Teak Bench Set

[BobbyMike]

Just got the O.K. from a client on a new project, a teak bench set. All the stock is going to be teak, most of it almost 4" square, mortised and tenoned together.

It's an exciting project for me so I wanted to share. I'll be ordering almost $6000 worth of stock (over 1500 lbs. of teak) to make this set.

This is for a pair of "dream clients", you know the ones that value good workmanship and design, don't quibble about the price and most importantly are clear about what they want.

I'll post photos as the project moves along.

[MoparNorm]

Cool!
I'd like to see photos as you go!
MN

[BobbyMike]

Finally moving on with the project. Client decided that $10,000 for the wood was too much to swallow (they were willing to go up to $6,000). We looked for a suitable replacement wood and ended up going with White Oak. Not as durable, but much more acceptable in price.
I had a local sawmill cut me some 16/4 x 4" and 12/4 x 10" timbers.


Very pretty!

[BobbyMike]

Since the benches will be made using mortise and tenon joints only, I decided to save myself and buy a mortiser. I went with a benchtop model from Wilke machinery (they had a nicer freestanding model, but it's almost twice as much). I ended up having to modify it to get it to work for this application. The clamping system they use is nice, but wouldn't open up to fit the wide pieces I'm using (by barely 1/8th of an inch). I drilled and tapped two new holes (ones closest to the right in the first picture). The "dust" you see on the metal is actually wax. I like to wax all my tool surfaces now, to help cut down on surface rust.

What the clamp looks like....

[BobbyMike]

I also had to make a bushing to fit the arbor so I could use a nicer set of mortise chisel/drills that I had. The set had smaller diameter shafts than the ones that the mortiser used. I sat down with a cup of coffee and thunk a bit.
I have minimal metal working tools. What I ended up doing was taking a piece of "black gas pipe" (actually a piece from a bent pipe that came from a Pony clamp set) and grinding it down very carefully to the right diameter. The interior just needed a little cleaning, and I had to drill a hole so that the set screw could hold the mortise chisel shaft.
The arbor as it is "naturally....

The Bushing....


Yes, I did grind a beveled chamfer on the ends of the bushing.

[BobbyMike]

And finally, both together....


Surprisingly (at least to me), it works great.

Next I have about a week of laying and marking out all the joints. Then a day or two of cutting, than final assembly .Not that it means that I'll be finished with this project next week ;). No metal fasteners or adhesives will be used.

[BobbyMike]

Forgot to mention that I used my dads old Craftsman Tap and Die set. He gave it to me 3 years ago (he has Alzhiemer's and wanted me to have his tools before he forgot that he had them and they got "lost"). It was the first time I had used them. They had been in a flood (he lives in Houston) so there was some rust to be dealt with, but they cleaned up nicely. One of the reasons that I like nice tools. I believe it's the same set he had when I was in High School. If I treat it right, I can pass it on to one of my sons (or even my daughter if she ends up being crazy like me).

[Gordon Maney]

This is a marvelous thread, and exactly the sort of thing I hoped would occur in this forum.

Please continue....

[BobbyMike]

No pictures today, maybe later. At this point I've cut all the 16/4 x 4" lumber into pieces and sanded the wood with 60 grit paper. I've marked the mortises and started chiseling them out. The mortiser has been a huge time saver. With approximately forty (40) mortises left to do, that's important. Complicating matters is that a friend (who runs the Millay colony, an artists retreat set up at the estate of Edna St. Vincent Millay), has asked me to remake 4 doors before a planned event on the 30th. These are doors that were custom made for the newer buildings (about 10 years ago) that were never properly sealed, so they rotted. Lots of restoration work to be done (in the future) on the estate if I fit this into my schedule. As the estate is just up the mountain from my studio, it seems like a good fit.
I contacted a local glass shop about replacing one of the 27" x 67" thermopane units that the doors use and mentioned my cracked M37 passenger window. He's going to replace it for about $50. Says if I get there early in the day I can wait while he does it, or I can drop the unit off and pick it up later. I think I'll do that before the weather starts to get colder.

[BobbyMike]

Update

I've finished with the two small benches (except for the armrests and decorative arches). I'll try to remember to take some pictures of the mortiser in action. It's amazing how much faster it is to use. Water is still migrating out of the oak, but hasn't been a problem so far.
I've been pegging some of the joints with oak dowels I've made. I bought "dowel maker" from Lee Valley Tools (basically a big pencil sharpener-looking tool) so I could make consistent dowels out of the same oak I'm using. Much quicker (and nicer looking) than roughing one out with a knife.
I had to buy a zero-clearance insert for my tablesaw. I had made one out of some 1/8" birch-ply that I had in the shop because "I had it". Dumb move. The ply didn't hold up very well when I was cutting some 3 1/2" Ipe blocks. The kickback was very nasty. It jammed the pushstick I was holding so hard that I have a bruise in my palm. The Ipe ended up lodged half way thru the insert. Ouch.

[Sickcall]

That a great bench with awesome workmanship. Hopefully you will be able to use all your new equipment on the next project.

I have always used pure silicone spray on my tools to keep the work pieces moving and stop the rusting. It does not seam to harm the wood for future finishe application. I would be afraid that wax may get into the grain and cause problems latter. Is there enough finish work that you do not have to worry about this?

[BobbyMike]

That a great bench with awesome workmanship. Hopefully you will be able to use all your new equipment on the next project.

I have always used pure silicone spray on my tools to keep the work pieces moving and stop the rusting. It does not seam to harm the wood for future finishe application. I would be afraid that wax may get into the grain and cause problems latter. Is there enough finish work that you do not have to worry about this?

The wax is hard, any that sticks to the wood will be sanded off. Silicone is a big no-no for most wood finishes according to what I've read in various articles (Fine Woodworking, etc.). It can cause clouding (and worse).
This bench is a little different because I'll be treating it with Penofin (or something similar) and won't be trying for a "finish" like I would for an interior piece.

I also just like using the wax. I usually use white lithium grease for moving parts, and then either wd-40 or silicone to free things up.

[DDEMILLE]

Silicone

The problem with silicone is that it can't be broken down by ordinary (or anything I know of) cleaners, heat, etc. It will cause paint and other finishes to form "fish eyes". Any paint shop I've ever been in will not allow silicone in the building. Eastman Kodak will not allow silicone anywhere in Kodak Park (the largest manufacturing facility on the east coast) because of what it can do to film and photo paper.
Doug

[Sickcall]

I guess I should have qualified my question in that most of the tools I use have been in rough framing and outdoors. The fine craftmanship of a quality furniture piece sure would be different.

That brings back the memory of the fish eye remover I would use when painting trucks in high school.

[BobbyMike]

Thanks for the technical info on the silicone, Doug. My can of silicone might be heading over to the other shop now.