| Project by brianinpa | posted 1410 days ago | 2357 views | 4 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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The topic of this contest worked out great for what I had planned for my wife’s anniversary present. Later this month she and I will celebrate 23 years together and she has been after me for a while asking for a bench for our back yard. I made a pair of benches for my mother, so now it was her turn.
As I have stated in some other posts, I volunteer at a local historical park. The park surrounds the only remaining navigable part of the Union Canal, and also is home to the oldest existing transportation tunnel in the United States (opened 1825). Keeping up with the grounds takes the most amount of time, and the most amount of work. One thing that does not work well with a canal are trees falling into the canal. During the winter months, trees that are in danger of falling into the canal are removed. It is for this reason that I obtained the wood that I used to make this garden bench. This particular tree (Ailanthus) was growing out of the bank and leaning over the canal: so much so that it had to go. It was cut down and pulled up the bank so someone could haul it away for firewood. I got to it before the firewood fiends could.
I cut a four foot section with plans for this project in the future, and took the rest for good measure: someday it is going to be a canoe. The wood is hard, heavy, and easy to work: very similar to ash. Did I mention it is heavy? It was a lot of fun to make, and I used some of my tools that don’t see that much use. I had to plane the surface for several hours to get rid of all the chainsaw marks.
When I hear “Garden Bench” I think rugged and weathered: I believe I have built the rugged part, now to let Mother Nature do her thing. Tell me what you think.
-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.
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13 comments so far
a1Jim
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87375 posts in 1750 days
#1 posted 1410 days ago
Hey Brian
rugged and but not yet weathered cool bench super job.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
Karson
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34370 posts in 2573 days
#2 posted 1410 days ago
Brian: a great looking bench. Your wife should be proud and happy.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
lew
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8989 posts in 1928 days
#3 posted 1410 days ago
Thus is a really nice looking bench, Brian.
I really like the way you incorporated the natural lines of the wood into the design.
Lew
-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
Dick, & Barb Cain
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8681 posts in 2472 days
#4 posted 1410 days ago
Very nice Brian!
You sure let mother natures beauty do her stuff on this one.
GOOD LUCK!
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
CSlabon
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294 posts in 1450 days
#5 posted 1410 days ago
nice work
PineInTheAsh
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394 posts in 1440 days
#6 posted 1410 days ago
Rusticana supreme.
SteveKorz
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2119 posts in 1886 days
#7 posted 1410 days ago
Very cool! I love that rustic stuff….. Great job on this!
Steve
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
dustyal
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1125 posts in 1648 days
#8 posted 1409 days ago
nice design that really makes the slab look good. I have a long rough slab of Iroka in the garage that needs to be worked into a bench… I’ve been collecting ideas… and I really appreciate your bench.
-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...
FrankLad
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255 posts in 1482 days
#9 posted 1409 days ago
Wonderful piece! I like the design, flow, and overall rustic appeal!
-- Frank, Mississippi, Handcrafted wooden rings - http://www.bentwoodrings.com
brianinpa
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1809 posts in 1895 days
#10 posted 1408 days ago
Thanks to all. I wish I could claim that I tried accent the woods natural lines and beauty, but the appearance of this piece was just dumb luck. I guess sometimes it is just good to be lucky. I appreciate all the comments.
-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.
rivergirl
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3200 posts in 1011 days
#11 posted 957 days ago
I really like this bench! I was wondering if you can remember how wide the seat is on this one?
-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."
brianinpa
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1809 posts in 1895 days
#12 posted 938 days ago
Thanks!
10 inches at it’s widest.
-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.
brian10
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4 posts in 288 days
#13 posted 288 days ago
I am from Lebanon, pa as well. I don’t know if you sell your products but if you do, I am in. Very nice.
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