The Hounds Bench
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- This topic has 24 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 9 months ago by harry wheeler.
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thanks, I used regular PVA white glue, not titebond, it was pressure treated pine what I used, the wood was free so I can’t complain, doug fir would be a far better choice though, I made mine really as a prototype but never really got round to building the proper version.
16 July 2018 at 1:00 pm #549414I really don’t think you’ll need to do anything to it other than glue it up. That joint is incredibly strong and with material that thick that fits that well, all the talk about racking is simple codswallop as Paul would say. If the seat ever needed re-leveling, that’s easy and quick to do with a #4. Are you planning on putting a protective finish on it or just letting it weather?
Harry, I appreciate the experience you bring to the discussions, but perhaps you take your opinions a bit too far at times towards “there is one and only one understanding?” Maybe there are other things afoot than you happen to be seeing in your reading?
The mention of racking is not codswallop in this thread. The original poster commented that he built without reflecting on how the joinery would affect things. This bench is going to be perfectly fine. I think I may agree with you that either orientation of the DT will be equally good. It is going to last forever if the weather doesn’t eat it. But that is only because of its mass. It is going to do well despite the choice of joinery.
Since the original poster said he hadn’t reflected on joinery, I raised the general issue of racking. It is the first consideration for any kind of seating. If he goes on to build other projects that aren’t so massive, he will be glad to have had someone say something to him. There is a reason why chairs and seating generally are not heavily dependent upon dovetails. Chair design is centered on design against racking, so it generally uses mortise and tenon. M&T is stronger against racking than DT. It also has high tensile strength. Because of the tensile strength, the chair can be built with considerations similar to trusses.
Someone said it’s not a chair. Correct, but it’s a chair without a back. It does not face the rearward racking that a chair would, but it faces the side-to-side racking of any seating. The perfect load is vertical, but the true load has people plopping on, scooting side to side, leaning to get things from pockets, and standing on the seat.
If you show me seating, my first consideration will be racking. Always. In this case, it wasn’t an issue because of mass. It’s a beautiful project that will last a long time.
Thanks all for your inputs it’s given me loads more than I had started with. It’s always helpful to see differing perspectives/experience. Time and use will be the biggest test for this bench – please keep sharing your insights and be kind to eachother because at the end of the day it’s a bench, not a personal thing.
16 July 2018 at 5:24 pm #549431Sorry Ed. You have my apologies. I was simply curious about the joint orientation.
16 July 2018 at 8:43 pm #549437I think that would work. You might consider staining it first and then go over the top with spar varnish. Doing that will most definitely highlight the dovetails as soon as the stain hits that end grain. Soft wood can get pretty blotchy when you stain it though so experiment with some scrap first. Sometimes you need to apply a pre-stain conditioner to help avoid that. You just have to play with it and see. Maybe consult with the local paint store to see what they recommend and be sure to put up some pictures when you’re done.
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