garden Potting bench joining detail help

[Robert Trotter]

Hi, looking for help on how to make a new potting bench for the garden.
It is something like this.

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What I would like to know is about the joint at "1". How would you do this? I would think that the frame members are 2x4. I can't just screw it all together like my old potting bench which is only the closet end.

Here is the detail I used for my original potting bench. Not many tools back then. It was 2x4 and I just double screwed the frame together with long screws. It has held up very well and is still pretty solid. But it is the size and type of the closet end only.(question what do you actually call the doored part?) Easy to screw it all together. ie. it is only half of what I want.

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How to do the through joint? The horizontal is a 2x4 standing up and the upright leg is oriented narrow face to the front.
Any help greatly appreciated.

Question 2. Also ideas on the joint at "2".

Question 3. See "3". If the top is made of boards and there is a hole cut in the top to set in a plastic tray for soils or watering etc. how to heep the board ends near the edge down. Wouldn't they be rather unstable? Or would it be that you would need to put a thin ply sheet over the top as the working surface and that hold it all together.

Thanks anyone

Rob

[Joe Mioux]

1 Mortises and shallow tennons or the horizontal bottom runners could have sort of an offset tennon (like a half lap) then let into a through mortise.

2: Rabet joint

3: I have built and re-built a lot wooden benches in commercial greenhouses. You won't have any problems with the ends.

What wood species? Redwood, Cedar or Cypress?

joe

[Jim Becker]

Mortise and tenon with dry pegs (no glue in the joint) if you want to be able to disasemble in the future.

[Robert Trotter]

Thanks Joe and Jim for the feedback.

I was intially thinking of 2x4 and 1x4 from the home centre here (Japan) which last time I checked was spruce. But I can get rough cypress and radiata type of pine. I can get redwood and other SE Asian hardwoods as well as red cedar but these would make it pretty expensive. My smaller original is Spruce 2x4 and painted so has held up well over 5 or 6 years. Just due for a repaint.

Any species a no no?

I am a little hesitant to use glue as the main strength component for the joints as it will be out in the weather. So I was hoping for screws (easy) or M&T with pins or similar.

I think for #1 joint I will go with M&T. And like Joe suggested I will go for the through mortice and half lap tennons. And then pin it with a wood dowel or a countersunk screw and plug it. This should allow for dissasembly as Jim said and easy to replace or fix any member that need it after a few years in the elements.

Joe - Should the working surface be some thin ply sheet over the board for the tops? This would give a clean surface and the look of boards from the side.

Thanks again for the help.

Rob

[Jim Becker]

Robert, what you want to find out is which of those locally sourcable species are weather/rot/insect resistant. In North America, cypress would be fine, but I don't know specfically if what you have available there is the same species or something very different. (Any future outdoor projects I do here in PA will likely be white oak or Ipe)

[Robert Trotter]

Hi Jim. I'll try to check things out a bit more about weatherability and bugs etc. for the softwoods.

I was thinking of Ipe or Ulin which look very nice. I have made some wooden planters with Ulin and they are very nice and it has a life of about 15 to 20 years untreated when in contact with the ground. It is what our fence is made of. Very good but it is a lot more expensive than any of the pines or softwoods. I think I will finalise my design and and work out a materials list and then I can compare the prices.

The Ipe and other SE Asian and South American hardwoods are nice looking for outside but it will come down to price in the end.

Thanks

Rob.

[Joe Mioux]

Robert:

For the potting surface you could use a Marine Grade Plywood, Regular plywood that is painted or continue using the boards (wood) that will be used for the rest of the project. I would go 3/4 inch though. You need something with some strength.

Over the years we have used all kinds of things. One bench was made from an old tongue and grooved door. It was flat and strong.

Other potting benches made out of plywood and paint.

The one we use in the main greenhouse is an old Saab 900 plastic spill tray. You know the kind, they are molded to fit the back of a car trunk area. They have a three inch lip.

Sounds silly but it is probably the best one because it is portable and slides over the growing benches easily.

Joe