Oak bench finsihing

[Ben Trout]

My Explorers are making some rustic oak benches for the local Jubilee Woods. The benches will be split logs with horizontal log legs. Hopefully the benches will be fairly well progressed by next week. How should we go about finishing them, so they will last well living outside?

Thanks.

 

[Rod Paradise]

Do they need finished? I thought oak, with all the tannins in it was pretty well protected, it'd just leach to silver and then last years.

 

[Ben Trout]

Thanks for your answer. One of my Scouts made an Oak seat a few years ago. It got infested with a fungus and crumbled away. We burnt it at a later camp in the end.

Until then I though Oak would be fine too.

 

[Macaroon]

Give them a liberal dosing of Linseed oil then leave them to their own devices - apart from anything else, it'd cost an arm and a leg to start treating them with anything else, and I don't think they'll need it. atb mac