When his old bench started reaching the end of its life, Henk-Willem not only wanted to build a new one, but also create a lasting experience with his children: Kyo and Bob.
It started with the wood; Henk-Willem knew that the bench needed to be designed for the outdoors, but didn’t want to use tropical hardwood – it was too expensive and not very eco-friendly. The wood you chose in your design is very important, as it not only needs to be suitable to its environment, but also pratical for assembly (not to hard or soft), and available nearby.
Henk-Willem went to the nearby “Dutch Home Depot” to see what was available in the regions and what sizes of wood once he settled on impregnated pine. Impregnated wood means wood that has been altered by the introduction of chemicals or inert materials into the wood cell wall. This alters the woods properties, depending on chemical type. This can be a good option because for benches built for outdoor purpouses; impregnated wood can be more pest, moisture, and fire resistant. Pine is a favorite softwood amongst furniture makers due to its high-resin content which prevents it from decay. Other good options for wood are oak, spruce, maple, and larch.
With the knowledge of what type of wood he would be building with, Henk-Willem then drafted a design for his bench.
Original Drafted Design for Henk-Willem’s Bench
It is safe to say it isn’t as straight forward as most designs are, but that is the beautiful thing about creating your own things. You can design and tailor them to your equipment, needs, and taste. In this case, Henk-Willem had many years of design and engineering expertise which he was able to demonstrate.
He then made a 3D model of the design in Solidworks trying to use the wood sizes as effeciently as possible. From this model he then made a dimensional drawing to use for cutting and assembling the bench.
Now it was time to get to work. Like mentioned before, he heavily involved his kids in the building and assembling process in order to create a lasting memory and help them develop their building skills.
Overall he says it “was nice to have a family project and some purpose in Corona time. And we now have a unique bench in front of our house.” He also added that it “was a good way for the boys to learn how to design, use tools, plan ahead and improvise.”
This Bench was build for private use and is located near Rotterdam, The Netherlands.