OK, this was SUPPOSED to be a quick project… a bench for MakeICT… if there’s a place for it that makes sense… would be nice to have a place to sit and look at the creek. Otherwise, I could chuck it up on Marketplace.
The thing is that I ran into 2 concerns… any advice would be helpful.
Firstly: The wood needs to be planed. First, I DREAD large area sanding. If we had a wide planer, I’d shove it through that. I could throw it on the ShopBot, but I don’t want it to get torn up. I guess I could do light passes with the surfacing bit. I suppose a planer would be just as risky. I have to measure it to see if it will fit in the new drum sander.
Secondly: I’m concerned about lateral movement on the legs… I’m not sure what the best way to sure it up would be.
Nice work so far. Is it too wide to fit in the planer? Kind of hard to judge from the picture but it looks like it would fit. EDIT: Sorry I just fully read it rather than skimmed it.
The was a drill-powered (or something), homegrown one that wasn’t quite really ever up in recent history. There is a generously donated one that is currently keeping the boiler company while it awaits a dust collection setup.
Yes, too wide.
I think if I figure out a good work-holding solution that I can pause and move mid-operation, doing light passes with the ShopBot may be the most straightforward for me.
As far as the legs go, I’ll just strap those on and see how it fares! No reason I can’t redrill holes in the leg tops to be exactly where each slat is.
That’s definitely exciting to hear. I’ve wanted to mess with one for a while but they’re so dang expensive.
I agree shopbot would be the way to go then. You could use a couple pieces of plywood on the sides squared up and screwed down to make a track to place the bench in between. Then you could slide it when you need to move it. Hopefully that makes sense, I’m bad at explaining stuff in my head.
Overall looks great and I agree that the creek needs a bench. I enjoy looking at it when I’m out there in my car. I’d sit on that on the nicer days/nights that Kansas occasionally gives us.
Just a note of clarification…the city (or county or state or some governmental entity) mows from the tree line down to the creek’s edge. I think it will have to be on the part we mow, up at the trees. Not 100% sure on the rules there, but something to be aware of.
The biggest issue I see with the shop not is tear out. That can be minimized a bit with tool path management. I might also suggest running a roundover bit around all the edges to make it easier on the legs. That also makes tear out less of a concern.
