# Outdoor Icon Shrine



## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

This is my first outdoor project, so I plan to keep an eye on how it holds up. I'm using woods (Doussie and White Oak) and a finish (Teak Oil) that are supposed to be good for the outdoors. There will also be a bench when everything is completed. I finished the construction and finishing prep work this morning. I plan to put the first coat of teak oil on this afternoon. The joints are spline miter joints and an angled mortise and tenon joint. Since I did not want to use plywood outside, I went with a hardwood back and used a shiplap joint. Thanks for the help on the joinery thread.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

That looks nice. What did you use for the splines? Which "Teak Oil" are you using?








 







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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

Looks good, I like the shiplap joints on the back it's a nice touch.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> What did you use for the splines? Which "Teak Oil" are you using?


I'm using doussie for the splines, as well; I didn't want them to stand out with a contrasting wood.
The teak oil I'm using is Watco's Teak Oil Finish.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

I might be over-engineering it, but I added some slats to the back and a small wedge on the base of the 'house.' The icon has also been installed. I hope to get the teak oil on it soon.

The icon was purchased but is also made of wood and was laser-engraved.





















View attachment 79776


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## Woodwart (Dec 11, 2012)

I would consider not using a finish on it, other than on the icon, which might lose its definition with weather. Untreated wood will last a long time, going grey as it ages. Have you considered putting a sheet of glass or perspex in the front to protect the icon? Is it going on the grounds of an institution, or somewhere more public? I love the idea of having these about.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Woodwart said:


> Untreated wood will last a long time, going grey as it ages. Have you considered putting a sheet of glass or perspex in the front to protect the icon? Is it going on the grounds of an institution, or somewhere more public? I love the idea of having these about.


I am trying to keep the beauty of the orangish-red color if the doussie as it ages, so I'm hoping the teak oil will do that. Given the shiplap joints in the back, putting glass or plexiglass will only trap the moisture on it. It's being placed on our churches property in a shaded area, so I'm not too worried about sun.

Any tips on ground prep for installing it, I'm looking at using concrete?


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Three coats of oil.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

And a picture of the area it will go.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

*Round 2*

Started on the bench this afternoon. Produced a template so I can route out the 10 slates that will make up the seat top. I also planed down 25bf of sassafras wood. That is a wonderful smell, it almost makes you want to forget about making anything with it and just keep planing so you can keep that smell in your shop. It has a smell that is probably best described as cinnamon. The bench design can be seen here.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Thomas, looks great. I look forward to seeing your process for this bench! :thumbsup:


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Thomas I'm looking forward to this build.

Why not start a new build thread in the project showcase section?


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Very nice work.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

All the seat slates dimensioned and roughly cut to shape. Only a couple hours in the shop today. Will have to wait until Sunday afternoon or next weekend before routing them with the template.

Cut 11, only need 10 but wanted a spare.








By the way, had planed to install the icon shrine yesterday, but it decided to rain all afternoon.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Couple hours in the shop this afternoon. Vertical seat slates completed! And a reminder of why making an extra piece is a good idea.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

*A Little Prep Work Before Next Weekend*

Here are the schematics for the left and right legs of the bench. There will be 9 left legs and two right legs. The horizontal and vertical braces for the right leg will be sized and made after all the legs are completed, though the vertical brace will also have the 1" curve as on most of the other pieces. I am still toying around with the left leg brace a bit. I will either leave it as drawn, move the brace to the exterior side, or have a brace on the bottom interior as designed, as well as an exterior brace of similar design at the top. It's not really a structural issue (I will insert small spacers in between the slates) but an aesthetic question.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

*Picture Heavy Post*

Good day in the shop! I was able to get all my templates cut out and finessed. I laid them out on the ground so that I could get an idea of what it will look like once complete.










Since I was doing the templates I thought I would show how I do the curves. This method I only use with templates as I pound nails into my template board and 1/8" inch from where the center is and where the line would cross on the curve close to the terminus. Its an 1/8" because that is the width of my bending stick. I sometimes finagle the nail forward or backwards to get it positioned just right. Then I press in the middle until the bending stick contacts the nail and strike my line. Its not perfect, but I can clean it all up on the spindle sander and hand sanding.










I then milled and dimensioned my remaining stock of sassafras. By the way here is the jig I am using for my jointer (It is Izzy Swan's design). And here is a shot of my drum sander (I love ShopSmith by the way!!!).










All the left leg pieces are now complete.










I also milled and dimensioned the Doussie for the right leg. I laid out the lines for the curves and the slot for one of the mortises. And that was how I spent my morning. :icon_smile:


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

After Liturgy today, a couple of parishioners and I FINALLY installed the shrine outside. I don't know why, but I forgot to take a picture of the mounting, but here are two pics I did take. The first showing what it looks like in place and the other, just because it looked good in front of the Autumn foliage.


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## ThomasOSB (May 21, 2009)

Something doesn't feel quite right when you spend the afternoon in the shop and this is all the saw dust you have to show for it. And the Maple was just testing out the new (to me) Craftsman Jointer.










I needed to set the depth of the horizontal brace on the right leg, so I did a quick mock-up of the seat and left leg. In the process, I found the seat to look a little too thick, so I removed 2 seat and 2 leg slats, which removed 3.5". While everything was clamped together, I also took a measurement of the thickness of the seat, which determines the length of all the braces on the right leg.










I took my measurements and laid out the rest of the mortises.










The rest was just letting the machine do all the work.









And the last things I did was rough cut the shape of the right leg on the bandsaw and routed it with the template as the guide.


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