Park/garden bench, plans/designs?

[EdZep]

I'm thinking of making a park bench for my front porch. I've seen some that are horizontal or vertical "slatted" with maybe 1-inch strap. Vertical slat benches look stronger, as they've been supported by a more substantial frame. Every vertical slat would have to be bent on a custom jig, while the horizontal slats are all straight, and follow contours of the ends.

I have a general idea how it could go together. Still, looking for designs to study, different types of end structures, artistic touches, tips on bending slats, etc. Paint suggestions... I'm not sure mere spray paint would be good enough.

[Broccoli1]

Bending Jig

[EdZep]

OK, I can see that building a jig or 3 would be easy. Or, a nifty, adjustable one.

Bending Jig

[cat]

think about powder coating the bench. will have a professional look and will last much better than paint. cost should not be terrible-the place i use does my trellis' for $30, gates for $30 and up, etc. cat

[EdZep]

Thanks for that, cat. I have been wondering how much powder coating costs, but haven't been serious enough, yet, to even see if there's a local powder coating outfit.

For small parts, I've been considering getting an old range/oven for my shop, with cheap gun and blast cabinet. If it's cheap enough to have done, I might pass on the home setup.

think about powder coating the bench. will have a professional look and will last much better than paint. cost should not be terrible-the place i use does my trellis' for $30, gates for $30 and up, etc. cat

[cat]

the powder coat place i use has a $30 min. per color so i try to plan to have several pieces per color. i haven't tried any cost comparisons with other company's because this one works for me. they know me quite well now and i think give me a break on some pricing. i'll try to find some photos of a few benches i've done and post those. would like to see your finished project. cat

[fun4now]

cool jig idea.
looks like it has many uses.

[cat]

Here's some photos of benches I've done. The "tower" on the one is filled with furnace glass chunks and small chunks are attached to the spikes out the top. I have lights in above and below the glass. cat
looks like I need to resize the one set of pics and I can't remember how - any help? thx

[cat]

sorry-forgot to turn the one pic. too early in the morning for me! cat

[EdZep]

That's unique, artistic, ambitious. I like the mixed media, tile surface, and drink tray. Your finish makes it look like wood, as does the tapered leg. What was your raw material? Do you sell them? I'll bet hand-crafted benches could be sold, with the right type of up-scale/botique placement.

I've been thinking about your $30 rate, and it does sound like a deal. Just the big oven and electricity and handling would account for a large chunk of that. Does that include prep blasting? Do powder coat places usually figure blasting into the price?

No surprise that a small run or small parts would be relatively more expensive. Shoot, I need to make a custom mailbox flag. Not much chance I would accumulate a batch of other stuff that needs to be done in red.

Here's some photos of benches I've done. The "tower" on the one is filled with furnace glass chunks and small chunks are attached to the spikes out the top. I have lights in above and below the glass. cat
looks like I need to resize the one set of pics and I can't remember how - any help? thx