How to Build a Bench

How to Build a Bench How to Build a Bench Bench is a kind of furniture that can be used anywhere indoors, in the garden, play room or mud room. Depending on their designs and styles, you can find numerous varieties in the shapes and sizes of this versatile furniture that can really complement the décor of your house. Interestingly, building a wood bench is easier than building other pieces of furniture. With a little investment in materials and tools you can build a practical bench that you can use for years.

A basic planning prior to building a bench makes it easy to select the material and tools for the purpose. Consider the size of the bench keeping in mind the location where you want to place it. Depending on the purpose of building the furniture, you can decide whether you should build a basic or fancy item? For instance, if you want to use the bench for kids’ mud room where they can sit, a simple three piece bench is fine. A bench with support for back to relax is good for garden. Hence, planning the bench before cutting the wood pieces is crucial. If required, you can draw the design on the paper to get idea.
Gather the required materials for building the bench such as boards, wood glue, screws, and nails. The tools essential for the construction are hammer, sand paper, pencil and paper, router, clamps, tape.
Start with the legs of the bench which can be of various styles. For wide legs you require 2 boards of 14-18 inches height, 8-10 inches width and 1inch thickness. Make holes on the top of the boards and on the big board (meant for making the seat) measuring the lengths and the screw the bigger board with the legs to prepare the seat. You can also use 4 small legs of equal size and diameter and screw them to the board to prepare the seat.
While preparing the seat and attaching it to the legs, make sure you measure the each side and the points where you want to put the nails or screws. Mark the points with pencil or pen before making holes. For a longer bench, it is better to use narrow pieces of equal lengths instead of a long and wide board.
You require two “h” shaped frames for a bench with a back. For longer benches, you may require more than two frames. Prepare the frames with 2X4 boards and screw the boards to make sitting platform and back of the bench.
With the above techniques you can prepare simple benches for you basic use. If you want a bench with a different look, you can opt for curved benches. However, you should start with making simple benches and gradually you can get idea for more complex ones with better designs.
An important part is to sand the wood pieces before assembling them. Once you assemble all the pieces, apply primer and then color. Your bench is ready for your use.