# Prayer Kneeler



## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

*Prayer Kneeler*

This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!

(prayer kneeler)!



I'm almost done building it. I still have to round off all the edges so they are not so sharp, sand, and finish!

I'm looking for advice on how to finish it. I know it is ultimately my decision, but I'm wondering how you guys would do it? I'm a novice at finishing, so any advice would be great. I'm sure i need some sort of wood conditioner first because its pine. I'm going for an old church feeling/look. So I'm not sure if I should stain it and then top coat it with something, or put some sort of danish oil on it?? I want to darken the wood, so it doesn't look so "piney." i'm going to upholster the kneeling part with some foam and some burgundy fabric as well.


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## sawblade1 (Feb 11, 2010)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


First off nice Job!  I have been asked to do several of these .

the easiest most pain free method I could suggest is to use a sealer or conditioner under the stain coat to help prevent blotching, however most professionals use de waxed shellac clear of course  being a novice practice on scrap first. Minwax Puritan Pine #216 or Ipswich pine 221 will give you the most antiqued look for pine you could even get by mixing the two  follow up with a clear cote of amber shellac most of the time this give you a antiqued patina Go with a gloss It seem to resemble years of waxing and polish!!!!
just for reference 90% of kneelers are oak

Their trade name is Prie Dieu French for Pray or kneel to GOD

Just a fun piece of information:}


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


What I would like to know - are *you* kneeling as you pray to the woodworking gods for inspiration? LOL

I would agree for the most part with sawblade1. You could use a darker color stain if that is what you want and the amber shellac should definitely help it look more "aged" and give it enough protection as well.
Have fun and hope you score a bunch of brownie points!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


Nice work.


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## 7Sophie (May 24, 2011)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


Looking good.


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## ShawnD (Feb 1, 2013)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


What kind of hardware did you use for the legs to fold up?


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


This was my first attempt at really building any kind of furniture. (I dont remember for sure but…) I think for this one I just used metal dowels. I epoxied the dowels into the movable kneeler part and the other end was free to move in the recessed hole. Worked fine - doesnt need to be anything fancy


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


If I had to do it over again though, I'd probably use some bolts and washers instead of the dowel so you could take disassemble it if you needed to.


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## George19 (Sep 6, 2016)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


Your prayer bench is looking super. Especially for a first project. It is just what I have been looking for. Can you tell me where you got the plans?


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


looks to be the proper place for prayers ….....GREAT JOB


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...





> Your prayer bench is looking super. Especially for a first project. It is just what I have been looking for. Can you tell me where you got the plans?
> 
> - George19


Didn't have any plans. I just made them on the fly. I got some basic dimensions from the Internet and went from there


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## palmbeach (Jun 18, 2017)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


Great job, particularly for doing this 'on the fly' and without any plans. This is exactly what I have been looking for to place in my home in a similar way as your girlfriend's mom. As I have searched for months for a used prayer kneeler without success, would you consider a proposal of (a) purchasing the same wood as in the picture of your prayer kneeler, (b) cutting all the pieces for it from pine and© shipping it unassembled and unfinished for a price? I have tools to assemble it and am fair with refinishing old furniture. I would be more than happy to send you a sizable part of your price in advance and the balance when it is finished and ready for (before) shipment. Thanks for your consideration of this proposal and take care. Again, a nice job on the kneeler for your girlfriend's mother.


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## Aj1228 (May 24, 2020)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...


Did he publish the plans? I would love this in my apartment; I don't have a lot of space or money for a War Room/ Prayer Closet. Praying for a miracle and I can do this!!!


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

dakremer said:


> *Prayer Kneeler*
> 
> This is a prayer kneeler I am building for my girlfriend's mom. She says the rosary every night, and shes been talking about buying one of these. I looked on the internet and the cheapest ones were going for like $150. Granted these were oak kneelers, and the one I'm building is pine, but I figure with a little sanding and a nice finish I can make it pretty nice. Plus so far I've only spent about $11 on the wood!
> 
> ...





> Did he publish the plans? I would love this in my apartment; I don t have a lot of space or money for a War Room/ Prayer Closet. Praying for a miracle and I can do this!!!
> 
> - Aj1228


Sorry, I do not have any plans for this!


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