Take me to the Steps

How to custom make your own multi-purpose wooden bench with recycled or scrap pieces of lumber, to any size of your liking. Can be made for several purposes such as patio furniture, fire pit stool or even small enough for potty training, or big enough to be a workbench. These are easy, step-by-step instructions with a foolproof design that is very strong, and very useful for indoors or outdoors.

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Project Steps

I have at my disposal at this time a 2×4, 2×10 and 2×12 pieces of softwood. As you can see on the small blueprint you can taper the legs (optional) but since the wood I have is smaller than the seat that I am using, I am not going to taper them. If you are going to use the same stock as the seat, I suggest that you taper the legs so the seat caps them.

For this size bench, I am going to make the legs 16″ long, so I measured out 16″ on my 2×10 and found the center of the board and drilled it with a 3 1/2″ hole saw.

Now, after you drill the hole, mark a 1/4″ line next to the center mark, adjust your table saw, cut-off saw, or mark with your angle finder 15° blade angle and cut on the inside of the line that you just marked.

Next, cut a 15° angle on the other side of your leg. After your legs are cut, you might want to router or sand the edges and surface smooth as it is much easier to get the bulk of the sanding done before it’s put together.

Next, cut your center 2×4 support post to the size you are making your bench. Personally, I like a little bit of overhang for my seat, so measure accordingly, cut at a 15° angle on each side of it. Again, it makes it easier to have the pieces routered or sanded before it’s put together. Drill with a 5/8″ drill bit or wood bit to a depth of 3/8″ or so. Put your 2×4 next to your leg, on a flat surface and pre-drill for your screw in the center of where you drilled your 5/8″ hole.

Now, glue the end of your 2×4 brace and screw the legs to the brace while they are sitting on a flat surface. Then, on to the seat. I like to put a 45° angle on the corners of my seat. You can opt to totally round them out, or keep them square, but for this project I measured 2″ from the corner and used a 45° angle.

Since the seat is now cut to your liking, you can now router, or sand the corners and the surface smooth since it is a lot easier when it is not attached to the legs and brace. Next, measure out on your seat where your brace and legs are going to go, and drill with your 5/8″ bit to a depth of 3/8″ or so.

Next, pre-drill for your screws, glue and secure with screws. Then, cut your 5/8″ wooden dowel to a length of 1/2″. For this bench you’ll need 8 pieces of dowel.

Next, put glue in your 5/8″ countersunk holes, insert your 5/8″ dowel pieces and let dry.

Then, sand down the dowels.

As you can see, we got a little fancy and routered designs on our benches, as well as using different stains. If the bench is going to be outside, you should go with a good outdoor finish. Since this bench will be inside, I opted to use the Tung N Teak Danish oil, or you could use a linseed oil finish. Well, I certainly hope you enjoy creating your own custom-made benches as much as we have.

Here are the finished projects. They certainly last a long time in harsh elements, not to mention that they make nice gifts since you can personalize them to your liking.