Several readers have responded to Rob’s query last week about what outdoor projects you have made. Thanks for sharing! – Editor
“Here is a picnic table I made for my son and family. I cut the cherry logs from my land and brought them to a bandsaw mill. They cut and kiln-dried the big sections that I ‘bookended’ to create the 40″-wide x 4″-thick x 12-ft.-long table. It is under cover so it should be OK over the years being outside. Unfortunately, the folks at the lumber mill did not properly secure the wood during the drying process and the wood warped very badly. It was too beautiful to throw away, so I did the best I could making the table. I could not really get the warp out of the table. It wobbles about 2″ up and down at the corners. I now have shims to take out the wobble.” – Marc Lindberg
“Here’s an outdoor raised garden I built a year ago, and I’m thinking about building a second one this year. The fencing on the project and the doors are to keep the deer out. The project was constructed from rough-sawn jack pine from our property. We are located near Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota.” – Bruce Guy
“I just moved and am waiting for the spring sunshine to thaw the ground here in New Hampshire so I can have my new workshop built. Needless to say, I am not planning any spring projects (at least until construction is underway). But I have included two pictures from prior years. The first is a double Adirondack chair I built several years ago. It has withstood two moves and sits proudly in front of my new home. The second picture shows it in use by the two mannequins I made for my wife for our 40th anniversary. She loves to dress them up for the holidays or seasons. This picture is from last winter around Christmas. They are dressed for the weather and enjoying their mugs of hot chocolate.” – Phil Gerard
“My favorite outdoor project has been this table that converts to a bench. I didn’t design it, the plans came off the Web. I also have built Adirondack chairs, small tables, that sort of thing, but this is the coolest.” – Don Gwinn
“Here’s a pergola I made in my backyard.” – Joseph DeYoung
“Here’s a 6-ft.-diameter patio table I built for my daughter’s home. It’s made entirely with 2 x 6 reclaimed wood. We live on a lake, and when I resurfaced our dock a few years ago, I kept most of the planks we removed. For this project I used a stiff brush to remove loose dirt and ran them through my planer to remove maybe 1/16″ of the weathered and splintered surface while keeping the ‘old’ character of the wood. I applied a couple of coats of clear oil stain to protect the wood a bit but have no expectation that it will keep any kind of real ‘finish.’ Only downside is, it’s a VERY heavy table!” – Henry Burks
“These are already for my wife to use in her flower beds here in the north Georgia mountains.” – Gary Mast
