Exterior Wood Glue

[skybluescooby]

Hi,
Wow long time since i put these in and they are still going strong.
Basically i coloured and sealed them in the garage then fixed them to the ground as you would a fence post.
I dug a hole 2ft down and abou 6" bigger than the width of the leg. As the leg was smooth i knocked a dfew 6" nails into them at random angles and positions, put some gravel and rubble at the foot of the hole, placed the legs into the holes, levelled the seat off both horizontally and vertical, ensuring the seating height was correct then dropped concrete into the hole, left it for 2 days and bingo, solid as a rock with no movement or any signs of rotting at all. hope that helps and good luck

 

[rayjackson61]

Hi and thanks

And could you explain how you fixed the seat to the legs - I have seen all sorts of long screws advertised on 'sleeper' web sites - what did you do?

And if you did use screws through the seat into the legs, what did you fill the screw head holes with (and if you did not attach this way, how would you suggest I fill in the screw head holes nice and neatly?)

Thanks

 

[rayjackson61]

Arh!

Looked closer at the picture so can see you jointed the legs to the seat - still could do with your guidance though on this method or my previous questions

Thanks

Ray

 

[skybluescooby]

Hi,
All i did was to cut out a few deep notches for the legs to sit in, think it was about 2 or 3" into the wood creating a seat for the leg to sit into. albeit tightly. Then whacked a load of waterproof wood glue into the join and glued into a tight fit, to ensure the legs stayed tight i put a few L shape metal brackets , 4 to each leg, 2 on each side, this made sure the legs didnt move.
Bnech still in position and even when i stand on it and move sideways theres no movement what so ever.
Hope you follow what i have said as its hard to explain in words, but if you look at the pix you will get a better idea, when all was done i slapped a bit of woodfiller into the gaps, sanded back and painted over.

Only thing in 4 years is they weather well and large cracks, splits begin to appear so a tip is to either weather your sleepers for a year before making benches or used weathered ones.
Good luck

 

[rayjackson61]

Thanks again

Last question (I hope) - when you say cut out notches that sounds easy but what exactly do you mean? I am not sure I have the tools for what I am imagining and observing in the pictures eg cutting a two grooves the width of the leg in the bottom of the seat and going in to a 2/3" depth that are perfectly symmetrical so that the seat is square/not slanted/etc

Can you help one last time?

Ray

 

[skybluescooby]

No worries, and hope i can explain this one ok.
Right, imagine the seating side as side A, The underneath side B the thin facing side side C and the thin back part side D.

Place side D on the floor so PART C is facing you, now offer the legs up to your desired point on PART B, draw a pencil line from PART C to PART D on PART B, Repeat this on each side of the leg. Now remove the legs and on Part C and D measure 2 or 3 inches from the pencil line towards the centre of the sleeper, now draw a parralell line from the two points. This will give you a rectangular shape on the side of PART C and D equal in size and depth.

Now get a saw and make a series of cuts from the vertical line stopping at the horizontal, ensure the saw teeth hit the line on both sides of the sleeper. Repeat this action every 3 or 4 mm so you will create lots of wafer thin strips of wood. Once done you can pop these out with ease.( Make sure you start the cut just inside the vertical line which will give the leg a tight snug fit)

This will then leave a gap for the leg to drop in.
Then wap a load of wood glue into the joing and fit the legs, adjustment is easy, just flip the bench up side down (on a flat and level surface)so the legs are in the area and then check the levels of the legs, you should be able to adjust them easyily this way, once the glue asets you will be able to flip the bench over and it should be all in line and level. I glued mine with a slight slope to allow rainfall to run off.

Hope that helps and any further just ask.

 

[rayjackson61]

Thanks for the description - it makes perfect sense - and I supposed you used a circular saw?

Ray

 

[skybluescooby]

nope, just had a handy wood saw, nice sharp chisel and a bucket of elbow grease

 

[rayjackson61]

Thanks for all the info

Ray