Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A Place to Sit Outside - Benches

Slightly off the usual topic of outdoor pursuit but relevant I think. For whatever reason, I seem to make a lot of benches. Benches are great for sitting outside and playing guitar because you have room to maneuver the guitar body and neck away from the arms.

Traditional bench desig for outdoors.I posted this earlier about the Leopold bench I made from scrap wood because I always wanted to make one. It is a great, simplistic design and I love it for that.

I have made several follow this more traditional design. I've made them in varying lengths, always out of cedar. They seem to hold up well, are comfortable and just "look right."
Cedar Bench, Long


Another less traditional one is this. Like the Leopold bench, it was made out of scrap wood, 4 X 4's form a swing-set in this case. Another that's in the works is a retaining wall that doubles as a bench. Not quite finished yet. If you see any interesting benches, particularly made out of recycled or reclaimed materials, please share.

Cinder block and 4X4 bench