Stressed with a rather emotional day at work, you stroll around the outside area of your home. You walk through your garden and your driveway as you think about random things. In an attempt to clear your mind, you try to invoke an epiphany when your body, suddenly, painfully signals you to stop for a moment and rest. If you only had a bench, you could sit down for awhile and continue your daydream.
A bench is an extension of your living room into the outside world. You can lounge on a bench to relax or you can bring a friend over to a bench where you can talk for hours. Most parks and lawns either have benches or makeshift seats. You can make your lawn your place for prime relaxation if you make your own bench.
You can buy a bench in a furniture store, but benches are quite pricey as a lot of taxes and fees are attached to their price tags. To tell you the truth, you can save a lot of cash if you simply make your own bench. The creation procedures may be tedious but you will have all the time in the world to sit down and relax, the moment you finish your bench.
Materials Used:
cedar pegs - bench sides: 2 pieces (2 x 4 x 42 in), bench ends: 2 pieces (2 x 4 x 15 in), bench stretchers: 2 pieces (2 x 4 x 15 in), bench bracers: 4 pieces (2 x 6 x 15 in), bench slat: 1 piece (2 x 2 x 45 in), bench legs: 4 pieces (4 x 4 x 13 in)
mechanical drill
a box of screws – 3 inches
16 deck screws – ½ inch
circular saw
sandpaper
pen
paper
Preparations
First, write down all the materials needed for this do-it-yourself project on a piece of paper and go to a lumber shop. Show the piece of paper to the salesperson and he will give you all the wood you need. Once done, go to a hardware center and get the rest of the materials if you do not have them in your home toolbox.
The Bench Frame
When you have all the materials, position the bench ends between the two bench sides. Drill three holes for both bench ends and bench sides then affix the bench slat to them. Fasten all three bench sections together with deck screws. Make sure that each component is properly aligned before you fasten them, otherwise your bench will be quite uncomfortable to sit on. Once done, drill both the bench ends and bench stretchers then screw them together to complete your bench frame.
The Bench Bottom
To shape the braces of your bench, you will need to mold each bench bracer peg with the use of your circular saw. Make the necessary cuts and slices carefully until you have successfully shaped all four braces. Double-check that all the braces have identical shapes.
When the bench bracers are ready, drill the bench sides and the bench bracers. Screw the bench bracers to the bench sides and have the bench legs ready. Drill the legs and the bracers then screw them together as well. Once done, rub the entire bench with sandpaper.
You can relax in the outside area of your home for a few hours. Now that you have a bench, you can practically stay outdoors all day.