# Church pews project



## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Recycled church pews*

Thsre are five 12 foot long pitch pine church pews in the photo dating back to circa 1880. The client is keen to retain them in the local area in the form of a variety of furniture pieces i.e. dining table, coffee table, monks bench, butchers block, bookcase etc.

The first job is to break the pews up into manageable pieces to see exactly what is usable and then take them to be chemically stripped.

I experimented with sanding the old finish off but it is far too time consuming and does not produce the desired result. The main construction of the pews appears to be mortice and tenon joints reinforced with square iron nails. It takes a very big hammer to dismantle them…..

Over the next few weeks or months I will provide updates on how the job is progressing


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## camps764 (Dec 9, 2011)

inchanga said:


> *Recycled church pews*
> 
> Thsre are five 12 foot long pitch pine church pews in the photo dating back to circa 1880. The client is keen to retain them in the local area in the form of a variety of furniture pieces i.e. dining table, coffee table, monks bench, butchers block, bookcase etc.
> 
> ...


you should try to keep as many of those hand cut nails as you can…they can go for decent money on ebay…just ask Chris Schwarts from popular woodworking…if nothing else, if you can keep them, and straigthen them…you might be able to reincorporate them down the road to keep the new pieces feeling as original as possible.


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## JR45 (Jan 26, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Recycled church pews*
> 
> Thsre are five 12 foot long pitch pine church pews in the photo dating back to circa 1880. The client is keen to retain them in the local area in the form of a variety of furniture pieces i.e. dining table, coffee table, monks bench, butchers block, bookcase etc.
> 
> ...


Is it feasible to retain some of the original finish in the new pieces? That sort of patina doesn't come quickly.
Jim


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Recycled church pews*
> 
> Thsre are five 12 foot long pitch pine church pews in the photo dating back to circa 1880. The client is keen to retain them in the local area in the form of a variety of furniture pieces i.e. dining table, coffee table, monks bench, butchers block, bookcase etc.
> 
> ...


I agree about the patina but until I get the pieces sorted I will not know if it is possible to combine enough of them into pieces with the original finish.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*ready for stripping*

The pews have now been broken down ready to be taken to the stripping facility. Theoretically the chemicals should enhance the natural appearance of the wood but i have everything crossed just in case things don't turn out quite as expected.

I will know by the end of next week just how much usable timber I have.


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## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *ready for stripping*
> 
> The pews have now been broken down ready to be taken to the stripping facility. Theoretically the chemicals should enhance the natural appearance of the wood but i have everything crossed just in case things don't turn out quite as expected.
> 
> I will know by the end of next week just how much usable timber I have.












I'm sure those pics dont do the wood justice. Cant wait to see what can come out of that. Lots of work tearing down and prepping the wood. I picked up some free oak church pews from Craigslist a little while back but they arent anywhere near as old or solid as those. I'm using mine to build a bookcase in my living room and I've broken them down but need to deal with the thick mess of a finish that's on them. Sanding takes way too long so I'll be doing the chemical stripping route myself when spring comes around.

Here are mine before breakdown:


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *ready for stripping*
> 
> The pews have now been broken down ready to be taken to the stripping facility. Theoretically the chemicals should enhance the natural appearance of the wood but i have everything crossed just in case things don't turn out quite as expected.
> 
> I will know by the end of next week just how much usable timber I have.


You are right, I gave up sanding after ten minutes. Apart from the dust it is slow hard work and does not do the wood any good. The finish on my pews is not too thick so I am hopeful of a good outcome from the caustic soda bathe they are having. The plan is to make a dining table, a coffee table, a monks bench and some other odds and ends.


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## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *ready for stripping*
> 
> The pews have now been broken down ready to be taken to the stripping facility. Theoretically the chemicals should enhance the natural appearance of the wood but i have everything crossed just in case things don't turn out quite as expected.
> 
> I will know by the end of next week just how much usable timber I have.


Saw an ad on Craigslist yesterday for about 30 more church pews nearby to me. I want to jump on it but the work involved from picking them up and breaking them down, not to mention the storage issues, make me regret deciding not to. Think I'll build some kind of storage shed for finds like this. Leaving them out in the rain just wont cut it. Anyhow, good luck with your project. I hope you manage to use the old hardware and nails for something interesting too, or at least find someone who would use them.


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## Andy2 (Jan 6, 2013)

inchanga said:


> *ready for stripping*
> 
> The pews have now been broken down ready to be taken to the stripping facility. Theoretically the chemicals should enhance the natural appearance of the wood but i have everything crossed just in case things don't turn out quite as expected.
> 
> I will know by the end of next week just how much usable timber I have.


Cool!


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*back from the stripper*

insert here


















The pews have now been successfully chemically stripped and I am very pleased with the results. There is no way I would attempt to strip this amount of timber by hand, I think it would be a recipe for losing the will to live.

The grain, totally hidden by the previous finish, is now starting to show through and it will be further enhanced by sanding and finishing.

The timber is still wet from the stripping process so has now been put indoors to dry out before starting work on the projects. I think it will take at least a week to be ready. More updates next week when hopefully I can start making furniture.


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## pastordale (Jan 10, 2013)

inchanga said:


> *back from the stripper*
> 
> insert here
> 
> ...


I have pews to work on also. 
There are some churches taking their pews out and replacing them with chairs. 
That leaves some really beautiful old pews needing some TLC. 
I look forward to your project posts.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

inchanga said:


> *back from the stripper*
> 
> insert here
> 
> ...


Wow, they look like they will be beautiful when restored. Good luck putting Humpty together again.


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## Bigrock (Apr 16, 2010)

inchanga said:


> *back from the stripper*
> 
> insert here
> 
> ...


It looks like you did good. It may take longer than a week to dry. please sticker the wood and you may want to load the stacks to keep them straight and flat. Please let them Dry slow.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *back from the stripper*
> 
> insert here
> 
> ...


I have got the boards stickered in my workshop with just two small heaters because it is pretty cold here right now.
You could be right that it will take more than a week to dry them out and I am not going to rush it. Hopefully the finished furniture will last for generations so a few extra days at the start is not going to any harm.

Thanks to all for your interest.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*starting the joinery*










Well after a couple of frustrating weeks waiting for the timber to dry out after the stripping process I have finally managed to start building the coffee table. The legs and stretchers have had one coat of Danish oil after being thoroughly sanded. I anticipate giving them another four coats or so and then a couple of coats of wax.










You may recognise the shape of the legs, they previously formed the decorative moulding along the top of the pews backrest…...

I have also drilled the dowel holes in the legs and stretchers using my Dowelmax jig, how did I manage without it?
When it comes to assembly I may well use Kreg pocket hole screws. They do away with the need for clamps and of course give additional strength to the joint.










The coffee table top is illustrated clamped up waiting for the glue to dry and out of clamps ready for cutting to final size, planing,sanding and finishing. I have reinforced the glue joint with dowels which were also a great help in providing a flush joint.



















I have also selected and given a coarse sanding to the boards that will make up the dining table top. Two of these are illustrated here.



















The coarse sanding was necessary to remove the surface "fuzz" caused by the stripping chemicals raising the grain. For some reason pitch pine seems to be particularly affected. There is also a close up of the grain pattern which I think will be really nice with a finish on it.

I was originally intending to use pre cat laquer as my finish but the test piece, shown below, did not impress me so I have switched to oil and paste wax. It's a longer process but hopefully this furniture will last for generations so it's well worth the effort.










Hopefully my next blog will be able to report the coffee table finished and a happy customer.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*finishing coffee table*

The coffee table base was given four coats of oil before glue up and assembly. The photo shows the use of pocket hole screws in place of clamps. Given multiple dowels, reinforced with screws and good quality glue, there is no reason why this assembly should not last 160 years like the original pews. It will certainly outlast me…....










I sanded the top through the grades up to 240 grit and it is shown with the first coat of finishing oil applied.



















At the moment my intention is to apply five or six coats of oil and a couple of coats of paste wax. Any comments on the intended finish would be appreciated. For example I know some LJ's put laquer or poly varnish over oil and I would be interested in hearing about the results they achieved especially on pitch pine.

Looking forward to finishing the coffee table and starting on the dining table during the next few days.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *finishing coffee table*
> 
> The coffee table base was given four coats of oil before glue up and assembly. The photo shows the use of pocket hole screws in place of clamps. Given multiple dowels, reinforced with screws and good quality glue, there is no reason why this assembly should not last 160 years like the original pews. It will certainly outlast me…....
> 
> ...


great looking coffee table.
my last project was a couple night stands built out of pine that i finished with danish oil and used wipe on poly 2 coats of each.probably should have done three but it turned out great.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *finishing coffee table*
> 
> The coffee table base was given four coats of oil before glue up and assembly. The photo shows the use of pocket hole screws in place of clamps. Given multiple dowels, reinforced with screws and good quality glue, there is no reason why this assembly should not last 160 years like the original pews. It will certainly outlast me…....
> 
> ...


in the blog forum jsb did a video on finishing pine with amber shellac and top coating with poly,it turned out very nice.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Dining table start*










The coffee table is finished apart from another couple of coats of oil so it's time to start on the dining table.

Cutting to width on the table saw left me good edges that did not need jointing. Although with long grain joints like this biscuits are not normally necessary for strength, I decided to use them to assist in lining up the boards as much as possible in order to minimise sanding afterwards.



















By accident I started using chalk instead of a pencil to mark up boards and have found it much better. It is highly visible and cleans off very easily. The boards have been marked up with a carpenters triangle for orientation and the marks across the joints are for the biscuits.

I used number 20 biscuits at about 9 inch intervals.










Glueing up wide panels is always a bit nerve racking but I am happy to say that with just a little persuasion everything came together quite well and thanks to the biscuits the joints are more or less level. What a relief…...










I cleaned the glue off with fresh water tomorrow will leave it in clamps overnight. Tomorrow it will be cut to length and sanded ready to apply the finish.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Dining table top and legs*

The dining table top has been taken out of clamps, sanded and the first coat of finish applied. The pictures show the underneath of the top ready for finishing and after finishing with two coats of lacquer and a coat of wax applied.



















The upper side of the top was sanded to 240 grit and is shown after one coat of laquer.



















I have reverted back to a lacquer finish because in appearance it is as good as the oil finish and it dries much faster.

The table legs have also been ganged up for laminating and clamped overnight. They are now ready for cutting to length, planing, sanding and finishing.



















Tomorrow should see the table top and legs completed.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Assembling the base*

I used to get a project fully assembled before sanding and applying finish but with this project, being unsure of how each piece of reclaimed timber would react to sanding and finishing, I took the precaution of getting the bulk of the work done before assembly. In this way i could reject any pieces that did not turn out ok before they had become an integral part of the completed project. In fact, I found it a much easier process to carry out the work this way and it is the approach I will adopt with future projects.










This picture shows the legs and stretchers with dowels in place ready for assembly.










As mentioned in a previous blog where possible I use pocket hole screws in place of clamps to reinforce the joints.

Here the base is assembled and additional struts have been fitted at each corner to increase strength and rigidity.










It took a sledge hammer to knock the original pews apart and I have tried to replicate the strength of construction in the new build.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*completed farmhouse table and start on butchers block*

A reminder of what wed started with.










The coffee table has been delivered and the farmhouse dining table is now ready for collection. I was going to put breadboard ends on the top but the customer likes it just the way it is. It does not show up well on the photograph but there is some nice end grain adding character to the piece.










I am now moving on to the butchers block starting with laminating the legs. Using reclaimed material it has been necessary to do some patching and repair work on the blanks in order to achieve the required dimensions from what's left of the pews but the repairs will be hidden/disguised when the block is assembled.










The pic above shows the legs before final sanding and doweling.










A major advantage of the Dowelmax is that it can be clamped on timbers up to a 100mm wide for drilling the dowel holes and for appearance reasons I wanted to use substantial legs on the piece.










The stretchers are doweled on the ends while secured in a vice. The whole doweling process is extremely quick and very accurate.










After inserting the dowels I lay the pieces out prior to assembly just to make sure I have got the orientation of the legs and stretchers correct before final assembly. I also sand all the pieces to 240grit and apply stain if needed. It is much easier to do this before assembly.










For some reason I decided not to use my usual method of using pocket hole screws to clamp the joints up and went straight to sash clamps instead. Apart from dropping one on my foot, messing about and juggling with the clamps reminded me how much easier and less stressful using pocket hole screws is. Quite apart from the additional joint strength that the screws give, the assembly goes so much smoother.

The next step is to try and salvage enough wood to build the end grain cutting board for the top.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*butchers block in clamps and ding table in situ*

The dining table has been deliveredn and is shown in its final resting place.









Salvaging enough timber to make the butchers block top has been a nightmare. The maximum thickness of the pieces i finished up using was only just over an inch which came down to just less than an inch after machining the faces. The maximum width of the pieces was only 3 inches. This meant I had to assemble and glue three times as many bits of wood as i would normally use on a top this size.

It cost a fortune in glue…..


















When the glue is dry I will machine it square, sand the top smooth and put a timber border all around it.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Monks bench finished*










The monks bench has now been completed and with it the last item of the Pews Project.










This is just as well because I really had to improvise and glue up a lot of bits and pieces in order to salvage sufficient timber to complete the bench

.









The lid is hinged to provide a useful storage space underneath. I made mitred corners on the front panel and seat backrest and I prefer this look to conventional 90 degree joints.

The bench was finished with three coats of pre cat lacquer cut back with wire wool dipped in paste wax. This combines durability with a traditional soft lustre appearance.

The joinery was primarily pocket hole screws reinforced with good quality glue and to ensure strength i used plenty of both.










In my next blog i will review the lessons I learned from working with reclaimed timber.


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## SirFatty (May 5, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Monks bench finished*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


nice work!

Now when you go to church, you can sit in your own pew.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Monks bench finished*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


great bench it looks awesome.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*thoughts on recycling timber for projects*










Having just recycled four 160 year old 12 foot church pews and manufactured the furniture shown here I am in a position to comment on the process from an operational and financial point of view which i hope may help LJ's involved in similar projects.










Firstly let me say that the customers are absolutley delighted with the pieces. The pews are from their local church and they wanted them to be saved for emotional reasons as well as providing much needed furniture for their new home.

From a personal point of view I also found it immensly satisfying to take something that would have finished up on a fire and created unique items of very practical furniture which are easy on the eye and should last for another 160 years.










However, in terms of time, the labour involved is at least fourfold that of doing the same projects with new timber bought in already planed and sanded and that does no include the commercial stripping time which is an addtional cost.










Stripping the timber does not remove nails, mend splits and cracks, cure rot or leave the surface in a condition where it is ready for final sanding and finishing. All of these tasks have to be done by hand and they are laborious time consuming chores which have to be completed before any thought can be given to cutting pieces to size ready for assembly. Sanding in particula,r takes forever to achive an acceptable surface.

It also takes a great deal of time and ingenuity to sort, cut and very often glue up the pieces that will form the final assembly. Shelves for instance, will very often have to be two thin boards laminated together to give the required thickness, because there is no suitable thickness of timber that can be used from the piece being recycled.

Likewise, it is not unusual to have to join two or more pieces of timber in order to achieve the length needed.
Anybody undertaking this sort of project will get plenty of practice in laminating, scarf jointing and making up panels from leftovers.










For the hobby woodworker all of the above activities are grist for the mill of woodworking and will provide many hours of pleasurable activity and result in some wonderful furniture from material that would otherwise have gone to waste.

For the professional woodworker, or the amateur who has taken on a commission it is almost impossible to know just how much time will be needed to get the materials to the point where they are dimensioned ready for final sizing and sanded ready to take a finish i.e. they are at the same stage in the constuction process as bought in lumber.

Remember, the materials component when working with new wood is typically about 20% of the final price but when taking labout costs into account recycled timber is very often much more expensive than new timber so anyone hopng to save money using recycled timber is on a loser. It is not always easy to convince customers of this…..But convince them you must if you want to eat.

The trick is to give a fixed price for the construction of the furniture using material that has been cleaned up, stripped, dimensioned etc. but to charge an hourly rate, or quote subcontracors prices for the timber preparation phase and forewarn them of likely higher cost than when using new timber.

This timber preparation is a real and substantial cost and the customer should pay it….not the woodworker.


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## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

inchanga said:


> *thoughts on recycling timber for projects*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Good perspective on reusing material. You're right on about it being totally different as a hobbyist versus trying to quote a job. You turned out some great looking furniture with the reclaimed lumber.


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Bookcase*

Some time ago I thought I had finished making several peices of furniture from 160 year old church pews. Recently the customer came back and asked if I could salvage enough timber to make a matching bookcase.










With a great deal of difficulty, by laminating pieces together, incorporating and staining new pieces to match the old where I ran out of original timber and repairing quite a few boards to make them usable, I finally managed it.

I was concerned it might be a bit too rustic, but the customers love it. Much to my relief…


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Bookcase*
> 
> Some time ago I thought I had finished making several peices of furniture from 160 year old church pews. Recently the customer came back and asked if I could salvage enough timber to make a matching bookcase.
> 
> ...


great shelf.i love the rustic look.nice build.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

inchanga said:


> *Bookcase*
> 
> Some time ago I thought I had finished making several peices of furniture from 160 year old church pews. Recently the customer came back and asked if I could salvage enough timber to make a matching bookcase.
> 
> ...


I love working with wood that has a history. You did well by this historic wood!


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## inchanga (Aug 13, 2012)

*Butchers block finished startin monks bench*

Apart from a little tidying up the butchers block is now finished and ready for collection. Because it is made from 160 year old timber, complete with knots, rust stains from iron nails, splits and cracks etc. it might be described as having plenty of character. (or faults which character used to be called).










It is certainly functional, extremely strong and should last for decades.










The finish and strong rustic style also suit the existing kitchen in which it will be used. The beauty of this type of furniture is that its authenticity and appearance is enhanced by hard use.

The last piece of funiture to come from the pews is ironically a monks bench. This however is only 3 foot wide compared to the 12 foot of the original pews.

The pictures show the parts for the sides being reinforced with dowels prior to glue up and then the sides in clamps.










The spacer bar supplied with the Dowelmax ensures accurate line up of the dowel holes.









The clamps will be left on overnight and the sides shaped and sanded tomorrow.


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## JR45 (Jan 26, 2012)

inchanga said:


> *Butchers block finished startin monks bench*
> 
> Apart from a little tidying up the butchers block is now finished and ready for collection. Because it is made from 160 year old timber, complete with knots, rust stains from iron nails, splits and cracks etc. it might be described as having plenty of character. (or faults which character used to be called).
> 
> ...


Very nice. Hope it gets as much use as the original pews did over time.
Jim


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