Introduction: Curved Bench and Infant Sized Boat Photographers Props

By
About: I've built houses, decks, custom cabinets, furniture of all types. Ive done furniture repair and restoration, residential and commercial remodels, restaurant seating and tables and hotel furniture. Ive been a …

My SIL is a photographer and requested a couple of props she found on the net. I didn't take a lot of pictures thru the build but I do have a few to share.

She showed me a couple of pictures of the curved bench. It had no dimensions listed so I had to wing them as I went. This build proved to be a bit more challenging than I had first thought.

The boat had a couple of dimensions added to the description, which made this build a whole lot easier and a lot of fun. I made the boat with a blue stripe on one side and a red stripe on the other so she could have options. Everyone likes options.

Step 1: The Curved Bench

Figuring the size and arch of the curve proved to be challenging. I was going to go buy a infant sized baby doll for reference but I couldn't find anything. So I wrapped a towel in a small blanket and pretended. :)

The arch ended up being 22 inch diameter circle (inside) Outside was 24 inch.

I made a quick stick compass and made a template.

I cut the front and back curves with my band-saw then clamped them together and sanded the curves smooth.

PLAN A:

I then cut the handrails and glued and screwed the hand rails to the front and rear frames as well as a few ribs for the bent 1/4" plywood.after letting the frame dry overnight, I cut a piece of 1/4" plywood for the top curve (the seat.)

This is where I ran into problems. the 1/4" plywood did not want to bend around that radius. I tried and tried and could not get it to sit properly at all.

Plan B:

Throwing the bent plywood idea out the window, I moved to slats.. I cut about 8 slats of 1/2" plywood and 16 supports. I then glued and nailed the slats in place and followed that with each support.

After the glue dries, you can sand the inside of the curve to remove some of the flats of each plywood slat. Next, using wood filler, I filled in each joint to soften the meeting point of each slat.

Last comes the legs. This is basically 4 boards glued and screwed into the front and rear frame.

After that dries, I used a block of wood with a pencil laying horizontally to mark horizontal cut lines for the lower legs. This equalizes the length of them and gives the correct angle to sit flat on the floor.

The rest is pretty basic.

Sand

Fill

Sand

Fill

Sand

Primer

Fill

Sand

Primer

sand

Topcoat paint

Topcoat paint

touch-up and done!

I really wish I had more pics of the build... Maybe next time.

Step 2: The Infant Boat Prop

This was very easy and a lot of fun to make. The one she showed me came with dimensions. So that made it even easier.

The boat consists of a top and bottom bow crown meeting at the tip at 45 degree angle

The stern is 12 inches wide and consists of a bottom board, top rail and a back board (the stern.)

The boat sides are 25" long and 6" high 1/4" birch plywood glued to the stern then bent to form the bow.

The inside of the boat is finished with a Teak Oil and top coat of clear satin polycrylic wood-finish.

The outside is painted white, sanded in a couple spots, then each side has a different color stripe, red and blue.

It was suppose to be a bit more rustic. But I like the way this turned out.

Thanks for looking.