On Benchmaking

My dad and I made a bench. Here’s the final result:

We started with a paper plan:

We cut a 2x4 to make the four legs:

The little slot in each leg was shaved out with the radial arm saw:

The legs and supports were joined with biscuits. We’re testing the fit here:

And here, a dry test to see if all pieces fit together:

The fit looked good. We applied wood glue, then attached clamps to keep everything in place as the glue dried. (The frame was slightly leaning to one side, so we also attached a clamp diagonally to push it the other way):

We joined the bottom support beam, again with biscuits and wood glue:

Here is the top of the bench. They’re a couple of 2x8 boards:

We glued the bench top together:

Then cut some biscuit slots into the bench top’s end pieces:

And glued the bench top’s end pieces on:

Finally, the bench top and the leg frame were connected together with a few lag screws:

And with that, it was done:

Et al

There’s a handful of steps I didn’t document, but this gives a rough overview of the bench’s construction.

As a kid, I grew up tinkering with scale models, kitbashing, woodworking, papercraft – anything that let me make a thing. My work is in video games – and I love it – but I can’t help sometimes missing that feeling of creating something physical you can hold in your hands.

Anyway, benches are great.