Small Bench | Popular Woodworking Magazine

This easy seat is right for a hallway or porch.

This undertaking is impressed by a interval choir bench in my mother’s eating room – however I modernized the Gothic revival design of the unique with sweeping curves on the arms (as an alternative of shelter arms), and neglected the moulding and cutouts.

Panel Glueup

This bench is destined for a entrance porch, so to guard it from the weather, it’s painted – a great factor, as a result of the facet panels are glued up from two distinctly totally different species of pine (one problem of shopping for dimensional lumber from the house heart) – and I used sticks pulled from the scrap bin for the cleat materials (for those who don’t have appropriate scrap, decide up 1x materials on the house heart).

The two facet boards are stable panels; I glued up every from one 29″-long piece of 1×10 and one 29″-long piece of 1×8 (whereas you should buy panels extensive sufficient for the perimeters, I feel they’re insanely costly).

So step one is to set a stop-block 29″ to the left of your miter noticed blade,  then lower two items from a 1×10 and two from a 1×8. Then, glue up your two 16-1/2″-wide panels and set them apart to permit the glue to dry in a single day.

Cut the Remaining Pieces

Usually, it’s higher to attend to chop your items till you want them, as a result of usually your precise construct received’t precisely match the cutlist. But for this bench,  excluding the cleats, all of the remaining items have to be the identical size so arrange your miter noticed as soon as and make all however the cleat cuts. Move the stop-block to 34″ left of the blade, then lower the 4 boards for the seat and again from 1×Eight inventory, lower the stretcher from 1×Four inventory and the shelf (which additionally acts as a decrease stretcher) from 1×6 inventory.

You can now set your stop-block to chop the 2 13″-long cleats for the seat, then the 2 5-1/2″-long cleats for the shelf.

Curve Appeal

Mark a curve. A nail acts as a 3rd hand whereas I mark the concave curve on the high of 1 facet piece.

I performed with a variety of totally different curves for the arms, together with no curve (which felt too boxed in) and a convex curve on the highest corners to match the underside cutouts (it nonetheless appeared cumbersome) earlier than deciding on a sweeping concave curve. You ought to mess around with it, and see what feels proper to you.

To mark the curve I used, sink a nail 3-1/2″ in from the again edge, simply deep sufficient to remain in place, then mark the entrance edge 20-3/4″ up from the underside (or 8-1/4″ down from the highest). I used a skinny, versatile offcut from the trash can, however you need to use a versatile ruler or something that can bend neatly, and put one finish in opposition to the nail, maintain the opposite in place at your mark, then draw the curve with a pencil.

Plane to suit. If your backboards are barely happy with the perimeters, take just a few passes with a block airplane at both finish to curve the again items in to fulfill the perimeters. If the perimeters are proud and want planing, moist the tip grain with alcohol to melt it, then airplane them down to fulfill the backboards.

Now mark 3-1/4″ in from the perimeters on the backside, then pencil in a curve for the underside cutout utilizing the identical methodology – or, when you have a big sufficient compass, that works, too. (The radius on the curve as proven is 5″.) Be positive to depart sufficient meat on the ends to help a physique’s weight, and don’t go above 6-1/2″ up with the apex of your curve; the highest fringe of the cleat for the shelf is 7″ up from the underside.

Use a jigsaw to take away the waste at each areas. If you’ve lower near your traces, go forward and use the primary facet to mark the curves on the second facet. If you’re approach off the traces, you would possibly wish to form the arm and base arc with a rasp and sandpaper earlier than utilizing it as a sample.
Once either side are lower, clamp them collectively to form and sand the curves concurrently in order that they’ll match.

Start Screwing

Mark the cleat areas from the plan, drill clearance holes and countersinks, then put a line of glue on every, and screw the 4 cleats in place.

Get somebody to assist maintain a facet in place as you drop your seatboards and shelf onto their respective cleats, then clamp throughout the width simply tightly sufficient to carry issues collectively. Now you possibly can dismiss your helper.

Adjust the entrance seat board so it’s 1/2″ again from the entrance fringe of the perimeters, tighten the clamp to carry it securely, then drill, countersink and screw by the skin into the tip grain of the seatboard utilizing #Eight screws, a minimum of 11⁄2″ lengthy (and be sure to drill straight – you have got solely a 3/4″-thick piece into which you’re drilling; you don’t need screw suggestions poking by into seated bottoms).

The shelf might be screwed or nailed to the cleats.

Now loosen the clamp, butt the second seat board in opposition to the primary, and repeat.

The stretcher butts in opposition to the entrance finish of the seatboard cleats. Clamp it in place and once more, drill, countersink and screw by the skin of the facet items.

It’s simpler to connect the underside backboard first, as a result of you possibly can flip the bench on its entrance to place the decrease backboard in opposition to the again seatboard (7-1/4″ down from the highest fringe of the perimeters). Drill, countersink and screw it in place, each by the perimeters and into the rear seatboard. Then flip the bench again on its toes and safe the highest backboard by screwing by the perimeters.

If your high backboard finally ends up happy with the perimeters (or the perimeters find yourself happy with the backboards), just a few strokes with a block airplane will resolve the issue.

A Bright Finish

Fill your screw holes (for those who like) with wooden filler, let it dry, then sand it flush as you sand the remainder of the piece as much as #150 grit.

This piece is happening a entrance porch, so I selected vivid crimson paint for a cheerful welcome.

Extra: View the SketchUp mannequin