General Upgrades & Ideas

[Pelado]

What did you try that wasn't effective? Your bare hands?

I had a brilliant idea about cutting a grid pattern in the stump with the circular saw that was much less effective in practice than it was in my mind.

[Copelius]

I had a brilliant idea about cutting a grid pattern in the stump with the circular saw that was much less effective in practice than it was in my mind.

I have done similar with much smaller stumps. Didn't work out for me either, even trying to use a sledge once the crosscutting was done.

[Moliere]

FYI, your call on using a power planer is the right call. I have one and use it mostly for outside projects. I spent the better part of an hour yesterday planing down a raised root. It worked well. The epoxy is a good call on the boards. I just hope they are dry or you might have issues with them in the future, but if rustic is the look you are going for you’ll probably be fine with it.

[Pelado]

FYI, your call on using a power planer is the right call. I have one and use it mostly for outside projects. I spent the better part of an hour yesterday planing down a raised root. It worked well. The epoxy is a good call on the boards. I just hope they are dry or you might have issues with them in the future, but if rustic is the look you are going for you’ll probably be fine with it.

The boards should definitely be dry. I was actually more concerned about rot and/or bug damage.

Looking at the current state of the epoxy, I'm not particularly pleased. When I first poured out the epoxy, I made sure to break the surface tension everywhere with my gloved hand. In spots, it seems to have soaked up the epoxy so much that it feels and looks although no epoxy was applied at all. In other places, the epoxy is pooled as if there were surface tension preventing it from free flowing and self-leveling. I noticed the potential for that while it was setting, but didn't want to introduce more air bubbles trying to manipulate it more than I already had.

I might need to do another round or two of epoxy before I move onto the polyurethane since the boards aren't nearly as smooth as I was expecting them to be.

Thank goodness I'm going for rustic.

[Pelado]

The boards should definitely be dry. I was actually more concerned about rot and/or bug damage.

Looking at the current state of the epoxy, I'm not particularly pleased. When I first poured out the epoxy, I made sure to break the surface tension everywhere with my gloved hand. In spots, it seems to have soaked up the epoxy so much that it feels and looks although no epoxy was applied at all. In other places, the epoxy is pooled as if there were surface tension preventing it from free flowing and self-leveling. I noticed the potential for that while it was setting, but didn't want to introduce more air bubbles trying to manipulate it more than I already had.

I might need to do another round or two of epoxy before I move onto the polyurethane since the boards aren't nearly as smooth as I was expecting them to be.

Thank goodness I'm going for rustic.

I'm feeling better about the epoxy right now.

I lightly sanded each board with 220 grit Cubitron paper using a random orbital sander and then used isopropyl alcohol to wipe off the residue. I didn't bother with the tape dams this time.

I mixed up a smaller batch of epoxy and poured a small quantity of epoxy on the first board, then rolled the epoxy out over the board. I continued that process with each subsequent board and then continued rolling the epoxy around the various boards for at least an hour or two.

The epoxy is still drying, so maybe this is premature, but it's looking a lot closer to what I wanted now.

20240611_083312.jpg

[Moliere]

Looks pretty good!

[Pelado]

I'm feeling better about the epoxy right now.

I lightly sanded each board with 220 grit Cubitron paper using a random orbital sander and then used isopropyl alcohol to wipe off the residue. I didn't bother with the tape dams this time.

I mixed up a smaller batch of epoxy and poured a small quantity of epoxy on the first board, then rolled the epoxy out over the board. I continued that process with each subsequent board and then continued rolling the epoxy around the various boards for at least an hour or two.

The epoxy is still drying, so maybe this is premature, but it's looking a lot closer to what I wanted now.

20240611_083312.jpg

The second round of epoxy was much better than the first, but not perfect. There are still a few small spots on the top surface that absorbed all the epoxy, making thise spots rough to the touch. Additionally, I didn't get a consistent coating of epoxy on the sides, so it's blotchy there.

I'm considering another round of epoxy, but am leaning more towards just doing a few layers of sprayed polyurethane.

I got the legs on the two flat-ish slabs. I drilled a hole using a 1-inch forster bit near each of the four corners on the bottom surface of the two slabs.

I perused the firewood pile and found a few pieces of the appropriate width and length for legs. I was planning to remove all the bark and whittle down to bare wood so I removed as much bark as I could by hand. I haven't removed the rest of the bark, though, so the surface of each leg looks somewhat inconsistent. I'm leaning toward just spraying it as is.

After squaring off the ends of each prospective leg on the miter saw, I chisled away material from the top 1-2 inches, leaving a cylinder of approximately 1-inch diameter to act as a tenon. In retrospect, it probably would have been quicker, easier, and maybe even stronger to use dowels instead.

On the first slab I did (the wider one) I was a bit too anxious to start gluing, so I didn't do any planing on the bottom surface of the slab. Once the legs were glued in, I started worrying a bit about the gaps. I considered waiting until the glue dried and then filling them with epoxy but opted instead for packing the gaps with a homemade filler - the wood shavings from planing the narrower slab mixed with Titebond 3 wood glue. The joints feel very solid now.

Im still considering what to use for legs on the other two slabs as well as what joint to use. I'm thinking to just use a single round of repurposed firewood (5-8 inches in diameter) for each side of each slab. I'm thinking to use the router to remove an inch or two of depth on the bottom surface of each slab to allow the round to seat into the area. But I'm open to suggestions.
20240617_150023.jpg 20240617_150015.jpg 20240617_150153.jpg

[Donuthole]

Im still considering what to use for legs on the other two slabs as well as what joint to use. I'm thinking to just use a single round of repurposed firewood (5-8 inches in diameter) for each side of each slab. I'm thinking to use the router to remove an inch or two of depth on the bottom surface of each slab to allow the round to seat into the area. But I'm open to suggestions.

I would find a piece of firewood at least 10" in diameter and cut it into two pieces to make the fat legs. Then, at the ends where you cut it, where the wood is exactly the same thickness, chamfer the end to a depth of about 1.25". Measure your chamfered circle and router the same size circles into the bottom of the bench seat about 1" deep. Dry fit it to make sure it's reasonably tight, then glue the crap out of it and pound it together. Maybe clamp or use weights for continuous pressure.

[Pelado]

I would find a piece of firewood at least 10" in diameter and cut it into two pieces to make the fat legs. Then, at the ends where you cut it, where the wood is exactly the same thickness, chamfer the end to a depth of about 1.25". Measure your chamfered circle and router the same size circles into the bottom of the bench seat about 1" deep. Dry fit it to make sure it's reasonably tight, then glue the crap out of it and pound it together. Maybe clamp or use weights for continuous pressure.

I like it. the wider log will provide greater stability and using half of it as one leg and half as the other leg should make the piece look more consistent, too. I'm not sure what benefit will be derived from the chamfered edge, though. Please enlighten me, if possible.

[Donuthole]

I like it. the wider log will provide greater stability and using half of it as one leg and half as the other leg should make the piece look more consistent, too. I'm not sure what benefit will be derived from the chamfered edge, though. Please enlighten me, if possible.

Your log won’t be perfectly round. By routering it to a perfect round you’ll be able to replicate the shape in your routered inset. I think chamfering the end of the routered end will make it easier to slide fully into the routered inset. You could also just bevel it. But something to taper the last 1/4” of the end to make it easier to slot in.

EDIT: I’m envisioning a profile like this:
IMG_6654.jpeg

[Pelado]

Your log won’t be perfectly round. By routering it to a perfect round you’ll be able to replicate the shape in your routered inset. I think chamfering the end of the routered end will make it easier to slide fully into the routered inset. You could also just bevel it. But something to taper the last 1/4” of the end to make it easier to slot in.

EDIT: I’m envisioning a profile like this:
IMG_6654.jpeg

Thanks for the diagram and explainer.

The chamfer or bevel might make it easier to slot in, but if I leave each half-log with just the inverse of the routered inset, then that should leave me with a tighter mechanical fit, more glueable surface area, and - I would think - a more solid joint.

[Bo Diddley]

And let the record show after P-lad passed up such a softball he might just be growing up.

[Pelado]

And let the record show after P-lad passed up such a softball he might just be growing up.

[happyone]

I mention somewhere that my middle daughter has been living with us trying to save up enough to by a condo. With housing prices/interest rates it seems that she just can't come up with enough to move out. To solve that problem, we are putting a ADU in the back yard for her. We have the footing poured and are waiting pouring of the slab. It will be two bedrooms, a single bath, living area/kitchen - roughly 650 sq ft.
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I couldn't believe the cost. We got 4 bids and the lowest was $200K and the highest $350K. we took the one for the gentleman who did our kitchen/garage -$215 and that is without land costs

No wonder kids can't a ford to buy a home!

[Pelado]

I found a couple of viable logs from the firewood pile and split them each down the middle with the chainsaw. I then planed the cut surfaces. I used an angle grinder with flap disk to sand off some rot and stubborn bark. I used the miter saw to square off the top and bottom of each piece.

On one set, I cut about an inch into the half-logs about an inch and a half down from the top. Then I chiseled that material away. As I was displaying my progress to my son, he mocked me, asking why I was bothering with saws and chisels instead of using the trim router or the router table. On the other set of half-logs, I formed the tenons with the router table. I'll let you guess which set is which.

20240623_194826.jpg

The next steps were flattening the ends of the slab and then routing out the mortise on each end. I built a router sled using a couple of 3-foot long pieces of angled aluminum and some scrap plywood to assist me in those pursuits.

20240624_004646.jpg

For the flattening, I used 2x4s as the rails for the sled. I removed half the required material on one side in one pass and then lowered the bit and removed the remainder. When I switched to the other side, I was a bit too ambitious. Rather than remove the material in a couple of passes, I tried to just go more slowly but at the full depth. Not a good idea.

The bit started to vibrate and it came loose from the collet, sinking down and cutting deep gouges into the workpiece. I'm somewhat lucky the only damage was to the slab.

After letting the bit cool a bit and then tightening it back down, I started the corrective measures of removing a lot more material. After finally (mostly) leveling out the ends, I switched to 2x3s as the rails for the router sled (as pictured above). That allowed me to extend the bit deep enough to carve out the mortises.

I then applied plenty of lubricant glue and inserted each tenon deep into its respective mortise and then balanced some plywood on top of the new legs and weighed the plywood down with the other slab.

20240624_010413.jpg
Here it is as of earlier today:

20240624_122614.jpg
I still need to carve the mortises on the last slab and glue it up. After that, I'll sand all the benches and then spray a few layers of polyurethane to protect the wood and epoxy. And then the benches will finally be ready to live outside by the firepit.