Wakeboard Benches
Too cool to just sit on a garage shelf!
This project started with the client telling me about the wonderful memories he and his family had made every summer riding wakeboards on a lake. Now being a little older, he no longer used the boards but, rather than just keeping them in the garage, he was looking for a way to display and enjoy them. And I agreed, with cool graphics like those it would be shame to just keep them on a shelf!
A sketch to start
The client came up with the bench idea and, having three boards to work with, I designed two versions: one with a backrest and the other without. The project started with a sketch;
A mock-up to test comfort
Next built a plywood mock-up to make sure the backward slope of the seat and the angle of the backrest were comfortable, before making full-sized templates.
The wood is southern red oak I saved from a tree that a storm downed in my neighbor’s yard years ago.
The utility company had pushed the cut-up logs into the ditch; a friend of mine and I “rescued” the logs and took them to a sawmill to be cut into boards.
I stacked the boards behind my workshop for a few years so they could air-dry to around 15%; then moved them inside for final drying down to 10% before using it for these benches.
Time to get the saw out
Here are the thick, rough boards being selected for the various bench components.
After being cut to size and machined to proper thickness, the bench components were connected with multiple tenons and waterproof glue.
Inspection time
Shop cat “Noodle” stopped by for an unannounced inspection of my progress.
Taking shape
After gluing up the frames, the rough outlines were traced onto the oak parts and cut out with a jig saw. The curves were smoothed with a router following a template, and hand sanding.
Handwork
Creating smooth curves with hand planes, files and sand paper.
Carefully matching the board to the frame
The backrest stretchers are curved in two directions to follow the outlines of the board and to highlight the great graphics on the back. I carefully transferred the outline of the boards to the stretchers and cut them to match the curves.
Nobody likes a squeaky bench
Neoprene foam was used between the boards and the wood to assure a squeak free connection.
Details make a difference
Since the benches will be used outdoors on a patio, I added pads made of Ipe (a very hard and resistant wood) to the bottom of all legs. This keeps moisture from wicking up into the legs and the endgrain from tearing if the bench is moved.
Final steps and finishing
Threaded steel inserts were added to the base and back rest to make installation of the wake boards easier.
Once completely assembled the benches were hand-sanded with progressively finer grits for a smooth surface. To assure that the benches will hold up inside or outdoors, the finish I used is exterior grade hardwax oil with UV inhibitors.
