exciting to see you and the wife working together very cool

I would love to see you teaching Sarah a "beginner's course" in woodworking where she takes on very simple projects and learns how to use basic woodworking tools. That way I can learn along with her. Thanks.

Yes, Sarah needs a Sarah height bench. Plus we can cover/discuss how to build for a person's specific height for general woodworking, and maybe a second video/series on a bench-top mini-bench for dove-tail/joinery working. The seating benches turned out beautifully. I'd bet the family will love them for years to come. Just to make sure of the longevity, set a reminder on your calendar to go over and do the sanding and re-varnishing for them every year. As time goes by, they may not remember or be physically able to do it themselves. Great job, James and Sarah.

So I was super busy yesterday working on a Makers Playground group project and didnt get a chance to watch this. I'm not going to lie I do enjoy working on projects with my wife, it's fun team Elward projects. Those benches turned out nice did something similar about a year before Florida at my grandparents house. Helped my grandpa do a swing and a gliding(?) bench for the porch that used to belong to my great grandparents and will hopefully one day belong to me (only one on the family that actually enjoys them). I'm also going to have to look into that penetrating epoxy my spalted maple got a bit to punky to turn easily. Great video James I'm glad you had Sarah and some fun working together.

Doing things with family, and for family! It a blessing. Thank you for sharing. Be well, be safe, and take good care!

James, you are a good man. God bless you and everyone around you.

Dream team! I am tuned for Sarah's workbench.

Really delightful to see you doing a project with your wife. Her enthusiasm is charming. 🙂

More than the skills and projects portrayed in your videos, I admire the chemistry between you and your wife. May your union last forever.

Its nice to see Sarah working with you, A beginner coarse in hand tool wood working would be nice. Her first project could be a stool she can use for planing. keep up the good work Sarah

This was perfect. I have an old set of cast bench pieces that need restored. I was curious what finish to use.

Great restoration, Benches looks beautiful. Sarah, awesome job, you are a good sport and sure carried through it (White Oak is not easy). God bless you and your family.

They turned out great, awesome work James and Sarah!! 😃👍🏻👍🏻👊🏻👊🏻

I think this is the first video that really see Sarah’s height vs yours in a really good perspective. 🤣 very cute! And I’m glad you gave Sarah a booster stool! Nifty project. Thank you for all that you do! God Bless!

Very good video James and your wife is a wonderful lady,(smart too). You both keep on smiling and do more together, this is good.

Awesome Job You Guys!!! I would most definitely like to see more videos with Sarah👍 It looks like you two had lots of fun.

Very enjoyable to watch you two working together. Good video, good project, good to see the family.

Great project. I’ve seen lots of those benches along the side of the road that are in need of repair.

This is just what worked for me, YMMV and not trying to contradict your recommendations. Back in the late '80s/early '90s I read a furniture finishing article in one of the woodworking magazines. Owning a sailboat, it captured my interest. The subject of the article had been varnishing furniture for decades. He recommended a few things that have stuck in my mind. 1. His final sanding was with 100 grit sandpaper. He said the varnish would fill the sanding scratches and they would never show. 2. He thinned his first coat 50% with Penetrol (not applicable here since you started with the penetrating epoxy) and subsequent coats were thinned 10%-15% with Penetrol. Penetrol allows the varnish to flow out without brush marks. 3. He said to always brush from a dry area into a wet area in one direction only. Never brush back and forth because it leaves dents in the finish. I followed his instructions to the letter on the teak trim on my boat and it looked like it was sprayed on. For recoating I just hit it with 100 grit and varnish thinned with Penetrol. Super simple (for maintaining varnish in the subtropics) and it always looked great.

I just picked up a beautiful cast iron park bench. It’s really ornate. And old… ha. I cannot wait to restore it. It’s going to be such a fun project. Thanks for the tips!

You guys really did a beautiful job! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

You guys are so cute together. You’re blessed, brother!

Yes! Lots more sarah in the shop!! She does need her own bench to work on

Can I hire Sarah for a project? She is an impressive worker - and so tiny. Great project video. Really enjoyed it.

Nice, thanks for this, very timely for us. You're both inspirational, please keep doing what you do so well!

The apprentice did a good job Soon have her own channel 😀 Stay safe

Well done nurse Sarah

A few years ago, I went to the big box store and bought a couple of the oak stair treads, cut the rounded bit off of one and made a "portable stair". Put a few scrap 2x4 pieces on the sides/back, and my 5 year old loves to stand on it at my workbench. It is about the height of most stools but since it is just under 48" long, the size makes it very stable.

Heyyyyyyyyy! That was VERY inlighting...i have a bench in my front yard that i want to refurbish and your video was SUPER DUPER helpful.....you gave me the names and items and steps ill need to follow to complete the job THANKS.

Nice project. Seemed like you guys were having fun. It was fun to see.

Beautiful woodwork!

+1 vote for a bench for Sarah! Make it a portable Moravian workbench

I was so impressed to see you two using hand tools. Thanks for the step by step tutorial! I have the iron frame, but no braces. Can you recommend where o might find some?

Good job!

Thanks. Was given two cast iron ends with couple slats. Baffled what to do with it. All the info I need on your post

wow nice work guys! glad your wife is hands on there. I have the same squirrel tail planer! its cast iron and solid. have not used it yet. like you guys i use all hand tools. its so much physical work but so rewarding to do. i have a lion head cast iron bench and 2 kids sized benches to restore. found all 3 in 2 separate estate sales in the same day.

Great video good to see the wife get involved

Great choice of hats Sarah!

Thank you !!!! Awesome video !

When you were putting on the penetrating epoxy it looked like a rope bridge waiting to happen, lol. I have a bench just like this I need to do the same thing to.

sweet video Wood By Wright How 2. I smashed that thumbs up on your video. Always keep up the great work.

Yes! Workholding is very important

I enjoyed this video indeed 😊 .

Very cool! Nice video.

I think that Sarah needs that Stanley no 1. ;)

I just finished restoring a pair of 48" benches for a friend of mine. They were both 48" to start with, but I modified one of them into a 24" single seat chair. TIP: when taking old rusted fasteners out, just use a cut off wheel...works great and they're not worth keeping so destroying them in the process is no big deal. In this case the original wood was so badly rotted, that I just pulled it all apart/off by hand, leaving the fasteners to be addressed as above. Both had cast iron inserts in the backrest (2 pieces in each with a couple of vertical wood pieces, one at each end and the cast parts were in good shape so I used two in the 48" bench and one in the 24" single seat. Had all the cast stuff blasted to remove old paint and the rust, then painted them all a black satin. I used Oak planking and spent part of one morning cutting, sanding and sealer/staining the wood parts. Hand did the flowers and vines with modeler's enamel in various colors as appropriate. Stuck it all back together with stainless hardware and they came out great looking. I have done several restos in the past and those came out nice, too. Kinda fun to do!

Love the hat, the bench’s too, good lady a keeper.

I xould warch you two all day beautiful example of what a relationship can be if you treat each other with respect and love the time you have together ❤

More Sarah is always a good thing

great reclamation

Great work Sarah :) you too James haha

Hard to see that hat... Go Lions!!! Really glad to see your wife involved.

Now Sarah can take you to work Ralph

They came out great well done what you’re not tempted to make them a little bit longer?

Hi! Wonderful project!!! I just have a question! Do I need to sand the wood before the first coat?

add a coat of marine paste wax for extra protection against UV's salt / Benches look great/ just shows what team work is all about/ love the way you both used hand tools to construct the new slats/

I love that there wasn't an electrical tool in sight.

I always put a bit of lubricant on stainless steel bolts as I have had trouble in the past with the threads seizing. If that happens you have to use a hacksaw to get the nut off. I think it happens when the invisible chromium oxide protective layer gets damaged on the thread and the new layer forms joining the nut and bolt.

What would you recommend to use on cast iron for a long lasting matt finish?

What would you do if you were doing this identical bench, but do not have the center brace? I used cypress boards, and it' a little too flexible and needs strengthening.

I would like to see more projects with Sarah. Nice work! Hope she’s as sadistic as you 🤪

I have a beach like this. Can you send me a list of the hardware? Great job!!

Do you think I could refurbish an old cast iron bench with cast iron on the back rest and transition it to all woods slats? Or do you think it would need keep the cast iron on the back, keeping the same design. I have one but the cast iron on the back rest is too rusted, so I would just want to keep the side rails and add all wood slats to seat and back rest.

What did you use for middle support?

Is it difficult to maintain a straight cut for the slats?

What is the piece you put in the back and sides called? I need to get those to support my bench. Thank you

I live in your area where do you get your hardwood from?

James, I'm thinking about doing a similar project. Could you tell me, what do you think the maximum length of the slats could be? Would it matter which wood I use? Thinking of sapele or something similar. What wood would you suggest?

What primer and black paint you used for this project? Thanks in advance. Great video.

I'm hoping to do this project over the summer, but I'd personally prefer a matte finish, that brings out the grain and deepens the colour. I've chosen to go with an oil but I'm not sure which one. Possibly Danish oil or Tung oil? If anyone could recommend a type it would be much appreciated.

You mentioned that you cut the white oak into 4 foot strips, would you advise against going longer?

Soooo, I bought the Total Boat following your link and followed the instructions carefully which said, "not to mix more than you will use in a 20 min time period." It was applying perfectly for about 3 minutes when the mixture reacted and melted the mixing container sending epoxy everywhere. Should I have mixed in glass? Any idea why it kicked so fast?

What kind of rods did you use to weld wrought iron? Did you happen to use MIG?

White oak is really expensive and doesn't seem easy to find locally- is there another wood you would recommend?

Good to see you both working together! ❣️❣️ Beware...if you start this way...by the time you are our age...um...little wife will be ready to die sooner! 🤣😂❣️

I know it is not woodworking but it is interesting to see different building codes. In Australia you must fence a pool and enforcement is quite strict. It has significantly reduced the number of pool drownings and has widespread community support. I wonder whether any parts of USA have a fencing code and what support it has?

What size are your boards?

I saw a bench with broken slats on the side of a road in my neighborhood once but I was on my way to work. I was going to pick it up after I got home to fix but it was already gone :(

Só ative a legenda no seu canal, escolha as línguas que podem ler e pronto, você não vai precisar traduzir nada! Obrigado

Nicely done and what timing, I have one to refinish! But wait, what do I see? She is wearing SNEAKERS! And you're wearing sneakers! I'm shocked 😁

I really enjoy when you get to marry your woodworking with your family.

Go Pack. 😏

I'm trying to decide if you were letting her be the star of the show, or extracting revenge.

63rd.

thought you were a small bald red hair friendly guy, but you look like a giant next to Sara.

That's the prettiest gnome I've ever seen.... lol sorry sarah. (Not about the pretty part, but about the gnome part)

While I'd love to see you make a bench for Sarah but I would much rather you stay married.

For those who use other brand epoxies, just know that many of them don’t contain UV inhibitors. In no way does that necessarily make them poor quality, but there are different epoxies for different purposes. That’s not to say you can’t use them for this application, but but be sure to protect them with something containing UV inhibitors (I.e. varnish, clear coat, etc.), since UV will degrade epoxies. Also, some epoxies create an “amine-blush” after they cure. Some do, some don’t. It’s basically, a thin waxy film byproduct of the chemical reaction that’s left on the surface. A quick, but thorough scrub with water and a scotch-brite pad (scouring pad) will remove it. I tend to do that prior to the light sand. Then clean with a solvent and apply your chosen UV protecting finish. Happy building, friends. P.s. Wear gloves and a respirator, at least. Epoxies are amazing for numerous reasons, but they are chemicals with potentially adverse effects. Prolonged, repeated exposure without basic PPE has ruined the career of at least one person I know. It’s possible for some people to more or less, become highly allergic to them. Not good if your career is based around using epoxies. Annddd, as a bonus, plain old $ store white vinegar is a safe and great product for tool clean-up, since it works, won’t eat through your gloves like other solvents, and it’s cheap. Just clean things before the epoxy sets, as no solvent that I know of will make that possible once it hardens.

Your Paduan Apprentice had a good day. She seems quite mechanically adept, a good quality to have in a wife, less arguments when they (generically) play dumb, deliberately ham fisted to get out of tedious processes. .... Yes I am divorced !!