General Finishes - Chairs & Benches

Whiskey Barrel Chairs

William Patrick Customs — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 04:31:12 +0000

Broke down Three Real whiskey Casks and made these chairs. It was important to keep the integrity of the Barrel look but also wanted to clean it up as well. I used GF walnut wood stain and two toned the chairs and it turned out awesome. I finished it off with a conversion varnish and these turned out amazing!

Products Used

GF Walnut wood stain
GF Conversion Varnish

Winning Category

2nd Place

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Morris Bench

warrensnow — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 17:12:17 +0000

The Morris Bench is an original design that draws from the concept of a Morris chair. The idea was, what would a Morris Chair look like if it were a bench? It is embellished with marquetry from a fox & vineyard theme. Lines of inlay decorate the back’s rim and the front stretcher. I made it for donation to a silent auction event.

This bench is made of walnut with maple accents and inlay. The marquetry details were cut using the Italian packet method, with sand shading utilized in the vine leaves. I made the chair back’s upper rail as a bent lamination. The upholstered seat cushion is faux leather, made perfectly by Wilbanks & Wolfrom of Warrenton, VA.

I chose a hand-rubbed oil finish for this piece to obtain a clean clear look with a nice tactile feel. The finish recipe began with surface preparation of sanding all parts through successive grits to 320. Chair parts one touches, like the arms, were more extensively sanded to 400 grit. I wiped on a liberal coat of Watco Danish Oil, removing the excess after 15 minutes. Each day, another coat of oil was added, after a light scrubbing with 0000 steel wool, until a nice patina emerged at 10 coats. After a few days to cure, a hand-rubbed coat of Minwax Paste Furniture Wax completed the finish.

Products Used

Watco Danish Oil, Natural Color
Minwax Paste Furniture Wax

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Cherry Bench

Captivahomedecor — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 18:49:43 +0000

This gorgeous bench seat was built out of a thick piece of reclaimed cherry wood, which was kept natural to allow for it to age naturally, then the base painted a classic black!

Products Used

General Finishes Milk Paint- Lamp Black
High Performance Top Coat- Satin

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Horse Bench

JeremyG — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 19:09:59 +0000

I saw this bench pattern online at Jay's Custom Creations and decided to make it. I used cedar to build and then wiped down with linseed oil and sealed with laquer.

Products Used

Cedar
Boiled Linseed Oil
Lacquer

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Bench with Coat Hanger

Carrie Garrison — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 20:59:08 +0000

I started this project to have a bench by my front door while trying out my new woodworking skills on a larger project. All I knew at this point was how wide it needed to be. To create a pattern, I drew the bench using measurements of the space where it would sit. Two 1 X 12’s were cut to make the frame. A router was used to make a groove, to allow panels to lay in the middle on each side. The frame is held together with pocket screws using the Kreg jig K4. The top of the bench is 3 boards held together with wood glue and pocket screws to connect the 3 pieces. The bench portion was now assembled and placed in its intended space to calculate measurements for the top. A pattern for the sides was drawn and then cut from 1/4-inch plywood. Using the pattern, the sides were cut with a router. A groove was also cut to allow the inset of back panels. Two pieces for the top were attached to each side piece to create the top of the bench. Pocket screws and plugs were used to attach the top and bottom. The bench frame was assembled and now needed the insertion of panels to fill the sides and back. 1/4" plywood panels were cut and sprayed with adhesive to attach fabric, as seen on the bottom sides and the top back. The bench was sanded, cleaned and conditioned with Minwax Stain wood conditioner before staining with Minwax Stain Special Walnut. (I had not yet discovered GF products.) Three coats of Minwax polyurethane semi-gloss with a coat of Howard Feed-n-Wax were applied. This bench project was completed with installation of the fabric covered panels, using picture frame turn buttons to hold them in place. The project fit perfectly in it’s intended space and is a lovely addition to the entry.

Products Used

Minwax pre stain wood conditioner
Minwax stain Special Walnut
Minwax polyurethane Semi-gloss
Howard Feed-n-wax

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Walnut Bench

Dr. T. — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 16:35:19 +0000

I milled this custom bench out of 8 quater walnut and sprayed 2 coats of Behlen Hickory Dye. The 8 quarter was much darker than the 6 quarter after running them through the 12inch DeWalt Planer, but I am happy with the final product. I did not want to risk having too much overlap and spill marks using a rag to dye, so spraying was much more effective in getting the results I wanted. I originally purchased the American Walnut color by Behlen, but was disappointed as it was much more red than walnut is naturally. The Hickory seemed to match the walnut color I was seeking much better. I implemented the best products available to create a seamless match with the maple chair seats. I added three coats of Old Masters Wood Grain Filler on the table top and it created a super smooth finish. I used one coat on the bench and chair seats as I wanted it to be rougher than the table top. I used Behlen's dye to color the walnut and maple seats as I did not want to have any fading from the sun on this wood. Behlen dye has a UV protective in the solution to keep the color as is. The match was nearly perfect, but took a few more coats on the seats to get a similar blend of color. General Finishes Arm R Seal Gloss and Satin were used on the bench, tabletop and seats. The ArmRSeal really popped the grain on the walnut. I can not be more happy with the results. I added the dye and sprayed 1 coat of the gloss, then the 3 layers of grain filler. It is worth mentioning, reading the instructions on the can, I did sand up to 320 then applied the dye and ArmRSeal gloss on the table top. I felt this did a better finish then following the sanding suggestion on the can. I followed the directions on the can when I was building the bench and the finish was not as impressive as the tabletop. This may have been because I used less of the grain filler, and this is not saying it looked bad, it just was not as smooth as the tabletop. I also added some mineral spirits as the gloss seemed to dry much smoother. The can instructions seem to guide you to apply by hand, but I sprayed all of the dye and all of the finishes at about 25 psi with a gravity feed gun. Husky was the brand I used. I feel more comfortable using the gun on such a large project, and the most expensive project I have done. Overall the General Finishes products were fanastic on the walnut. I used dye on the walnut as I did not want to color the wood, but enhance and try to keep it the brownish color it was when I milled it. Regardless of what you read and get sold on, the walnut color does fade in the sun and will turn blonde very quickly. The Behlen dye also did not raise any of the grain as other dyes have a tendency to do. It seemed that the combo of the dye and the General Finishes ArmRSeal kept the original beauty of the wood, and did not make the project look plastic once completed.

Products Used

General Finishes ArmRSeal Gloss
General Finishes ArmRSeal Satin
Old Masters Wood Grain Filler
Behlen Dye and Reducer Hickory Color

Winning Category

1st Place

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Japanese Garden

Brad Buehrle — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 08:59:29 +0000

This is my take on an Japanese Garden Bench made with Walnut and Maple with a coat of General Finishes High Performance it will sure will last the stand of time. With four coats of Gloss and Three of satin using My Fiji Q 5 sprayer just makes the wood Dance..

Products Used

GF High Performance Gloss and satin

Winning Category

3rd Place

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Natural Tiger

TimberAndAshDesigns — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 21:21:49 +0000

Poking out from under a pile of live edge slabs, a rough cut maple slab coming in at nearly 3" thick caught my eye. I had been given this slab when I began woodworking and just never found the right use for it. That is, until now. I started sanding and planing this beast and quickly realized I had a beautiful piece of wood on my hands. The natural browns and yellows created a tiger stripe appearance along the live edge and flame like design on the face. I wanted a natural soft feel for the finish so I opted to use Odie's Oil rather than a film type finish. Odie's Oil is applied similar to a paste wax. I applied it with a rubber scraper and rubbed it in with a soft cotton rag. After letting it set for about 2 hours I buffed the bench with my electric buffer. To my delight the hardwax oil finish brought out the colors perfectly while keeping the natural feel of the wood. To finish off this heavy bench I chose to add unfinished flat steel legs.

Enjoy.

Products Used

Odie's Oil

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Walnut and Steel

Matt Weber — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 02:08:48 +0000

A highly figured, warm brown walnut slab merged together with the coldness and hardness of steel. Opposites have attracted in beautiful rare form.

Products Used

General Finishes Enduro Semi-Gloss

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

731 Woodworks Arrow Bench

Matt Outlaw — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 11:00:42 +0000

This is the 731 Woodworks signature Arrow Bench! This is a popular item with us!

Products Used

General Finishes High Performance Top Coat Satin
Minwax Dark Walnut
Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Biscuit White

Project Category

Chairs & Benches

Color Recipe

Minwax Stained Dark Walnut Top
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat Satin
Biscuit White Base