Shower Stand

From J:

After I built my workshop, it was time to actually make something. First thing on the list is a new shower stand to replace our current teak one. Don't buy cheap teak online, kids, because you end up with wood that grows mushrooms and rots out at the joints. Time for J to do something about it.

First step: research online what woods are good. Teak, Ipe, lots of stuff is very moisture resistant. I settled on aromatic cedar for a few reasons: the stuff my hardwood supplier has is gorgeous (lots of heart and sapwood streaking), cheap (1/10th the price of teak), and highly water and rot resistant. Can't go wrong, especially for a project that I'm just learning on! So we picked some out.

The lumber shop is good and will joint and plane the boards for a small fee, which is excellent as it saves me from buying a jointer and planer (small shop, and I'm tired of buying tools...at the moment).

Lumber in hand, time to get to work. I decided to do mortise and tenon construction for this project, as it would be a good blend of strength and water resistance (no other, less water-resistant materials to rot away at the joints). In retrospect, this was way too much work and I would have been better served buying some cedar doweling online and using that.

First, I ripped my stock square (~3/4") on the table saw and dimensioned it up using the miter saw for longer sections and the table saw for shorter ones. I cut the tenons where needed on the table saw with a 1/4" dado. For the mortises, I used a 1/4" drill bit to make a hole that I enlarged with a chisel to fit the tenon. This was tough, as the cedar was a bit fragile and wanted to split if I was sloppy. After ruining a few pieces (cough cough, I mean practicing some), I got the hang of it and banged out the rough frame.

For the slats, I ripped some stock to 1/4" x 3/4" and mitered them to fit the shelf opening. I rabbeted the angled frame pieces to accept the slats and give a little lip. The slats are glued in place. All glue is Titebond III, rated for exterior use. With the slats cut, it was time for final assembly! I enlisted A's help to help align things while I glued. The slats were set in and weighted down with my fancy weight set and left overnight to set.

I agonized over the finish choices. I wanted something tough, but the shower will eventually break down any finish (short of a thick epoxy, like a bar top) so it needed to be easy to reapply. I initially leaned towards a spar varnish but settled on an outdoor-blend oil from General Finishes that has mildewcides and such mixed in. No dilution required, just wipe on, wait, and wipe off. Two coats later and water just beads up and rolls off. When this inevitably breaks down it's trivial to just wipe on another coat and refresh the finish, I'm guessing I'll do this 2-3 times a year. I really like how the finish brings out the redness of the cedar, making everything seem much richer compared to the original color, which was a more pinkish color. I'm completing it with some feet set into brass threaded inserts in the legs to keep the end grain out of the water.

Project cost: ~$15 lumber (including my, umm, practice pieces), $15 oil finish (of which I used a tiny amount).

Project highlights: picking out the lumber and choosing which faces to show and highlight the wood's character. Very satisfying and easy finish, as well.

Project lowlights: those angled tenons, and mortises in general in the cedar. A great learning experience but I think I could get a stable piece with less effort using doweled joints.