72″ long garden bench plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Pocket-hole jig
• Clamps, 2 at least 24″
• Jigsaw (arm corners)
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Cut the angled parts

   Back legs (B): cut both ends of each 2×4 at 12°, parallel, 35″ long point to point. The leg leans back 12° so the back reclines.

   Side rails (C, 21 5/8″) and side stretchers (D, 19 7/8″): square front end, back end cut at 12°. Measure along the longer edge.

   Arms (L, 22″): square front end, back end cut at 12° across the face so it sits flat against the leaning back leg. Round the two front corners on a 2″ radius.

   • Tip Set a speed square to 12° once and mark every angled cut from it, all leaning the same way on each pair.

   ✓ Lay a back leg on a side rail: the angled cuts match, so the parts will meet without a gap.

4. 4Build the two end frames

   Lay a front leg (A) and a back leg (B) on the floor, inside faces up, front leg upright, back leg leaning back 12°. Their bottoms are on one straight line (the floor).

   Glue and screw a side rail (C) across them with its top edge 16″ above the leg bottoms, front end flush with the front of the front leg and back end flush with the back of the back leg. 2 2 1/2″ stainless screws into each leg.

   Add a side stretcher (D) the same way, its bottom 4″ up. Build the other end frame as a mirror image (rails on the other face).

   • Tip Predrill every screw near the end of a board. 2×4 cedar splits easily.

   ✓ The front edge of the front leg is square to the floor line, and the back leg's front face is 18 3/4″ behind it at rail height.

5. 5Join the frames

   Drill 2 pocket holes in each end of the front rail (E), back rail (F) and seat supports (G), on the bottom edge.

   Stand the end frames up, rails facing in, 72″ apart between the rails. Fit the front rail between the side rails flush with their tops and fronts. Fit the back rail tight against the back legs, tops flush. Glue and drive 2 1/2″ exterior pocket screws.

   Fit 2 seat supports (G) from front rail to back rail, 24″ apart on centre, tops flush.

   ✓ Measure the frame corner to corner across the top: the diagonals match within 1/8″.

   STOP. Assemble on a flat floor. If the frame rocks now, the bench will rock forever.

6. 6Screw down the seat slats

   Lay the 5 seat slats (H) on the rails between the front legs, 1/4″ apart, the front one flush with the front rail.

   Predrill and drive 2 2 1/2″ stainless screws into each side rail and each seat support.

   • Tip Round over the front edge of the front slat: it is where the backs of your legs rest.

   ✓ The gaps are even, and the last slat clears the back legs.

7. 7Fit the back

   Screw a back cleat (I) to the inside face of each back leg, from the side rail up to the top, its front face flush with the leg's front face: 2 1/2″ stainless screws every 6″.

   Stand each middle back post (J) behind the back rail at a seat support, leaning 12° like the legs. Its front face lines up with the legs' front faces (check with a straightedge across). Drive 2 3″ stainless screws through the back rail into it.

   Screw the back slats (K) across the cleats and posts, top one flush with the leg tops, 1 1/2″ apart, the lowest 2 1/2″ above the seat. 2 2 1/2″ stainless screws at every crossing.

   ✓ Lean on the back: it moves as one with the legs and the slats do not bend more than a little.

8. 8Attach the arms

   Lay each arm (L) on a front leg top, its angled end tight against the back leg, inner edge flush with the inside of the legs and 4″ sticking out past the outside.

   Predrill and drive 2 2 1/2″ stainless screws down into the front leg, and 3 3″ stainless screws from behind through the back leg into the end of the arm.

   ✓ Both arms are level front to back and at the same height.

   STOP. Arms get leaned on and used to push up. If either arm moves, add another screw through the back leg before anyone uses the bench.

9. 9Finish it for outdoors

   Cedar can stay bare. It weathers to silver-grey in a season or two and still resists rot. To keep the warm colour, use an exterior penetrating oil or a semi-transparent stain with UV blockers.

   Outdoors, choose a finish that soaks in rather than one that forms a skin. Oil and stain fade gently and you just clean and recoat every year or two. Indoor polyurethane cracks in the sun, water gets under it, and it peels. If you want a hard clear coat anyway, use spar urethane and expect to sand and recoat it.

   Brush two coats on every cut end. End grain drinks water like a straw and is where outdoor furniture rots first.

   • Tip Finish the bottoms of the legs and the undersides too; they stay damp the longest.
   • Tip Oily rags can catch fire on their own as they dry. Lay them flat outside to dry, or keep them in a closed metal can of water.

   ✓ Sprinkle a little water on a finished surface: it should bead up. When it soaks in again (usually next spring), it is time for another coat.

10. 10Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Outdoors, use an exterior finish: a penetrating deck oil or exterior stain, or primer and exterior paint. Leave cedar bare to weather silver if you like. If it holds soil for food plants, leave the inside unfinished.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.