In my last post I showed some pictures of the tree I took down at the back of the house. We had some sunny weather on Saturday and it warmed up enough to be pleasurable out so I decided to see if I could get my bench put together to get the pieces out of the yard before they got messed up. I took a pic of the stump from in front so you can see the light shining in between the roots.
 |
| Tree stump bench |
After mounting the slab for the seat we needed to mount the back rest. The seat slab is from the large cherry that used to be in the yard by the garden. The back rest is from a very twisted elm tree that I removed from the new area that I added to the big field last year. Here my wife is holding it up so I can get a feel for how it should be positioned.
 |
| Setting the back rest. |
Here is a shot from the back showing the stump it is mounted on and how the backrest is connected. There is a spot just to the left of center in the pic where the backrest is sitting on the stump to help support the weight of it. Also, the right corner of the backrest is resting on the corner of the seat slab.
 |
| Picture of the back side showing stump and backrest. |
A pic from the side. Notice the lack of any fasteners? I counter sunk all the of the screws used to hold it all together. However, due to the weight of the slabs, about 150-200lbs each, I do need to reenforce the back rest as there are only two 4" anchor screws holding it in place and they are not strong enough to hold it if someone leans back. They are just holding it till the end plates are completed.
 |
| Pic from end of bench. |
The simple answer to reenforcing the back would be to put arm rests on to brace the back. However, my wife and I want a clean look to the bench so we are not putting arm rests on it. I wrestled with several different options to secure the back but all involved some pretty serious steel bracing to connect the backrest to the seat. Instead, I am having a couple of 1/8" stainless steel end plates cut by a friend on a CNC machine. They will be mounted on the ends of the bench. 4" anchor screws will connect the plates to the bench and will support the back and keep it from moving when in use. They will also be slightly smaller than the ends of the slabs so will only be seen from the ends. The only other option to secure the back rest would be some steel rods through the backrest slab into the seat slab and stump. However, I do not know of a drill bit long enough to go from one side to the other or one strong enough to drill through a large slab of cured hard elm wood. It was all I could do to counter sink the screws when putting it together.
 |
| A pic showing the top of the bench. |
We are going to seal the bench to weather proof it when I get done as well as the stump after it dries and cures out. I currently have it covered with a tarp to keep it dry till we get it done. If you look closely you can see the four plugs to cover the counter sunk screws that hold the seat slab onto the stump. It is strong enough we can all stand on one end and it barely flexes! I cannot wait for warm weather to enjoy it watching the fire on the warm summer nights this year!
I my friend's wife dropped the plates off he cut for me today to put on the ends of the bench. I like the look of them for the most part. I just need to find a way to hide the heads of the large screws I used to hold it all together. You will have to pardon the tarp. I have it covered to keep it dry and didn't want to take it completely off because it has been raining/snowing off and on all day.
 |
| Bench with end plates installed |
All that is left now is to sand it down and seal it up with a good sealer to bring out the graining and color of the two different types of wood!
 |
| Bench with end plates installed |
Due to the rain and snow we got last week the cow shed was getting messy and I needed to bed it down to keep it dry for the pigs to sleep in. I put the bale in and before I could pull my phone out my pocket and turn the video recorder on the pull completely tore the bale up. Then the pigs went to work spreading it out.
I didn't have to do a thing to spread it, the pigs and bull did all the work for me!
Have a great day everyone!
Kenny
No comments:
Post a Comment