Tim_Mac wrote:
hey guys, wow. thanks for the great replies.
i'm already armed with 2 tins of Rustin's marine varnish which should
do the job nicely. i got some wood preservative as well which i
intend to put on before, apparently it's good for preventing wood worm
and fungi etc., i'd be impressed if a worm could get through 3 coats
of the varnish but i'm going to do it anyway, i want the bench to last
forever so putting in an extra hour or 2 is well worth it.
i will be burying the screws about 5mm below the surface with wood
filler to keep them out of sight on my lovely boards.

Wood filler?! Counterbore and plugs would look vastly superior.

You should figure out how you want to treat the bottom of the legs.
End grain is tough to seal permanently when it is scraping along as
it's moved around the patio. Wood doesn't know it's dead and keeps
trying to suck up moisture. The chair sitting on a wet patio or lawn
will wick up moisture, discolor the wood, get under the finish and
start rotting the wood.

R