Monogrammed Redwood Garden Bench

Thirty years ago my father in law made an octagonal picnic table and a couple of poolside chaise loungers out of some old growth redwood. After finishing his projects he had some lumber left that was much too nice to discard, so he stored it in a corner of his garage thinking surely he would get a round to making something out of the remaining stock.

Well 30 years and 3 moves later those redwood boards were still stored in the garage. He has been trying to pass it down to me for the past couple of years, but every time they have come by for a visit the van was completely jam packed with “stuff” needed for the winter migration in Florida. Finally I made the trip up to Canada this spring and had enough room in the SUV to bring it back with me.

When my wife saw me unloading the car her mind immediately kicked into high gear… a few days later she informed me she had the perfect project idea… a garden bench for the end of the driveway where the basketball net once stood. Knowing how happy she would be sitting out ther of course I agreed, and we embarked upon the mutual design process and this is what we came up with. My wife thought it would add a classy touch if somehow we could customize the bench with a monogram. I did’t think I could do it justice with my rudimentary carving skiills, but fortunately I was able to find a local engraving shop that could laser engrave the monogramm design she wanted.

I was hoping to get this done in time for the bench competition, but work, kids and life got in the way…oh well. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, before I was able to finish it with marine spar varnish… which has really brought out the rich red tones of the this wood. I will update with a couple more pictures when I can…

Thanks for looking!

-- When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt! Henry J. Kaiser