Hi all,

I was round a mates the other day and I noted a little (two seater)
garden bench upside down on the lawn and being watered by the
sprinkler (no, not their dog) ;-)

I asked him was was up with the bench and he said it was all 'rickety'
and was going down the tip ;-(

Never liking to see stuff being thrown away I picked it up a couple of
days later (when it had dried out) and stuck it in our back yard.

It has fancy cast iron ends with somple wooden 'slats' bolted across
it forming the seat / back and a couple of extra brackets to keep it
steady (but everything was loose). I gave all the roofing style bolts
that held the slats to the iron ends a drop of 'Plus Gas' (not WD40
notice g) and the next day ALL the rusty bolts moved / tightned up.

However, the slats look a bit 'sad' and a couple look partially rotten
(though are supporting my 11st wife as I type g) and I wondered if
it was 'worth' [1] replacing the timbers with new?

The slats are 10 off and are 55mm x 20mm x 1200mm long and currently
look like a stained softwood.

It fact it looks similar to this (or it did when new) a "Victorian
style bench" (appropriate as we live in a Victorian house?) ;-)

http://www.lxdirect.com/images/produ...s/ts224v28.jpg

So, would I be able to get cheap (renewable) planed hardwood in
similar sizes / lengths (maybe 2.4m long that I could cut in half) and
if so would it all be worth it?

I do actually enjoy 'lost causes' ... if nothing but for the
satisfaction of seeing them 'reborn' ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[T] On the web site noted they are £39.99 new (+ delivery probably),
but, as a little diy project and to save the waste (environment) /
recycling the lot (we have a skip for real wood and another for
metal) would a rebuild be a 'good' thing to do?

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:04:15 GMT, T i m babbled
like a waterfall and said:


[T] On the web site noted they are £39.99 new (+ delivery probably),
but, as a little diy project and to save the waste (environment) /
recycling the lot (we have a skip for real wood and another for
metal) would a rebuild be a 'good' thing to do?

Have you tried sitting on it?
If it's like mine with its peculiar curved back it's impossible to sit
on and not worth assembling.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I was round a mates the other day and I noted a little (two seater)
garden bench upside down on the lawn and being watered by the
sprinkler (no, not their dog) ;-)

snipped

I do actually enjoy 'lost causes' ... if nothing but for the
satisfaction of seeing them 'reborn' ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

snipped

Floor boards cut to size and sanded to shape are cheap and just as good for
this type of project. They can be protected with a coating of teak oil once
a year as well, to keep them fresh.

Good luck with it. I like the idea of resurrecting these types of things as
well.

EricP wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:04:15 GMT, T i m babbled
like a waterfall and said:


[T] On the web site noted they are £39.99 new (+ delivery probably),
but, as a little diy project and to save the waste (environment) /
recycling the lot (we have a skip for real wood and another for
metal) would a rebuild be a 'good' thing to do?


Have you tried sitting on it?
If it's like mine with its peculiar curved back it's impossible to sit
on and not worth assembling.

Yeah, very uncomfortable and those slats at the front edge give you
deckchair syndrome (DVT?)

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:15:42 GMT, EricP
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:04:15 GMT, T i m babbled
like a waterfall and said:


[T] On the web site noted they are £39.99 new (+ delivery probably),
but, as a little diy project and to save the waste (environment) /
recycling the lot (we have a skip for real wood and another for
metal) would a rebuild be a 'good' thing to do?

Have you tried sitting on it?

Tim goes outside and tries sitting on it .. hmmm ..

If it's like mine with its peculiar curved back it's impossible to sit
on and not worth assembling.

Ok, it's not 'comfey' as such but as a quick perch / rest between
strimming / working on my motorbikes etc it will might do ..?

So you have some spare slats I could have then (and a coupe of spare
ends while I'm there ..?) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 17:01:10 +0100, OldBill
wrote:

EricP wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:04:15 GMT, T i m babbled
like a waterfall and said:


[T] On the web site noted they are £39.99 new (+ delivery probably),
but, as a little diy project and to save the waste (environment) /
recycling the lot (we have a skip for real wood and another for
metal) would a rebuild be a 'good' thing to do?


Have you tried sitting on it?
If it's like mine with its peculiar curved back it's impossible to sit
on and not worth assembling.

Yeah, very uncomfortable and those slats at the front edge give you
deckchair syndrome (DVT?)

lol

At 6'2" and mostly legs there's nothing much that's unadjustable that
I find truely 'comfortable' .. ;-(

Comment noted though OldBill ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:16:52 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:


"T i m" wrote in message
.. .
Hi all,

I was round a mates the other day and I noted a little (two seater)
garden bench upside down on the lawn and being watered by the
sprinkler (no, not their dog) ;-)

snipped

I do actually enjoy 'lost causes' ... if nothing but for the
satisfaction of seeing them 'reborn' ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

snipped

Floor boards cut to size and sanded to shape are cheap and just as good for
this type of project.

I womder if I could get away with the 'one free cut / board' and get a
shed to rip them down the length for me ;-)

They can be protected with a coating of teak oil once
a year as well, to keep them fresh.

How long does that take to 'dry' .. before it wouldn't mark clothes
etc? Can you also get a stain version (ie does it leave it looking
like pine?)

Good luck with it. I like the idea of resurrecting these types of things as
well.

Cheers fella ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:04:15 GMT, T i m wrote:

It fact it looks similar to this (or it did when new) a "Victorian
style bench" (appropriate as we live in a Victorian house?) ;-)

http://www.lxdirect.com/images/produ...s/ts224v28.jpg

What an ugly and uncomfortable looking thing. Although the Victorian
originals can be pretty nice, this one has those weird and pointless
armrests and the front edge is less than comfortable. Perhaps omitting
that front slat would improve things? You don't want a seat that puts
pressure onto the back of your calves.

If you want to restore it, then re-planking it is standard maintenance.
You'll also get a _much_ better seat than the usual B&Q product with
wobbly eucalyptus slats.

For timber, go to a decent timberyard and get some ipe. You can also
have it milled to suit for not much more money.

For a cheaper and UK-grown alternative, use larch and expect to select
3/4 of the timber you receive and discard the rest (or find a yard that
lets you pick beforehand). Larch is soft enough that hand-planing will
give you rounded slats in little time and effort.

Don't use pre-treated timber. Don't use pine or spruce. Sweet chestnut
would work well, if you have access to it.

Nail the slats in place with copper (a bit soft) or bronze (boatyard)
nails. Or else stainless screws.

Finish with danish oil, or a decent outdoor varnish. You might like to
search out a real traditional linseed-oil based product, as these last
well and weather far more nicely than petrochemical resins. Try Organoil
from Axminster too. Don't use teak oil, except on real teak or maybe
ipe.