This park bench came with the house. It's been holding up fine, but someone had painted it with the same deck paint that was used on the rest of the back porch. So I decided to make some new slats for it from some Black Locust that I milled last year. It's currently unfinished - I'll probably go with some spar varnish. I need to take a trip to the hardware store for a few supplies to finish up.
I have one that needs doing over. Was wondering what type of wood to put on it. If I get wood from HD or Lowes, what wood should I get?
Cherry, walnut, cedar, and Doug Fir should all hold up well. I'd probably go with cherry as the color tends to deepen with exposure to the sun and elements.
Depends on the the intended use. Most any wood if cared for and off the ground will last a decade or two. Pressure treated is another option. Just dry it well before use. You can paint or stain it however you want.
White Oak (not red) has very good weather resistance. Won't find it at HD, but it should be easier to find than black locust at any local lumber supplier/mill. If you were closer I have a stash of kiln-dried you could pick from. Maybe give a call to LaPointe Lumber or NC Hunt and see what they have. Google
Really nice job, Shawn. Looks amazing! I've got one that needs a lotta TLC as well. I think I've put off the project for about ten years now. Luckily, no one sits on it.
Nice work! Should be able to pass that thing along to future generations now! Now that reminds me, I have a bench needin cleaned up and stained...
thank you. I want to do the make over, but don't want to waste my money on something that won't last.
Locust or Teak will last a more than a lifetime. White oak will last at least a lifetime and costs a lot less.
Here's a brief research paper from US Forest Products Laboratory on decay resistance in native wood species: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gggMAA&usg=AFQjCNHIf3PpYeqiREYOabgPxfk9Shu9cA With the exception of Doug Fir, all of the species I listed fall into the resistant to highly resistant category.
My MIL has the same bench and I have some BL set aside for it. BL kills my planer blades quick....have you noticed that too?
Actually it seemed to machine quite nicely, except for the end grain. However, I expected that to be the case, given what it does to my chainsaw chains. So I did most of the milling with my jointer, and carbide tipped saws, in order to limit the number of times I needed to run it through the planer. Roy Underhill advises that it's best to do the majority of your milling with your tools that are the easiest to sharpen.
Black locust and white oak both contain a large number of tyloses in their vessels (BL>WO) which is largely responsible for the water- and weather resistance of these two species. These will dull HSS blades faster than wood with few or no tyloses, poplar, pine... They kind of act like grains of sand in sandpaper. Interestingly, not all "white oak" is created equal. True white oak, Quercus alba has a very high content of tyloses, hence, it is very water tight, which means that it is good for making barrels, sailing ships and also explains why it dries so slowly on the firewood stacks. However, chestnut oak, Quercus prinus, which is also a "white oak" actually has very few tyloses and is as such is slightly less water and weather resistant, similar to red oak. But, as Shawn says, these are all relative terms. You will notice that chestnut oak is still rated as "resistant or very resistant" to decay. That's in comparison to "slightly or non-resistant" species like basswood, cottonwood, willow... So, basically, any decent hardwood will be fine outside if it is kept off the ground. Spar varnish helps seal out moisture and absorbs U.V radiation, but is not entirely necessary with with some of the better woods like black loust, teak, white oak.
