
Ditto what everybody else said. Cypress is a great wood to work with. You could get a mortising attachment for your drill press. I have one and it works well for me. Takes a little time to set up, but is less expensive and saves space in my small shop.
Thank you. I have since picked up a mortising machine. I wish i had some great recipe for the finish. It was just a minwax stain and some outdoor poly. Last time I'm doing that. It has since wore off and my father in law had to take it into his shop and refinish it. looks good as new now! As for the design, I saw a similar back on a bench at our local nursery and modified it some. The rest was from the same book i made the Adirondack chairs from (with a few mods).
This bench is really nice. My son in law did a great job. I did re-finish it last winter. I used a Sherwin Williams stain and oil protector. It is holding up pretty well now. If you want to know the exact products I used, let me know and I can dig up the receipts. I went in and talked to them, told them what I had, and they recommended the products.
I hope you don't mind me adding you to my buddy list, but there is alot of good advice on outdoor finishes and wood to use here. Plus your projects are great! I did a two seat adirondack bench with a table in the middle, but yours is so much prettier. I don't believe I ever took a picture of it, but now it's pretty weathered. I used cedar for that. But I would love to have yours, maybe someday.