As Paul often quotes ‘it is not what you make, but how you make that determines the outcome,’ and that’s what’s presented in this final episode as we shape and fit the slats on the main bench, space them and fasten them in place.
This garden bench is to be held together by drawbore pegs and some outdoor screws. This is the episode where the garden bench really starts to take its final shape.
Paul starts by cutting and shaping the spindles. He then works on housing the central support rail in the front and back rails, and shapes the arches on the back support and the front and back rails.
Paul completes the joinery on the arms by laying out and cutting the mortise and tenon which fits them to the front legs. He then shapes the arms. Next up, Paul cuts the curves in the end rails, top and bottom. After laying out and cutting the mortises for the back support, Paul demonstrates his method for defining the curves needed on the long rails and back. He then begins the process of boring the recesses for the slats.
In this episode, Paul shows how to lay out the joinery for the arm.
It’s the first episode of a new series and Paul is addressing the initial mortise and tenon stages in the Garden Bench build.
With the garden looking decidedly bright and beautiful, Paul brings us this perfectly formed Garden Bench. The use of drawbore joinery means that no glue is used in this project. On the aesthetic side, it showcases those subtle touches that Paul is so adept at using to bring a piece together and elevate it above the merely functional. It’s also very comfy.