Those of us building our own sauna benches know that finding and affording long clear boards is often a challenge.
We can “pony up” and pay the premium, yet there are a couple alternative solutions.
The Pyzyk Plow Through
As of this writing, 2x4x8′ knotty cedar is under $10.00 each at big box stores. And for those following the tried and true sauna bench design in the Sauna Build ebook, we know that we need 6 clear boards to make an upper bench. For upper benches, clear material is critical. For low bench layovers, as Forrest Gump would recognize, because low benches do not get as hot as upper benches, a few smaller knots here and there will not brand the buttox region.
To find 6 clear 2×4 cedar boards at a big box store, one has to humble themselves enough to want to start picking through the bins. For many, the activity can be like fishing. It takes some work. Yet it is rewarding to find a “keeper.” As we plow through the bins at big box, keep in mind that success may be had in bins holding longer boards. In this case, it’s perfectly reasonable to use the knotty remnant section of a 12′ board, for example, for bracing or lower bench decking.
The Pyzyk Plow Through can take some time, but it can surely save you big money.
The Simpson Short Cuts
Before throwing in the towel from not finding long enough clear runs, consider the Simpson Short Cut. In this case, we can build our sauna benches with a center seam. The center seam will then only require clear boards at half the length of the length of your benches. The same principles apply from the sauna bench design in the Sauna Build ebook, yet with the introduction of a center board.
Some like to build their benches with all the decking running in the short direction. And this can work. But Forrest Gump likes the other direction. He claims it feels better on his buttox region, with decking going across the buttox vs. along side it.
Many thanks, Glenn! Faced with a dilemma when my supplier could only provide 1.8m lengths of aspen, and I required precisely 2m, the solution came as a true bench lifesaver. The alternatives were either a four-week wait for 2.1m lengths or adopting the ingenious brace technique to expedite the construction. Opting for the latter, I was able to enjoy that much-anticipated first sauna session sooner than expected.
I’m thrilled to hear you’ve found the center cross interrupt not just useful, but a “double bonus hot tip” for sauna benches. The idea of branding this method (and I agree, not on the buttox!) sounds fantastic. Your title suggestion for the SaunaTimes post has a nice ring to it, and I’m all for sharing this approach with others who might be wrestling with the same challenge.
Wishing you many blissful moments of warmth and relaxation. Happy sweating!
– Liam Simpson
More sauna bench linkage for your review:
Check out these 20 year old sauna benches (and time for a makeover).
And here’s another view of a 1,000 session sauna bench makeover. Photo below shows benches built with material procured at big box via the Pyzyk Plow Through method:
5 thoughts on “Building sauna benches: when finding and affording long clear boards is a challenge”
Hi Glenn, I’m in the final furlong of my sauna build race… building the benches! OMG, clear cedar is so expensive – thanks for the above tips. Oh and BIG thanks so much for your eBook, I would be lost without it!
Quick question for you… in your experience, what is been the best wood treatment oil for the inside of the sauna? We were lucky to have found an old sauna door, that I have sanded and now need to treat. What has been your experience with “Paraffin (wood treatment) Oil”, not the lamp oil type! I am reading online that it is the best choice for internal woods such as the benches. Thanks a mill.
Don’t treat the inside of your hot room with anything, Wayne. Those suggesting treating the wood are those selling products to treat the wood.
My cabin sauna, 1996, all natural. The material is in really great shape. Yours will be too.
Following up on this thread, Glenn. We consulted your work and book extensively and are being recommended paraffin oil to prevent stains.
Here’s the rundown: we just finished a beautiful sauna, walls and benches are clear cedar. really stunning. but after just one use, our first, there were a decent amount of water / sweat stains, even though we used towels.
Our carpenter is recommending paraffin oil but that’s just from some reading he did online. our neighbor, an 78-year-old carpenter, says leave it be.
I’d leave it but gotta say the cedar is this nice white/light pink color, and the stains are very visible; my towel got so wet, it even made a little print on the wood with its patterning :-/ very sensitive stuff.
Not sure if these will be like the scratch on the new car that you stop noticing once it gets broken in, or it’s going to add up to something worse. Thoughts? We love it all natural, but don’t want to be a) crazy people worrying / fussing with guests in the sauna about avoiding water /sweat spills b) have sauna full of body outline water stains that looks weird.
I am right there with your 78 yo neighbor. Try your best to keep it natural. Clear cedar is beautiful, and it will develop patina over time. If you try to use products to keep it looking pristine, well, you’ll be needing to treat the benches way too frequently, and you’ll end up getting frustrated that way.
I wish you could see the benches at the 612 Sauna Society sauna. We build them in 2015. They have never been treated and they have developed a very nice patina, natural and soft and smooth.
Your car analogy is a good one, and yet it’s not scratches. Maybe we can refer to it like more like a baseball glove?
I found hosing down the benches and walls after use help get rid of the sweat/water stains nicely. Wiping down with a wet rag gets rid the marks as well.
Spray it down, bake and breath, all is good for the next time!