Bench

Looks great. Is there any bow in the middle when you sit on it ?

-- JJohn

Really cool! Hope your experiment holds together. I really like this unique and unorthodox design.

-- Ciao, gth.

thank you for the invitation into your test lab.

-- making sawdust....

Fritz,

This piece is simply beautiful! This looks like it belongs in the De La Spada catalog! Is that top a two piece long grain glue up? Man this is nice. Do you have a shot of the underside showing the alum.? Seems like a great idea.

-- Brian, Folsom, CA

Cool design.

-- Shawn, I ask in order to learn

Fritz,

This is a beautiful bench. You executed a nice design on this project.
Thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

thanks all.

bfd: Here is a shot of the bottom. it’s probably bad form, but i typically don’t pay as much attention to the bottom as I do the visible surfaces…... so, i’m a little ashamed to show the “undercarriage” but I hope it helps. I routed an 1/8” groove (angle thickness) x 48” (angle length) deep enough to accept one leg of the angle. drilled and countersunk for #6×1/2” skrews and installed wih no adhesives. The top is 4 pieces, two wider in the center (with the sap wood) and two narrower on the outside.

jjohn: I weight about 200lbs and it flexes about 1/2” at the center. The addition of the angles made quite a difference. Before they were installed, it flexed about an inch and a half and the legs splayed out about 1/2”.

-- Fritz Oakland, Ca http://www.muegenburg.com (dedicated to my other hobby)

I love walnut and this is an awesome design you have made…I hope it stays together for you : )

-- Dusty56@comcast.net

Less is More. Beautiful Work

-- Richard http://www.LearnFineCrafts.com

FRITZ! I love this piece!

Thanks for the technical info on the flex. It sagged more under load than I would have guessed.

Great Modern Design And Great Work!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Hi Fritz,

Thanks for the visual and further explanation. I think your solution of the alum L bracket is a good one and very clean the way you routed the wood so that it sits flush with the bottom. I really like the fact that you made the decision to use and highlight the sap wood. I think it adds to the natural beauty of the piece.

-- Brian, Folsom, CA

This is a great piece.

If this is a prototype and you decide to do a second version, I have a question.

Rather than screwing the 1/2” metal strips across the bottom, could you run two grooves 1/8” wide and 1/2” deep lengthwise in underside and then epoxy the metal strips vertically into the grooves? Vertically, the metal offers more strength against bowing. (stealing the idea from Wally Kunkle – Mr SawDust)

I am curious if you think that it would work. I have always used plywood for large surfaces and don’t know as much about how to compensate for wood movement. One possible hang up might be the wood movement in the walnut plank causing cracks/warping when restrained by the metal bar.

-- Shawn, I ask in order to learn

I too like the sap center on this piece and the finger joints look nice and tight…

I’ll keep my fingers crossed on the cross grain construction…I know you don’t want it to crack, but that still wouldn’t ruin the great aesthetic you have there!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I love the bench. I have an old slab of walnut my father acquired from an old workshop and has set arounf in his workshop for years. Its about that size but about 2 inches thick. I now know what to do with it. Great work!

-- Bill from Lithia Springs, GA I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

Love this Fritz, very nicely executed.

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

Thanks again all!

Shawn: I contemplated installing just a strip in the vertical position with epoxy as you mentioned, but epoxy and I don’t particularly get along (I usually just end up with it everywhere. hands, clothes, hair…etc.) and I wasn’t sure how well it would perform over time. The aluminum angle I used (3/4”x3/4”x1/8”) accounts for the vertical “beam” support for span strength and the opposing angle leg allowed for easy surface installation with screws (and potential future removal if that need ever arises – not sure why it would though). Because the angle is running with the grain it shouldn’t cause problems as expansion is more pronounced cross-grain. All of that said, this is a testing ground for these types of questions…... we shall see.

bfd: you queued right in on my inspiration for the piece. the timing of my blog post was no accident. The one element of the table design shown in the De La Spada photo on the blog that I was having trouble agreeing with was the interaction between the legs and the top. You can see where my design and theirs differ at that connection point. also, the finger joint width I used is narrower and I believe more in keeping with the scale of a bench v.s. a dining table.

-- Fritz Oakland, Ca http://www.muegenburg.com (dedicated to my other hobby)

Nice bench!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- There is no such thing as a mistake....just a design modification Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/

Hi Fritz,
I really like the way that you connect the legs with the top in the same plane and the finger joints are a perfect scale for the bench. Oh and by the way keep the blogs coming (love the Henry Built stuff). You are an architect right?

-- Brian, Folsom, CA

Really nice bench! I think we share the same taste in furniture.

woo very nice bench, i like the way the legs are jointed and shown off at the top good job.