This Edwardian style park bench was nothing more than two rusty cast iron ends laying in a resell shop/junk yard. The leg braces were bend beyond repair and the center strap and the wood boards were long gone.
I enlisted the help of my youngest daughter to help me with the project.
The first thing we did was remove the rusty hardware with a socket wrench and vise grips. The cast iron ends were then wire brushed to remove the rust and cleaned with mineral spirits. The ends were then ready to receive a fresh coat of high gloss black paint.
The wood chosen for this project was reclaimed red and white Oak flooring that was purchased by my grandfather in the 1960s. The tongue and grooves were removed with a table saw. The boards were then progressively sanded.
The boards were then stained with an oil-based Colonial Maple finish to blend the different wood colors together.
The finish used was an oil-based spar urethane in semigloss.
The bolts and nuts were painted to match the high gloss black ends. The washers were cleaned, painted and reused.
The leg braces were shaped by hand in a vise and painted to match the high gloss black. The center strap was shaped around the boards during the dry fit. Flat stock was used to make the braces.
This was a very rewarding project to complete with my 9 year old. She enjoyed helping during the project and asked many great questions. I told her that she can have the bench for her house when she gets older.
