Category Archives: Helmsman Teak Oil

A Fish Story: One That Didn’t Get Away

A few years ago Leigh Ann and I bought this fish bench from a roadside artist, not because we needed another bench, but because we loved the hand-painted rainbow trout. Last week, however, I noticed the finish and the paint beginning to flake off under the intense sun, so decided
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A Simple DIY Firewood Rack

After a prolonged winter, one of our firewood piles was beginning to look just a little unsightly, so I decided it was time to spruce it up a little bit by building a simple wood rack.

Using just four inexpensive 2″x 4″ boards, I quickly cut the boards to length (54″ long, 14″ deep,
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Windowsill Protection

While windowsills never get the same attention as our furniture and cabinets, they can’t be forgotten. They have a tough task: they have to look as good as the rest of our interior woodwork, but they also have to stand up to more sunlight and water. If you’d like to see how I protected the windowsills in my office last week, just take a quick look here.
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Preserving Our Cedar Porch Swing

Two years ago I built this pergola from rough-sawn cedar, and hung a new cedar porch swing so that we could relax and enjoy the view. But two years of sunshine and rain have begun to rob the wood of its natural oils, so today I decided it was time to take some preventative action. If you’d like to see how you can add several years of life to your outdoor furniture, just follow along.


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