Joinery for Outdoor Bench

[LineLefty]

I promise one day I will contribute to this forum rather than constantly asking questions!

I'm making an outdoor bench out of recycled redgum house stumps and pergola timber. Dimensions 1000mm x 500mm

It's basically just a small robust table base with a slatted top but I'm unsure how to attach the aprons to the legs.

I dont have any morticeing chisels etc, and as this i an outdoor seat it is not the project to be developing my M&T skills. I'm thinking of joining using this technique. With water proof glue and stainless steel screws. Any reasons why this wouldnt work? Bear in mind that the timber is all way over size. 100x100 stumps and 35x40 aprons.

[jow104]

To me it appears more complicated than designing the project using traditional mortice and tenon joints.

[LineLefty]

Not really, it basically involves cutting the two notches in each leg with a ryoba and glue/screwing the aprons in.

[NewLou]

This is a bit of the subject lefty but im wondering how did you draw your thumbnail? Something simple that I can use on my PC for planning like you've done is just what i'm looking for? (that is if I don't need to be a scientist to use it :-)

[Rocker]

Linelefty,

It seems to me that the joinery you suggest is likely to be far less weather-resistant than mortice-and-tenon joinery, since it ill be easy for moisture to enter the end-grain of the legs. Also, the joinery you suggest would not be risistant to racking; so after a short time your bench would become wobbly.

Mortice and tenon joinery is really quite easy, if you use a router to cut the mortices. If you use floating tenons, you don't need to worry about cutting tenons accurately.

Look up 'Morticing Jig Lite' in the jigs forum for a simple morticing jig that you can build in an hour.

Rocker

[fran]

Lefty

Why not just put the aprons on the outside of the legs and bolt them right through the legs with Gal. bolts. Stronger, less likely to rot, easyer.

Frank

[LineLefty]

funny how threads just burst into life again.

The bench is done and dusted and holding up quite nice. It's only 1m long and the wood is much thicker than it nees to be so it hasnt become wobbly, yet, steady as a rock in fact.

The reason I didnt use M&T or a beadlock joint was because I wasnt confident with a glue only joint outside. But I've since learnt otherwise.

See this thread for the completed bench:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=9778

Btw, that picture is just powerpoint. I dont have any access to any 3d gear at work...