Garden Bench Restoration

  Recently, an old friend brought me two garden benches desperately in need of repair.  The wooden slats were so rotten that many of them were loose where they joined the ends.  However the benches were not a total write off, and I volunteered  to make the repairs.

 

  The white paint  was mostly gone and the slats were beginning to rot. So far it is mostly, only surface damage.

  The first thing was to take the benches to pieces. The bolts holding the slats were totally rusted. I had to cut the bolts off with a grinder and cut off disk. 

  The process of getting rid of the loose paint was easy, I used my grinder and a flap disk.  These disks come in various grits and are good for heavy removal of wood, paint or rust. I use a flap disk on end grain of slabs (May 29,2019) in combination with a power planer and belt sander.

 I have one end sanded and painted. Sanding was a huge job requiring wire brushes, flap wheel and a dentist pick.  So I got one end cleaned up and painted with rust resistant paint. I always say it is a good idea to use the best tool for the job.  So....the remaining three ends are going to be sand blasted, it will be faster and give a good or better result. 

  So progress is delayed while I arrange for the sand blasting.

 

 The wooden slats are sanded and painted with three coats of exterior paint. All that remains is to drill the holes and bolt it together.

  While awaiting sand blasting I am working other small projects. I have to remind myself when I take on a project that at some point all or most of it has to be carried down stairs to my shop. Stairs are the historic enemy or wood workers and Pandas.

  cheers ianw

A Summing Up Blog

  There is my latest box in it natural habitat.  Its purpose is to reduce clutter in my friend's home and look nice. Mission accomplished, I think.

  This morning's project.  The stars are to soon be painted and festively decorated.  Surprisingly there was some puzzling involved in getting the various boards aligned.  It was one of those times that clamps made life easier.   

  This is a sander/grinder that my grandfather made for my father from bits and pieces and a washing machine motor.  I don't know when this machine was created, its been around as long as I remember.  A few years ago I replaced the plywood disk with a metal one and have used it for a long messy time.  The belt is exposed and something of a hazard.  The other day I was sanding a couple of spoons into shape and nearly caught my fore arm in the belt as I manoeuvred the spoon around.   

 Finally I was modivated  to put that whirling belt behind a guard, having my arm hair removed swiftly and suddenly can be inspiring .  It was a job long overdue.  Next thing to fix is dust collection.  I bought a new RZ dust mask a while ago and love it.  It is the first dust mask that I don't hate to wear that actually fits well enough to do some good.  My lungs are in better shape but the other dust is still an issue.

  The last bit of summing up is my rustic bowl.  

  Once I got the inside more or less dug out I flipped it over and used my grinder to shape the ends.  I moved toward power tools from chisels because I found some punky wood and it is easier to sand/grind the wood away that to cut it off.  I was also afraid that using an axe or heavy chisel might break away a larger piece of wood that I wanted.

16 by 8 and 2 inches deep.

  There is the finished bowl getting into the holiday spirit.  If I come  across another log I will do this again, larger would be nicer.

  This is probably a wrap for the season.  December is always filled with family, travel and social gatherings and so I don't undertake much that is noteworthy in the shop before Christmas anymore.  Gone are the frantic last minuted projects of yesteryear.

If time permits I'll share something, it not...Happy Christmas, I hope you, your family and friends have an excellent holiday season and a glorious 2020.

cheers ianw

So What Have I Been Doing? Not many Blogs but active none the less.

   I'll first confess that I haven't been knocking myself out in the shop lately.  The weather has been great for riding both my eBike and my motorcycle and that has taken me out into the sunshine.

  Secondly I have been doing maintenance things for the last three weeks.  We have a large deck behind the house and it needed to be sealed against the weather.  Usually I seriously soak the deck every other year with sealer. (currently Thompson's ), I skipped last year. The deck soaked up lots of sealer and I think I will have to give it another coat next spring too.  Leaving out a year won't save me any work in the long run. Wood will withstand wind and wet for a long time, if...it is provided with proper treatment. (regularly)

   I repainted the wooden stairs going into the basement as you saw previously.  Since I had a stair them going I varnished the oak stairs inside too.

  The first things I had to do was really get the stairs clean and so I used our floor steamer to lift any and all dirt and crayon marks. Once I got the stairs really clean I did two small test spots to see which of my varnishes would stick and dry well. I had two half filled cans of varnish left from previous projects. I went with the Minwax Oil Modified Poly.  It went on without bubbles drying hard and clear.  Our house is eleven years old and nothing has been done to the stairs until now.  Actually the finish on the stairs was in good shape and I want it to stay that way so a little preventative varnish is a good idea I think.  Once oak gets exposed to the air it can turn grey and that is very difficult to cover.

  Years ago I made a shelf unit.  Before I started this blog in fact.  I made it from pine and painted it white. After some years the unsealed wood began to bleed pitch through the white paint. 

  Last week I took all the treasures from the box and repainted it.  This is one of those little jobs that most people wouldn't notice or didn't know needed to be done. Every time I looked at it I knew it needed attention so this is a personal satisfaction job.

  Another project like the shelf unit  painting was our black flamingo art piece. 

  This is a wind driven mobile art piece that is in our back yard. A black smith made this for me a few years ago and the wind and weather had rusted it in a few spots. Probably I was the only one who was bothered by the rust as it didn't effect the cool way the piece moves with the wind.  Since I was working on the deck I thought I should touch up the Black Flamingo too.  To remove the loose paint and rust I used my 4 1/2 grinder with a 60 grit flap wheel. 

  I have used this type of abrasive for end grain on ash rounds,

in the past too.  The abrasive works well but makes a huge mess, so it best used outside in a stiff breeze.

   I have done a couple of other fussy pants repairs about the place but now I think those jobs are done, the weather is getting windy and wet so the shop is looking more inviting all the time.

cheers, 

 ianw

enjoy the fresh fall fruit.