My tree bench

Hi again. I have a lot of catching up to do so bear with me. After building the chicken coop i realised there must be a way I can fix up my yard for even less cost. So when I went to visit my parents, I asked them if they had anything lying around the house I could use that they didn't need. Well this was the best question I could have asked. I ended up with a trailer load of stuff I could put to use. The best thing was an old drop saw dad gave me.

The next day I had an epiphany and thought "what about pallets?" I quickly did a research on Google for other projects that used them and found there were HEAPS. There are a million and one things you can make from them. So I went on the hunt. I called around Seymour businesses and finally, on my way to pick up a couple, I drove past Reece (our local plumbing store) and saw a mountain of them laying there. They were really good quality too. So I asked them if I could take some and they seriously couldn't get them in my trailer fast enough.  
After looking around town, I soon noticed this to be a trend. A lot of business have them all sitting there collecting dust. Its such a great way to recycle old unused timber and the cost is fantastic. FREE!!!!

First thing I had built was a seat that sits around a gumtree. I thought to myself. How the heck am I going to build that?!? Google baby :o)
I watched a few videos, got some tips and then started taking apart the pallets. To take them apart i was using a really small chisel and a hammer. I got quite a few bits of timber that would split in half because of it. So after a while I gave up and went to Bunnings. I found one of these electrician bolsters, which I thought wouldn't split the wood, and to my surprise it worked. It actually made it sooooo much easier to take them apart.

 

So as per the video, I cut my wood to specs and put them down on the floor to make sure it all fit together properly. The drop saw took me a bit of getting used to. I thought I was going to cut my arm off at first. But after a while it got a lot easier. And I'm now a pro lol.

Here is my 2 year old helping mum. He is a gun with the drill lol

Then I cut out and screwed together the legs. I placed them on top to make sure it all fit nicely.

With the help of my hubby I flipped it over and began putting it together. This was tricky, but we got there in the end. Thanks Ants ;o)

I put it together in two halves, then took it to the tree and screwed the halves together. I had to dig in the ground a little to make sure it was level. And that's it. My first chair.It doesn't sit completely flush, but I don't mind. It does the job and looks cool  ;o)

Oh, I forgot to mention. This bench cost me nothing. Just my time :o)