AusBonsai

Being an individual of little means on which to explore my new art I have to learn to improvise.
So when it came to building a display bench I decided to use recycled materials and see what I could come uo with.
And this is it.
For a grand total of $30.
It may not be the fanciest bench out there but for my meagre collection it will do for now

Now all I need is more trees

You made it or bought it second hand for $30?

Made it out of recycled materials.
The boards are Merbough, a really nice hardwood.
I used to be a roof plumber so I had plenty of screws laying around.
I even found the paint in the shed when we bought the house.
So it turned out to be a very cheap excercise.

Thats soo good man, looks really pro

Soon you might have one up to my caliber =] (sarcasm) Haha put my Trident and Japanese sticks into a styrofoam box for the next /4 years or so

Hi Tinmokey, now i'm a chippy and that got to be a better effort than mine .Well done .Cheers Alpineart

i recently made a shade stand(what ever you want to call it) and it's working great. It cost under $30 and suites my specific needs. All you need to make it is some stakes from bunnings- a couple lots($6x2), some screws- a whole packet is about $10 and a bit of shade cloth. The only tools you need are a hack saw and a drill/driver. Pretty simple and cheap as far as shade constructions come

Hey Monkey,

Your benchs look really good, far better than mine. I like the variation instead of one big flat bench. You scored well to get the timber & build it for the price you did

The rest of the benchs are fantastic as well. I may have been at it for yonks but am still using cheap.. read free... pallets for most of my trees, what other things I have in use have all come from the local area council hard rubbish and the odd bit of wire or nails bought..

Its not what you paid for it but how well it does the job and thanks for this thread, i will put up pics tomorow of my new shade houses.. total cost $5 for nails, rest is from rubbish.

Matt

Awesome mate!!

I envy such a setup, I rent and that maybe a bit much for the landlords. Though if I made it so it could be dis-assembled, perhaps...

It's amazing what goes to waste....

Your local buzzings bins are great, we throw away about 4 solid pallets a day... If I ever buy land, I'm going to salvage the pallets and use them for partition walls of my house.

Hey guys
I'm glad this has gotten people to think about the use of recycled materials. It still amazes me what goes to waste.

@ rch003 baby steps mate i'll get there one day

@ mattA Its one of the drawbacks of being an architect lol i cant do anything simple lol

@ Mitchell about 8 tek screws and its in three peices so i can move it around a bit easier

Thanks for all the positive comments.

Cheers

You've done an excellent job TM, they look great. I like to recycle stuff myself. My wife reckons I save too much junk, but it's surprising how often that junk comes in handy.

An example:
I had a dead ride-on mower (piston through the side of the block, not worth the cost of a new engine). My wife wanted a hand cart she could use round the garden. With a bit of steel tubing, one of those package wheelbarrows from Buzzings and bits from the dead mower, this is what I came up with:
The pedal and spring to release the tub came from the dead ride-on. The handle shaft was made from a piece of galvanized water pipe, the handle was from a dead mower (bent to shape). The front and back axles were made from a Toyota Wheel Brace, and the spindle for the steering came from a tube out of the swivel from an old office chair.

Best thing is that it works, she's happy - so that makes me happy!

Heya,

I cant do anything simple because its all re-engineering. Heres my new shade structures and a load of new benchs. Everything including the shadecloth was free including the stainless steel wire used to tie them down. The front posts of both are the corners from one of those temporary outdoor rooms that people leave up, the back posts of the first are the side rails off a trampoline.. the sidepipes made great supports for the roof. Its only tied down simply so I can remove at the end of summer. The roof sections are made from old lining boards & salvaged pine. Tman that barrow is awesome I want one too

Matt

Ps I told you your benchs looked heaps better than mine, might get some in close & dirty pics of the real guts under all those pots of sticks & stumps, it might scare the appearance consious tho so best keep it my little secret & your imagination...
Yes that is a laundry tub & no the steel doesnt get too hot

Hey thanks for the great information.It really helps me a lot.