In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Options
Oak shooting bench?
Captplaid
Member Posts: 20,296 ✭✭✭
How long does oak last outside before rotting? What should I coat it with? Poly urethane? I'm thinking use this for a shooting bench seat. Probably weighs 75 pounds. Thinking about making a table out of oak 2x12 with 3x6 legs. Bad idea? Yeah, I know. You'll say make the bench and seat as one unit.... I already have this seat and it's big enough to sit both left and right shooting.
Comments
White oak firewood will last 4-5 years. Red oak, only a couple of years. That doesn't look like either of those.
Forget oak.
Get some pressure treated for post and frame and trex for top.
I have benches that were oak and oiled and stained that lasted for years. Dont really know how many, but many.
I know what you mean. I have 2 benches. This one looks more like oak with the uniform color. Could the big one be black walnut?
Maybe walnut?
If you keep the open grain wood sealed at the base of your bench where it comes in contact with the ground, it will add years to the bench's useful life.
Roofing patch, a tar like thick liquid containing fibers will work well for a sealer. There are a lot of other options as well.
I also apply Teak Oil which is used for decks and wood surfaces on boats that get hit with a lot of sun and moist weather to the rest of any outdoor wooden furniture that I want to last a long time.
polyurethane is a poor choice for outside use, it will start peeling from u.v. exposure is a year or so
spar varnish is a better choice or multiple coats of linseed oil
There are red oak fence posts here and there on the farm . Many of them are still solid after 40 to 50 years .
I have a bunch of walnut trees in my forest. That looks just like the insides of my walnut trees.
Joe
Nice live edge but a shooting bench? Looks more like a sitting bench for a big boy. How is it held together by stainless bolts or nails? Anyways how wet is the wood? If it's oak that thing will gernade and split so any finish will be the least of the problem. Maybe East Coast oak is different than the West Coast stuff?
" That doesn't look like either of those."
Agree.
FWIW, Raw white oak will last a surprisingly long time exposed to moisture and soil contact. We used that for a long time as bridge 'cribbing' and flooring. Last year, I replaced most of the flooring on a bridge built in 1982 or 83. Some of the cribbing is nearly gone also but 40 years is a long time in that environment.
I used Weather Seal on the oak floorboards on my utility trailer. They were rough cut full 1" thick, and had been stacked and dried under a shed for over a year. The first set lasted over 30 years treated that way. If these last that long, my Grandson will have to worry about it! ☔️