Outdoor Couch Status

Well, it's too late for this year... but it'll be ready for next year. All of the major pieces are ready to assemble. I measured the doors in the basement, and it looks like I'll be putting it together outside. So I'm just going to wait until the spring. Then I can put it together, sand and stain it outside. I don't want to do it now, because it'll be sitting outside all winter, which will make it more difficult to stain. I have to trim the front rail about 1/16", it's longer than the back, and it's not going together square. Other than that it's ready to assemble, then I'll build all the supporting pieces for the bottom cushions. All the joints are mortise and tenon, and I did most of it by hand. I used a mortising chisel and japanese saws to cut the tenons. It's all made of Western Red Cedar, so we'll see how durable it is. I found the cedar a little too soft when I was working with it, and it splits easily too if you're not careful. It's going to look great on our deck next summer though. I have one more project to do in the shop, then we're going to redo the shop, to make things work better. It's a little cramped, and storage and lighting could be improved. Hopefully I can work a little more efficiently once the shop is in order. The work bench has helped a lot, so I'm sure other improvements will help too.