Do-it-yourself log bench - the best ideas and manufacturing rules

For a summer resident, a plot is not only hard work in the garden, but also outdoor recreation. Therefore, they definitely allocate a place to sit on a bench, admire the surrounding landscape, and have a chat over a cup of tea.

It is difficult to imagine a suburban area without a bench. The benches not only create a cozy atmosphere, but also serve as a decoration for the garden. You can buy benches in a store or order from a master, but it is better to do it yourself from a log.

Content:

• What trees are best for benches?
• What tools are needed for crafting?
• Log preparation
• Interesting ideas for benches from a log without nails
• Simple types of log benches
• Do-it-yourself sophisticated log benches
• Protection of the bench from external influences
• Tips for placing a bench on the site

What trees are best for benches?

Wooden benches are most in demand in summer cottages. They fit harmoniously into the landscape and are easy to process. An interesting structure can be made from a felled tree if you apply a little imagination.

It is advised to choose pine for benches. She will not warp in the heat. Suitable for making linden. This material is the most easily processed. Benches made of oak and larch will be strong. They are not afraid of either cold or heat. From hazel, the bench will be airy, and from cherry - reddish color.

An important point is that they take wood that is well dried.

Benches cannot be made from raw, as when they dry they will begin to deform. And the construction will turn out to be quite heavy. You need to start work only after you have carefully prepared the tools and material for the bench.

What tools are needed for crafting?

Making even a simple bench begins with a design drawing, the selection of the necessary tools.

You can't even make a simple shop without:

• saws
• hacksaws
• ax
• drill
• grinder
• coarse or fine sandpaper

You can fasten the parts of the bench with screws or nails. There are craftsmen who do not need anything other than an ax to make. They can build a bench that you can't buy anywhere else.

Log preparation

Choose a bench log carefully. If it is not completely dry yet, then it is left to dry for a while. Then the bark is removed from the tree, and also allowed to dry. If a coniferous tree is selected, then you need to walk along the trunk with a solution of acetone in a ratio of 1: 4 to remove the resinous discharge. According to the dimensions, the details of the product begin to be prepared.

Before starting work, the dimensions of the bench are determined. The optimal seat width will be 50-55 centimeters with a height of half a meter from the ground. If a backrest is required, then it will also be within 35-50 centimeters.

It is necessary to cover the product with varnish or impregnation later, when all the parts are fastened.

Processing a log includes sawing it first across, cutting off parts for the legs, and then along.Then the knots are removed with an ax. Grind the parts for the seat and backrest carefully so that there are no knotty spots left. In conclusion, be sure to go through with a sandpaper.

Interesting ideas for benches from a log without nails

It is always convenient to sit on a log. Therefore, if you do not have the skills to work with wood, and you do not want to bother, you can simply put the log in the prepared groove. It is dug according to the width of the log. Sprinkle it halfway with earth, tamp it - and the bench is ready.

For a more complex version, you can put the log divided along the sloping part into the recesses cut in the supports. It is necessary to measure the depth of the grooves and the width so that the seat is firmly seated in them. The support for the log is made of stones or concrete mortar. At the top, be sure to lay out the bowl where the seat is placed.

A bench with a backrest turns out to be convenient when a part of a huge trunk is cut out. Putting the lower part on the ground, the backrest is trimmed perpendicular to the seat. You do not need to clean the bark from the tree, but the processing of the internal parts must be carried out carefully.

It is interesting to make a bench this way:

• Saw off two circles with a diameter of 1-1.5 meters and a thickness of 40-50 centimeters from a thick log.
• Put them parallel to each other, having previously aligned the circle for stability.
• A board 35-40 centimeters wide is cut from the middle of the trunk.
• Saw grooves in the sidewalls of the bench and insert the seat there.
• It turns out a bench with armrests.

Benches without nails can be disassembled, moved to another place. And in winter they are stored in a barn so that they are not damaged by frost.

You can learn more about how to make a bench from a log without nails from the video:

Simple types of log benches

Simple options for rest benches can be thought up and made by anyone who does not even understand carpentry:

• For a country-style garden, a simple bench without decorations is suitable. It can be in the form of a bench without a back. A seat is prepared from a tree trunk by processing the surface of the log. Take whole or half. The support is made from chocks or concrete posts. And in the first case, the parts are fastened with screws. In the second, long screws or nails sticking out of the seat are inserted into a slurry. After the concrete has dried, the bench will hold firmly inside the supports.
• A bench with a back can be made quickly. A log 30 centimeters in diameter is fixed with wooden wedges. Saw the saddle with vertical cuts to the middle of the log. Two short parts of the log are adjusted to fit the saddle and screwed. It remains to screw the backrest crossbar to the legs, and then to the supports at the desired height. The legs for the bench can be made from thick branches. They are trimmed, and holes are drilled inside the log, which are filled with glue. Legs are inserted there, and glue mixed with sawdust is inserted into the remaining voids. When the mass hardens, then the bench can be used.

Do-it-yourself sophisticated log benches

To decorate the territory, it is better to come up with more complex designs. Here you will need not only imagination, but also the ability to work with wood.

• A row of benches is cut from a solid tree trunk without separating them from each other. All you need is an ax. A barrier is left between each part, untouched by the tool. You can cut out an ornament or figurines of birds and animals on the back. Used for decoration and the method of burning. After processing the surfaces with a grinding machine, sandpaper, paint at their discretion. This bench will come in handy when guests come.
• From small-diameter poles, a back is attached to a seat made of logs. Holes are drilled on the upper crossbar, where 5-6 thin poles are inserted with a length of 20 to 30 centimeters. In the same way, they are inserted into the lower crossbar of the back. Slightly curved bars can be chosen to make the back look nice. It remains to nail the top to the support. And make the seat from two halves of logs, adjusting them to size.The bench will be more stable if the legs are connected to each other with a thin pole. After processing the bench with impregnating material and varnish, the structure will become a garden decoration.
• A bench made of a log, which is a continuation of the crown of a house, a summer residence, looks original. Only the log should be 30-40 centimeters above the level of the porch or terrace floor. Carefully cut out or gouge the seat together with the back. You can embossed the side walls. After careful processing of the wood, the bench will look great.

Often a table is included in the composition for relaxation. Having laid the processed logs with a diameter of 40-50 centimeters on top of each other, they prepare the basis for a rest corner. In the middle, halved logs are laid on the chocks. This will be the table. Long logs sawn along the table are nailed to the base from both sides of the table. Everything will take 2-3 logs of the same diameter 3-4 meters long. The benches do not need to be nailed down. Grooves are made in the supports and seats are inserted there.

More information on how to make a bench from a log can be found in the video:

If the seat is made of a log, solid or half, then you can choose several options for the backs:

1. Logs are connected to each other according to their height, laying one on the side for the armrests.
2. The processed round cuts of logs look interesting. They can be connected by tying them with wire.
3. Shaped tree trunks are sawn in half to create backs that look like monsters or fairy-tale characters.
4. You can fantasize yourself over a tree and cut out masks of animals or humans. They fit on the sides of the back or in the middle of it. It is important to process them correctly and color them according to the intention.

Complex types of benches are constructed from logs, but using decorations, adding their imagination.

Protection of the bench from external influences

Making a bench is one thing, but how long it will last depends on how it was protected from external influences:

• Weather conditions cause the tree to darken and lose its attractiveness. Due to the high hygroscopicity of the material, the bench will quickly rot and its service life will be reduced. The best thing to do is to saturate the product. To do this, you can apply the treatment with hot resin or special impregnating materials.
• If areas of mold or mildew appear on the bench, then it is better to sprinkle them with baking soda, and extinguish them with vinegar on top. Copper sulfate solution has antiseptic properties.
• To protect the log bench from moisture, its surface is varnished. It dries well and gives the structure an attractive look. A universal type of varnish, aqualac, will be able to save the bench from bugs entering the wood. Dilute the substance before painting with water in a ratio of 1:10.
• Another way to extend the life of a log product is to paint the parts with paint. They will refresh the bench, add variety to the flavor of summer cottage life.

There are many options for processing the bench, you need to choose at least one. Then the shop will last more than one year.

Tips for placing a bench on the site

For garden design, it is important to place the bench correctly so as not to disrupt the style unity of the site.

• It will look harmoniously under trees with lush crowns, near a reservoir.
• The retro bench will be in place next to the sunflower plantings. It is not bad to build an imitation of a well log next to it. It will create a fairytale atmosphere next to old trees with curved trunks or in lilac thickets.
• If there are clearings for children's games on the site, then a bench decorated with fairy-tale characters will suit them. A bench along with a table is needed in the recreation area under the arch of the hanging vine. On an open lawn, this design will also look good.
• Such a little heavy products are more suitable for a country-style garden, folk. In the gardens of the Russian, fairy-tale style, they will be appropriate, but the European ones look funny and out of place.

They select a place for a bench made of logs, so as not to violate the unity of the style of the territory.

It is difficult to imagine a suburban area without benches. But if the owner is not strong in carpentry, then you can build a bench from a log. There are many options, simple and complex, of such designs. Which one to choose is the business of the summer resident.