I'm needing to build a outdoor (near the ocean) garden type bench, in remembrance of folks who have passed from this beachside community. Its likely the bench will sit in sandy area forever.. Assuming I can find a design the boss (her family) will agree to, what is best material choice(s)? Its likely there will be need for heavy sections - english garden bench cencept..
White Oak, Teak or Ipe would work.
If it's going "heavy", some sort of cedar would probably work fine. It's lighter to move around, and the larger cross sections make up for the lower strength.
White oak comes to mind as a outdoor compatible bench material. Cypress, too. In an old New Yankee Workshop episode, Norm built one out of teak...and I think that would be nice if price is no object.
Of the above, my first "reasonable choice" would be white oak. It's available and has good weather resistance. I think ease of obtaining thicker material for an outdoor bench is also a consideration.
I've never worked teak, but I seem to recall hearing that it's hard on tools due to a high silica content in the wood. Besides price, availability could be an issue.
Never had occasion to look for cypress in thicker stock. I have some out in the shop for use in an outdoor project this summer, but it's 4/4.
Demps,
I made a bench a couple of years ago. I wanted to use black locust but couldn't find any. Cypress was also a choice, but reading revealed that not all cypress is created equal. The same goes for cedar. Spanish cedar is a good choice and isn't too expensive. Mahogany is neat, but I can't bring myself to use a wood I hold in such high esteem for a garden bench. At something like 70 bucks a BF for teak I didn't even consider it. In the end I went with white oak, and was happy with the results.
Rob Millard
www.americanfederalperiod.com
We live in South Carolina. Hot, humid, all the rest. I built my wife an outdoor potting bench from pressure treated yellow pine 8 or 9 years ago. I joined it with lap joints and ss scrrews and glued it with polyurethane (Gorilla) glue (messy - I hate the stuff). She uses it almost every day and it has held up well. It's cheap and serviceable. I recommend it for this application.
EDIT - Oops! When I see "bench" I think "workbench." I don't think pressure treated yellow pine would be good for a garden (sitting) bench.
Cedar is excellent. I built some Adirondack Chairs for a client from cedar. Naturally insect and weather resistant and reasonably priced.
Ralph
I would use Spanish Cedar if weight is a concern. This one is black locust, and not light:
Quite a few woods are rot resistant, but the tight grained ones weather better without grain lifting than coarser grained woods like white oak. If you don't plan to finish and maintain it, I would use a tight grained wood. If you do decide on a coarse grained wood, it would be best to use rift sawn lumber.
John
Built this one about 5 years ago out of eastern white cedar. I did put plastic glides on the feet to keep them off of the sidewalk so they won't soak moisture. It's Norm's English garden bench. Fun to make, looks good and LOML likes it.
g
Will it be outdoors year round?
I live near the ocean and recommend using a heavy wood. Anything too light will blow around in the wind. Even with heavy wood, you may still need to anchor it down.
Keep in mind that no wood is forever. Ipe comes the closest. The Atlantic City boardwalk was built of Ipe in the early 1900'. Much of it survived the hurricane a couple of years ago.