Potting bench plans, sized to your space

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
• 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. 3Build the front and back frames

   Lay two legs flat, 39″ apart inside: the front legs (A) for one frame, the back legs (B) for the other.

   Screw a top rail (C) across them, its top 34 1/2″ up from the leg bottoms. Screw a shelf rail (F) across, its top 6 1/2″ up. Two 3″ screws per joint.

   Build the second frame the same way, rails on the same face.

   ✓ Each frame is square. Diagonals match.

4. 4Join the frames

   Stand the frames up, rails facing in. Screw an end rail (D) between the top rails at each end, tops flush.

   ✓ The base sits flat with no rocking.

5. 5Lay the top

   Lay 6 top slats (E) across the rails, tight to the back legs, 5/8″ gaps, 1″ past the ends.

   Two 2 1/2″ screws at every rail.

6. 6Lay the lower shelf

   Screw 8 shelf slats (G) front to back across the shelf rails, 5 1/16″ apart on centre, between the legs.

7. 7Back and upper shelf

   Screw 4 back slats (H) across the front of the back legs, the top one flush with the leg tops, 6″ apart on centre.

   Screw two shelf brackets to the back legs, through the slats, so the upper shelf (I) sits 14″ above the top. Screw the two shelf slats to the brackets.

8. 8Finish

   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.