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Storage with power. Hidden pocket screws guarantee this good-looking bench will grace your private home for years to return.
Keep the tip of your mattress organized in model.
The inspiration for this “I Can Do That” storage bench was easy – I needed it. Ever since I picked up a king-size mattress at a liquidation sale, I needed an identical bench to carry my sneakers on the foot of the mattress. After seeing many designs that had been working anyplace from $250 to $400, I believed to myself “I can do that” – and with a sheet of plywood and a few pocket screws, you may too.
Cut to Length
For my inventory, I used 3⁄4” Baltic birch plywood. Using your round noticed and a clamped-down straightedge jig to information the reduce, start ripping your lumber.
Start by ripping a 16″-wide panel from which you’ll reduce each facet items, then reduce them to size. Now rip the benchtop and backside shelf to 15 1⁄4” huge to accommodate for the 3⁄4” thickness of the again panel. Next reduce the again panel to match the size of the benchtop and backside shelf. Finally reduce the peak of the middle divider to set the peak of the storage cubbies.
This is My Good Side
Before reducing the facet profiles together with your jigsaw, study your inventory to decide on the most effective exterior face. With plywood it’s greater than possible that you simply’ll have patches in a number of locations; so make certain these is not going to be uncovered.
Using a paper sample for the ft, hint the define alongside the underside, flip the sample for the other foot, then join the tops of the ft with a sq.. For marking the notch on the highest, hint the within of a roll of packing tape.
Now you might be prepared to chop the profile together with your jigsaw. (If you haven’t picked up any Bosch T380B Xtra-Clean jigsaw blades, we extremely advocate them.) First reduce the insides of the ft, ensuring to remain on the waste facet of your line. To join the ft, begin by reducing a gradual curve till you attain the connecting line as seen within the photograph under. Then take away the remainder of the waste.
Angle of assault. Your jigsaw can’t flip at sharp angles, so make a curved reduce to the road.
To take away the wooden for the highest nook notch, first make a number of aid cuts – slice towards the road as in case you had been reducing a pizza. This will make it simpler to chop the ultimate curve of the notch together with your jigsaw or with a coping noticed.
Then seize your rasp and a few #120-grit sandpaper to wash up all of your jigsaw cuts and also you’re nearly prepared for meeting.
Prepare for Pocket Screws
To make meeting a breeze, it’s a good suggestion to chop all of your pocket-screw holes prematurely. First study your inventory for the most effective faces, then use your pocket-screw jig to make 4 evenly spaced holes alongside the ends of the three massive panels. The faces needing pocket screws are the underside of the benchtop, the underside of the underside shelf and the again of the again panel. The heart divider wants just one row of holes alongside its prime edge. Once your entire pocket-screw holes are drilled, sand all of your elements as much as #150 grit.
Upside-down Assembly
To assemble, begin by putting the benchtop on two 2″ blocks of scrap with the pocket holes going through up. Clamping these scrap blocks to the facet panels offers a sq. platform for attaching the benchtop and creates the correct seat depth of two″. After flushing the benchtop to the entrance of the facet panels, connect it with 11⁄4” pocket screws.
Next, find the middle of the benchtop and clamp a block in place to maintain the middle divider sq. as you drive the screws. Again, preserve this piece flush to the entrance.
Square with scrap. A clamped block ensures the middle divider stays straight as you drive the pocket screws.
To place the underside of the bench to the perimeters, clamp two 111⁄2” offcuts to the perimeters to supply a sq. platform. This prevents the underside shelf from rocking on the middle divider as you tighten your pocket screws.
After attaching the underside shelf, mark its heart and sq. up the middle divider. Use your countersink bit to drill 4 holes and safe the underside shelf to the middle divider with #eight x 1 1⁄4” flathead wooden screws.
To connect the again, flip the bench ahead so it’s mendacity on its face, flush the again panel to the highest of the perimeters, then drive dwelling the pocket screws. Then use your countersink bit to drill 4 evenly spaced holes to safe the again to the benchtop, and repeat to affix the again to the underside shelf.
Now break all the sides with some #120-grit sandpaper and also you’re prepared to complete.
For that Store-bought Look
To match my mattress, I needed this bench to have the modern end that, in response to Editor Christopher Schwarz, “all the kids love these days.” The aim was to have a darkish mahogany look with a contact of grain exhibiting by means of, whereas nonetheless masking the plys on the uncovered edges.
It appears like so much to perform, however closely thinned latex enamel paint works completely. To skinny the latex sufficient to permit a gradual construct of colour, start by including the paint to a cup of water. Once it has reached the consistency of chocolate milk, check the paint on an offcut. Once the consistency appears proper, construct up two to a few coats of paint in your bench, till the wooden reaches a wealthy, darkish colour however nonetheless has some grain peeking by means of.
When portray with this thinned-down latex, don’t begin on the corners. When you paint the vertical sides, the paint will inevitably run down and fill within the corners. By not portray the corners first, you eradicate this enjoyable “extra” coat and find yourself with a extra even end throughout. For the uncovered edges of the plywood, apply a number of coats (it doesn’t damage to make use of the extra-thick paint on the backside of your cup – the plys will absorb so much).
After that, apply two coats of a shiny wiping varnish, sanding with #320 grit between the coats. Finally, buff down any remaining mud nibs with #0000 metal wool then apply a coat of paste wax.
Storage Bench Cut List
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