Teal has wanted a bench by the front door to use when putting on shoes. This would be better than sitting on the stairs.
Last time we were at Kettle Moraine Hardwoods, the local lumber mill, we came across an interesting Elm slab that was about the right size. So it went in the truck with the rest of the lumber. Our floors are Red Elm, so this complements them nicely.
The slab had cracks in it due to the knots. The largest cracks was filled with some matching fine sawdust. All of the cracks were then flooded a few times with thin Cyanoacrylate glue. The slab was then planned and belt sanded.
Teal wanted the front edge left as a live edge, but it still needed some clean up. This was done with spokeshaves and sandpaper. The edges were rounded over with a block plane.
The top was finished with: two coats of Bona DTS sealer, lightly scraped between coats to get rid of the raised grain fibers, and then sanded with 220 grit. Then, two coats of General Finishes Enduovar Polyurethane Matte lustre finish were applied. These were all brushed on as this small surface area did not justify breaking out the sprayer.
The legs were a bit of a problem as there is a heating duct coming up right were one of the legs should go. This lead to an unconventional design idea. The legs would be curved, and support it in the front and a ledger bar screwed to the wall in the back.
The legs are made from two 1/8″ sheets of steel. The template was made fr0m 1/8″ hardboard. The curves were made with the aid of a thin batten (wood strip) that was bent to shape and traced. The template was cut out on the bandsaw and the edges sanded smooth. The steel sheets were stacked and the template clamped to them and the pieces were then cut with the plasma cutter (and it was snowing again that day).
The edges of the steel were ground clean. It is very hard to weld through the plasma cut edge as is as the steel forms a nitride / oxide coating during the plasma cutting.
The bottom end of the “Y” was also spaced apart. This gives the legs a bit of a flair. 1 small scrap of 1/8″ steel was placed in for the first 3 inches or so.
The edges were then TIG welded shut and ground to a nice curve.
The top of the legs is a piece of 1/8×1″ steel and the feet are 1/4x1x3″ steel. These had the corners rounded, holes drilled in the top pieces and then were also TIG welded onto the legs.
Given that I am new to TIG welding, through the process I stuck the tungsten tip more than once. The TIG welding process has a bit of learning curve, especially for someone that does not chew gum, as that would preclude walking for me. Managing the torch and then adding the filler rod without getting the electrode contaminated is a bit of a trick and I also roasted my fingers a few times in the process. Once the electrode is contaminated, definitely stop and change it out, trying to make do, just makes a mess and things get way too hot. I can safely say my tungsten grinding skills are now quite good. Welding will take more practice, but I did get a few really nice beads along the way. I think getting a really nice bead now and then helps suck you in and makes you forget the frustrations of the learning process.
Afterwards the legs were given one more pass with an 80 grit flap disk and were ready for painting. One coat of primer and 2 coats of satin black. I like the Rustoleum Pro spray paints for this. They dry fast and hard and have a decent re-coat window. I have used these for most of my tool builds & rebuilds.
