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Sweet chesnut bench seat

A

AJE78

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Hi Folks, I could see a few previous posts on this topic but thought I'd put this one out and see what thoughts were before I risk rushing things and making a mess of it.

I've just planed up some sweet chesnut I bought a year back now. It's been stickered up in the garden drying out. The grain has come up really well and it's the tops for my outdoor bench seat.

I know sweet chesnut is really durable and one of the reasons I went for it. In fact on the recommendation of Custard on this forum that it was top notch for exterior use. However, I'm really keen to keep it protected from the elements and if possible hang on to having a beautiful bit of grain on show. I was thinking of possibly teak oiling it or even Danish oiling it. I appreciate this is going bring maintenance, although teak oil for example doesn't flake does it so more a case of giving it a run down once a year and a refresh?

Anyway, just wondered what thoughts and advice folks had on this one. To oil or not to oil? Fors and against?! And if to oil what oil?!

On a separate note I'm well impressed by sweet chesnut. Definitely would look to use it more often.

Cheers

Andy
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Back in 2018 I made a garden chair from sweet chestnut and like you, I wanted it to stay looking newish rather than grey. I used a French product, popular with boatbuilders, based on tung oil, called Le Tonkinois.

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It's really good. It gives a thickish coating which is very flexible so it copes really well with expansion and contraction. The distribution in the UK is down to one agent - see here

https://www.letonkinoisvarnish.uk

He used to take it round boat and woodland shows to demonstrate and sell in person, but you can also just buy it direct and have it delivered. Prices seem to have gone up since I last bought some but it's good stuff and lasts a long time in the tin.

I did a longwinded description of the build on another forum where I used to post stuff at
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/ad ... ut.113356/

I also used it on a matching oak chair.

They both come indoors for the worst bit of the winter and get a bit of a refresh every couple of years or so. Both are holding up nicely.

If that doesn't convince you, I'll just add that it's also been used by Leo Goolden on the inside of Tally Ho. :)
 
Thanks for the heads-up Andy. Available from amazon.fr free delivery €27 . Might get some in preparation for my douglas fir adirondeck chair
 
Yep, as soon as you put anything on it, you're building in future work fpr yourself. Having said that, you know that and are up for it, which is fine. The Tonkytonk varnish would certainly be the thing I would experiment with given that it isn't hard like modern varnishes. And yep, chestnut is lovely wood to work with, other than cross-grain chiselling where it can take out chunks. It's quite hard to tell it from oak, and it's quite a lot cheaper, so I really think some of us ought to be using it more instead of just automatically buying oak.
 
Superb Andy! Thanks for the suggestion. I'd not ever heard of that product or the Tally Ho! That provides me another You Tube worm hole to fall into! It looks like what I'm after and if it's good enough for boats well it's good enough for bench seats. Looks a great finish on your chair and brings out the colour without being too overpowering a d taking away the natural beauty.

Mike - I agree, and time is something I always have very little of! You're right though I know what I'm letting myself in for. Personally I'd definitely consider sweet chesnut as a suitable alternative to oak. It's got so much going for it and wish I'd discovered it sooner. Green sawn prices are really very reasonable and in my opinion the grain on it is really quite beautiful. It also seems to be in good supply with no issues getting hold of it

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AJE78":264aa1rj said:
.....I'd not ever heard of .... the Tally Ho!......
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness! Far and away the best thing on Youtube. You've got about 3 weeks of binge watching ahead of you now.
 
Mike G":3kjqi5y0 said:
AJE78":3kjqi5y0 said:
.....I'd not ever heard of .... the Tally Ho!......
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness! Far and away the best thing on Youtube. You've got about 3 weeks of binge watching ahead of you now.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's definitely worth watching. Watch it from the beginning so you see the whole "journey". Enjoy!
 
Cheers folks I shall use it as incentive to get my jobs finished and watch some of them over the weekend. I'm not allowed to be distracted by these things just yet!!!

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