machtucker Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Hi everyone, I'm planning to make a corner bench out of cedar like the one in the picture. I have a lot of spare cedar (18mm x 44mm section) from another project which I can use for the slats. I'm now looking into how I will assemble it. Cedar is very soft and I want a sturdy bench so I'm wondering whether it is best to use a different wood for the cross supports (indicated by the blue arrows in the second picture)?. What do you think? In the shown model I have used 18 x 68 mm section cedar but these cross supports won't be on show so I'm thinking of making them out of another material. The supports are directly attached to the legs Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Why not use the same steel as the legs (I presume steel?) make squares not U shapes (just need another length in the corner where no leg. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machtucker Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 10 hours ago, joe90 said: Why not use the same steel as the legs (I presume steel?) make squares not U shapes (just need another length in the corner where no leg. Hi! Thanks for the comment. Can you explain what you mean here please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 40 minutes ago, machtucker said: Hi! Thanks for the comment. Can you explain what you mean here please? If I am not mistaken you’re using steel for the legs? Your diagram shows a U section but if you make a square the top plate can be screwed direct to the slats so no need for more timber? If you want to use more timber and not cedar then how about Oak? About as robust as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machtucker Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 9 minutes ago, joe90 said: If I am not mistaken you’re using steel for the legs? Your diagram shows a U section but if you make a square the top plate can be screwed direct to the slats so no need for more timber? If you want to use more timber and not cedar then how about Oak? About as robust as you can get. Ahh I see. No the supports are a square section, so yes you're right they could be. I'm slightly concerned that there will not be enough strength in the cedar battens so might need to make a stronger frame for them to sit on underneath. This is the maximum span in the photo below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machtucker Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Of course, I could buy more legs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Ah i get it, Individual slats not strong enough? I have recently re built some garden benches and mid span I connected the slats together underneath with a piece of steel so they were connected together to spread the load and it works well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machtucker Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 9 hours ago, joe90 said: Ah i get it, Individual slats not strong enough? I have recently re built some garden benches and mid span I connected the slats together underneath with a piece of steel so they were connected together to spread the load and it works well. Yes that sounds like a plan. I could put a number of stiffening cross beams along the length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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