The Waterbench Project

This Waterbench is made from a tree that doesn't grow anymore - the American Chestnut.  Most items made of chestnut today use recycled wood from old barns and factories.  It was a common construction wood a hundred years ago.  The wood in this Waterbench is virgin lumber;  that is, never before used lumber, and once again I have to thank my uncle for making it available to me.  The wood is wormy, and that's not a bad thing in this case.  The worms have long since vanished, but left their mark as tiny holes in most of the wood.  These are called "features" rather than defects and add to the character of the finished project.

 

In winter, at least during the Christmas season, the Waterbench holds much of our Santa Claus collection and a few Christmas craft items I've made.  The summer contents, aside from the lamp and plant are more things I've made, including a small rockinghorse that actually makes a galloping sound when it rocks, a nutcracker box (built into the box is a walnut and brass nutcracker), and a Noah's Ark set.

 

So what is a Waterbench anyway?  According to the information that came with the plans, it is a shelf that would have been found on the back porch or mud room of houses without running water.  Buckets were kept on the bench and, if anyone went out the back door, they would take a bucket to the well, fill it up, and return it to the "Waterbench" so that water was always handy (not quite like turning on a faucet, but still relatively handy) to the home's inhabitants.

 

Just for the record, although I had a good set of plans for this project, they had to be modified extensively to make the most efficient use of the rare wood.  Any resemblance of my Waterbench to the original published plans (except for the general shape) is purely coincidental.  This isn't a legal statement - it's just the facts.  Click this link to see more of the American Chestnut Waterbench: