Terrace Storage Bench

[RC]

I'm finally getting ready to build the storage benches I've been talking about all winter so I thought I'd start by posting the current Sketchup drawing of it. It's very simple in design and I'm planing on doing most of the joinery with my M-size Domino [tongue] and glue. The main exception being the lid boards which I was planning on screwing from under the cross supports so that no screws are visible externally.

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What I'm wondering is that is there a best practise with regards to the lid - box fitting? i.e. should I run the front edge to an angle of somesorts to help the lid close into a known position of should I just rely on putting in sturdy enough hinges at the back so that it won't be able to twist in use?

All the boards you see in the picture are either 97mm x 47mm (2"x4") and 28mm x 120mm pressure treated pine.

 

[Steve R]

Nice design!  How are you going to handle water drainage? Not let it in to start or have bottom drain holes?

Cheers,
Steve

 

[RC]

The first two will be situated under a balcony, so direct exposure to rain should be rather infrequent (only if the balcony drain overflows or if its super windy) and both the box bottom as well as the side boards have gaps ranging from 4mm on the sides to 13mm on the bottom between every board to let air flow through the boxes so that humidity can get out of there.

I'll have to tweak the lid design to accommodate the balcony ones that are under direct exposure to all the elements - they still will need to air from underneath, but both the sides and the lid need to be rainproof from the get-go. Thought I'd practise with these two more sheltered ones and see what ideas I get with regards to the balcony ones. Altogether I'm looking at building four of these boxes.

 

[hobbes]

I like your mockup in Sketchup, it's looking good. Now the challenge is to realize it with real wood.

For the lid, I have two thoughts or suggestions... 1) consider rabbetting the edges so it forms a seal around the side of the bench (like a pot cover) OR 2) cut the sides with a slight angle so that should water form on the edges that it will be inclined (pun intended) to flow outwards all around the edges and let gravity help push out any moisture that starts to collect around the edges.

 

[Kev]

I've been considering something like this, but I'm now thinking more of a lighter bench and frame with "trundle" storage boxes. My thinking is the benches can be made to look more elegant and there's no issue with heavy hinged box lids or sealing, drainage, etc. Also the trundles could be rolled out and offer additional seating with a couple of appropriately spaces cushions ... further, they could be half width chiller box, dog food holder, etc as needed.

Our outside space needs are very different - so I'm not suggesting this should be for you ... just sharing my thinking.

Kev.

PS My thinking was to make the trundles out of ply with contrasting colours. They could also double as tables ...

 

[RC]

Good idea Kev especially if you have a concrete/tile terrace i.e. flat floor - unfortunately the Trundle idea doesn't work well with my wooden deck since the wheels would need to be too large to be able to run over the gaps of my deck boards.

I'm currently raking my head on how to lighten/thin the lid without losing structural strenght - I wonder if making the lids frame out of 2x2 instead of 2x4 and either leave the seat curve out or make it shallower (currently 1 1/4" depth) to still support three 120kg adults sitting on it at the same time. Also trying to figure the best way of rabbeting the edges to gain automatic location of the lid without loosing too much strength in thickness like Hobbes suggested.

This mock-up is actually drawn to exact measure and I'm working on making it into a proper construction plan with dimensions & joinery detailed in 3D - just hid all the details from the jpg export  [smile]

I do agree that realizing it in wood will be interesting since this is my first use of my Domino - need to wrap my head around the logic of the depth setting to align both the 2x4 and the 28x120 boards at the centreline of the frame [cool]

 

[Kev]

Good idea Kev especially if you have a concrete/tile terrace i.e. flat floor - unfortunately the Trundle idea doesn't work well with my wooden deck since the wheels would need to be too large to be able to run over the gaps of my deck boards.

I'm currently raking my head on how to lighten/thin the lid without losing structural strenght - I wonder if making the lids frame out of 2x2 instead of 2x4 and either leave the seat curve out or make it shallower (currently 1 1/4" depth) to still support three 120kg adults sitting on it at the same time. Also trying to figure the best way of rabbeting the edges to gain automatic location of the lid without loosing too much strength in thickness like Hobbes suggested.

This mock-up is actually drawn to exact measure and I'm working on making it into a proper construction plan with dimensions & joinery detailed in 3D - just hid all the details from the jpg export  [smile]

I do agree that realizing it in wood will be interesting since this is my first use of my Domino - need to wrap my head around the logic of the depth setting to align both the 2x4 and the 28x120 boards at the centreline of the frame [cool]

I have to say that 2x4, to me, seems like a very heavy frame profile for a bench. A lot comes down to the material you're using ... but I'd lean towards harder wood and reduce your profiles.

I'd also seriously consider panels v's planks for the boxes.

(yes I'm being highly critical, but I believe you value challenge thinking !)

Left field, look into gas struts for the seat bases and possibly look into some monster rare earth magnets to hold the front edge of the seat. (The struts would help with alignment and the magnets would lock stuff square).

I'm very interested to see how you progress with this as I have many "not so elegant" jobs to do before I can tackle my outdoor benches.

Kev.

 

[RC]

Well, I must confess that I'm being a bit tight fisted here and trying to utilize the left over materials from building the deck itself - the 2x4 are the cut-offs from the deck frame and 28x120 planks are the deck board material cut-offs that just happen to be uniformly 164,5cm long i.e. exactly 4,5mm more than needed for this first two boxes  [embarassed] I'm being a bit lazy here too and selecting dimensions to not have to rip a whole lot of material to a narrower width since they all have rounded edges as they are. (I do have the tools for that thou if needed.) If I had access to a planer/thicknesser I might consider thinning the planks down to shed weight, but since I don't I don't feel like doing the planing with my #4 Stanley by hand.

If I was going out to the lumber yard for this I'd definitely shoot for other dimensions and possibly other materials like panelling boards and water resistant ply to make solid walls and lid as well. Saving that for the dining table & chairs project for now [big grin]

 

[Mauri Motti]

Nice Reiska,
I like the design too. Hope you find some time and energy to document during your build. (I usually lack this)
Looking forward seeing more.
[popcorn]

 

[hobbes]

Kev, that's a good suggestion about the struts and magnets. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I build a big storage box. Where would one find small enough struts though? Auto supply store?

Reiska, one way to make it not so heavy in build and profile is to maybe dado the two top and bottom boards and replace the two middle boards (of the main box) with lighter panels or planks. You can even break those up as panels as Kev suggested. Though I'm not sure if that's they way he's saying it so I may be on a parallel track.

I also think it would be a good idea to at least vary the thickness of some of the pieces to lighten it up a little. Just keep the structural parts with the thick boards and the rest doesn't have to be so heavy duty. Yes, that does mean more work for you, but it's part of the journey right?  ;D And besides this gives you a chance to exercise even more of your tools.

 

[Kev]

Kev, that's a good suggestion about the struts and magnets. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I build a big storage box. Where would one find small enough struts though? Auto supply store?

Reiska, one way to make it not so heavy in build and profile is to maybe dado the two top and bottom boards and replace the two middle boards (of the main box) with lighter panels or planks. You can even break those up as panels as Kev suggested. Though I'm not sure if that's they way he's saying it so I may be on a parallel track.

I also think it would be a good idea to at least vary the thickness of some of the pieces to lighten it up a little. Just keep the structural parts with the thick boards and the rest doesn't have to be so heavy duty. Yes, that does mean more work for you, but it's part of the journey right?  ;D And besides this gives you a chance to exercise even more of your tools.

http://www.amazon.com/Amico-140mm-Stroke-Spring-Damper/dp/B007PP37OO

"Gas strut lift spring" is the best search phrase.

The biggest worry to me with such heavy lids is fingers ... or not having them any more  [eek]

 

[RC]

Left field, look into gas struts for the seat bases and possibly look into some monster rare earth magnets to hold the front edge of the seat. (The struts would help with alignment and the magnets would lock stuff square).

That is a brilliant idea - I was thinking on putting some sort of folding stops on the lid because behind them are the living room and kitchen windows which I would not want to break by letting the lid slip  [eek] These hatchback gas pumps would actually work in my favour both in lightening the opening force as well as working as limit stops for the opening of the lid.

Not so sure about the magnets thou - at least the ones I've seen here in stores are so weak that they barely keep an A4 stuck to the fridge door... Maybe you have larger/more powerful ones down under or I've been looking in the wrong places [unsure]

 

[Kev]

Left field, look into gas struts for the seat bases and possibly look into some monster rare earth magnets to hold the front edge of the seat. (The struts would help with alignment and the magnets would lock stuff square).

That is a brilliant idea - I was thinking on putting some sort of folding stops on the lid because behind them are the living room and kitchen windows which I would not want to break by letting the lid slip  [eek] These hatchback gas pumps would actually work in my favour both in lightening the opening force as well as working as limit stops for the opening of the lid.

Not so sure about the magnets thou - at least the ones I've seen here in stores are so weak that they barely keep an A4 stuck to the fridge door... Maybe you have larger/more powerful ones down under or I've been looking in the wrong places [unsure]

Search for "Neodymium Magnets" if you are interested. Quality will vary and they'll often get lost in the post! (I'd bet there's a few post boxes out there with rare earth magnets stuck inside  [big grin]

For the US ... http://www.magnetsource.com/Consumer%20Pages/NeoLatchKitsHS.html

These guys may be an option for Europe ... http://www.magnetukonline.com/

... maybe http://www.magnetukonline.com/products.asp?v06en0tr=EE&v06T4172=FM&v06cntr=D

 

[hobbes]

Thanks Kev for the link. I should have thought about Amazon, my bottomless store.

Reiska, you can use neodymium magnets (also available from Amazon among many other places). They are super strong and come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Just be sure to strongly secure them to the bench so none of that gets pulled out by little kids or it's very bad news if they ingest them.

Opps...I didn't see Kev's comment before posting the above... it's almost a copy of what he said..haha

 

[RC]

It's been a really slow start, but finally managed to make some sawdust for a change. First mock-up ends for visualization:

 

[Kev]

It's been a really slow start, but finally managed to make some sawdust for a change. First mock-up ends for visualization:

I'm guessing they're not your crocs  [smile]

 

[RC]

I just have small feet  [tongue]

 

[RC]

Dry fit of the box ends and centre divider:

Next up box bottoms and fronts tomorrow if it doesn't rain ;-)

 

[RC]

Ah, took me a while to sort through the pictures I took while building the trial version of this box but here comes some project pics:

I was very impressed with the cut quality of the TS55 on the MFT track that I didn't even bother to dig out my mitre saw to cut the lumber to lenght:
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Then I batch cut the end pieces that happened to be uniform lenght both vertically and horizontally:
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Did the same with the long sides and pulled my domino out to do all the mortices ready:
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Glue-up of the ends:
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And glue-up of the lid:
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Since at the time I was putting this together I didn't have long enough clamps I just whacked it with a rubber mallet and let gravity do it's work. Not perfect, but good enough.
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Box before final sanding put together and routed the finger holes:
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Stay-open hinges installed:
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And finally a couple of SketchUp drawings of what it was supposed to look like:
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Unfortunately I had enough trouble with getting readable dimensioning in SketchUp that I need to redraw the plans entirely for the longer second version with multiple views and hidden dimensions per view to make heads or tails of them.

Next I need to decide what to put on it - I'm thinking of maybe trying some sort of colourless or slightly brown deck oil or maybe something from Osmo (any suggestions?)

 

[Mauri Motti]

For some reason I missed this update but stumbled upon it anyway. Thanks for posting the pics Reiska, nice to see what's going on!
When I go to the lumber yard I try to select the woods with it's hart removed from the board or beam. I guess you know it prevents it from further splitting. This wood is generally speaking more stabile. Probably with pressure treated woods it doesn't matter much but nevertheless. Even though employees roll there eyes and scratch there heads when I carefully select my woods at the lumberyard, I know I did my best to get the best results from the firewoods they sell.