Vintage Workshop Storage Bench

I really, really like this. You definitely brought out the vintage feel. Can you explain the vinegar/steel wool process? I'm intrigued.

Oh my, it's just what I imagined! haha. Like I said in the original post... That thing NEEDS crates, and you did an amazing job! Wowza!

Thank you both. Stacynabby, the vinegar/steel wool solution is just a container of plain vinegar with 1 steel wool pad thrown into it. Let it set a few days or more and then paint it onto your bare wood and almost instantly, you will see changes in the appearance. Basically, it makes new wood look weathered and old. Very simple and more importantly, very cheap. :) I gave my crates two coats of this solution for a darker appearance. It will even get a little darker still after you add some poly over it. This is only the 2nd time I've tried it, but I will definitely be using it more often. Thanks again.

Love the simplicity and using crates versus baskets.

Another great use for vinegar. I'm going to try it on my next project.

Looks awesome! I love the shades of wood!

Sausha from the famous washer and dryer pedestal has a tutorial on the vinegar/ steel wool trick here:

http://www.sweetpickinsfurniture.com/2011/01/how-to-weather-new-wood.html

This is just Stunning! I LOVE it! I am so glad you shared! Those crates make it perfect and I love the way the colors of the wood come out in different shades, beautiful!

I have some pallets aging outside right now to try to get that look to build some crates. Will have to try the vinegar/steel wool trick so I don't have to wait so long. Your entire project looks beautiful.

Thanks everybody for the nice comments.

I love the craftsman vibe going on. Great job!

1 more...wow.....nice

1. is all the wood used here of the same species and do you know what species it is?

2. on the boxes, did you use the vinegar/steel wool stain on the entire box facade or on just the dark side shown in the lover pick?

I am very curios as I am going to give this a shot.

Coose, it's definitely not all the same species of wood. The main boards were old 2X6's that my sister had in her garage for years. Probably douglas fir, but I don't know for sure. I used 1X2 whitewood and 2x2 scraps for the frame. The crate bottoms and sides where made with 1x12 whitewood, while the slats were made with different kinds of wood. Mostly douglas fir 2x4's that I ripped thin on a table saw (those are the ones that turned dark). Some of the wood for the slats was reclaimed from old furniture and I had to sand off the old finish. Those pieces turned brownish instead of dark. If I had used all fresh cut wood for slats, they would all be dark I think.

And yes, I built the crates completely and then applied the vinegar solution to the entire crate. The one crate in that is sitting on top of the bench in the pic above was the last one I made and all the slats were cut from the same piece of 2x4 wood. That's the only crate that turned every slat dark. The whitewood doesn't get as dark as the douglas fir from the looks of it.

So basically, the entire bench/crates were made with different kinds of scrap wood. It's a mutt. I'm new to wood-working and staining, so I have no clue what works yet. Anyways, I hope you build it and post some pics.