Memorial Bench

[Dumb_Polack]

I don’t know... from the side it still looks “blocky/masculine”.

Put an ever so gentle curve on the topside or the arm to lighten the load a bit.

[MT Woodworker]

I don’t know... from the side it still looks “blocky/masculine”.

Put an ever so gentle curve on the topside or the arm to lighten the load a bit.

I agree , exactly what he said

[jteneyck]

I don’t know... from the side it still looks “blocky/masculine”.

Put an ever so gentle curve on the topside or the arm to lighten the load a bit.

Thanks for your comments, but it's Little late for that now that it's glued up.  I got the back rests back yesterday from the CNC guy and am very pleased with his work. Today I glued the rest of the bench together.  Just have to cut and fit the seat slats in place and the construction will be done.  

John

[oakey]

personally i like how the design turned out a lot
it is and out door bench meant to stand the element's of time
the sturdy legs and arm rest look like they will do just that just fine
on an indoor piece of furniture i would agree but then i would not want the remainder to be as sturdy looking either
lighting up the arm IMO would be a mistake and make the arm rest look out of place with the remainder

[Phil S.]

.....  You can mix it by equal volumes, but I prefer to weigh it on the little gram scale, 10 parts resin to 8.3 parts hardener.  It has a nearly 1 hour working time which makes assembly relaxed, and it cures in about 24 hours.

John -

I've never been keen on mixing epoxy by volume.  It always seemed hit or miss, especially in small quantities.  Maybe there is a wide latitude for the ratio of hardener to resin, but it seems that weighing each would be more precise.  How did you arrive at the proportions you list?  I assume those may be different depending on the type of epoxy you're using.

Phil

[jteneyck]

John -

I've never been keen on mixing epoxy by volume.  It always seemed hit or miss, especially in small quantities.  Maybe there is a wide latitude for the ratio of hardener to resin, but it seems that weighing each would be more precise.  How did you arrive at the proportions you list?  I assume those may be different depending on the type of epoxy you're using.

Phil

Phil, those are the ratios specified on the bottles of T-88; I'm just following their recommendation.  

John

[jteneyck]

I got the CNC work back on Friday and glued up the rest of the bench yesterday.  Today I cut and fit the seat slats.  All that's left is to finish it and screw on the seat slats.  





I thought the CNC work came out great.  It's quite a process to add that auto paint.  First he sprays it with lacquer, then applies self adhesive Velum.  After the carving is done he paints it, removes the Velum after it's dry and sands off the lacquer.  It was $100 for the two pieces.  



The finish I'm using is called One Time.  It's supposed to last 7 years.  I'll be pleased if it lasts 3 and keeps the bench from going black.  It's a 100% solids products that soaks into the wood and needs to cure in sunlight, which might be a bit of a challenge in February, although today was a glorious Winter day.  We'll see how it goes.  

John

[FrankAtl]

That's a great tribute to someone who passed way too soon. The engraving is beautiful and you should be proud of the results, John.

[jteneyck]

Uh oh, troubles in Middletown.  Last evening I sent a photo of the bench to the lady who asked me to build it.  She responded a few minutes later to say it looked very nice but that the girl's last name was spelled wrong!  Good grief.  The CNC guy misspelled it and I missed it when I proofread it.  It was more than a little embarrassing.  Now to fix it.  

I have no extra wood to make a new part and the bench is already glued up.  This is going to be interesting.  I have a couple of ideas on how to fix it but it's going to take some work.  It could prove to be another learning experience, for sure.  Stay tuned.   

John

[oakey]

OH man that sucks must be some one here that has or knows were some more of that wood resides
maybe just cut it of at each end remove the board
then cut through mortises right through the out side and use loose tendons
then hide the mortise on the out side with a design element of some sort
or route out the offending part and use an inlay sand it all flush