36″ long shoe 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 and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Countersink bit
• 3/8″ drill bit for counterbores
• Two bar clamps at least 24″ long
• 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. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   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 two side frames

   Lay two legs (B) flat on the bench, 11 1/4″ apart on the inside, with their floor ends lined up against a straight board.

   Mark where the side apron (C) goes: its top is 17 5/16″ up from the floor end, level with the top of the legs, and its outside face is 3/8″ in from the outside of the legs. That small step is a reveal; it hides any tiny misalignment.

   Spread glue on the end of the side apron (C), clamp it in place and drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head.

   Fit a side stretcher (E) between the same two legs with its bottom 1 1/2″ above the floor end, centred in the leg thickness. Spread glue on the end of the stretcher, clamp it in place and drive 1 screw, 2 1/2″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head.

   Build the second side frame the same way, as a mirror image of the first: lay it on top of the first to check that the legs and aprons line up and the reveals face out on both.

   • Tip Mark the outside face of every leg with a pencil X before you start, so pocket holes and screw heads end up where you want them.
   • Tip Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries; dried glue blocks stain and paint.
   • Tip Drill pilot holes about 1/2″ or more from the ends of the legs so they don't split.

   ✓ Measure each frame corner to corner both ways (the diagonals). They match within 1/16″, and the two frames match each other when stacked.

4. 4Join the side frames

   Stand both side frames up on a flat floor, aprons facing each other.

   Fit the front apron (D) between the front legs and the back apron between the back legs, tops level with the side aprons. Spread glue on the end of each apron, clamp it in place and drive 2 screws, 3″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head. The leg is 3 1/2″ thick, so first drill a 3/8″ counterbore 2 1/4″ deep from the outside for each screw head; the screw then reaches.

   Fit the front and back stretchers (F) between the legs with their bottoms 3 1/2″ above the floor. They sit at a different height from the side stretchers so the joints in each leg don't run into each other. Spread glue on the end of each stretcher, clamp it in place and drive 1 screw, 3″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head. The leg is 3 1/2″ thick, so first drill a 3/8″ counterbore 2 1/4″ deep from the outside for each screw head; the screw then reaches.

   Before the glue sets, measure the diagonals across the top, from the outside corner of one front leg to the opposite back leg, both ways. If they differ, squeeze the long diagonal with a clamp until they match.

   • Tip If it rocks after the glue has cured, set it on a flat floor, find the long leg and sand a little off its foot, checking often.
   • Tip Clamp across the frame from leg to leg while the glue dries; pad the clamp jaws with scrap so they don't dent the legs.

   ✓ On a flat floor all four feet touch with no rocking, and the frame is 34 1/2″ wide and 14 1/4″ deep at the legs.

5. 5Glue in the corner blocks

   Each corner block (G) fits across an inside corner, touching both aprons, with the leg behind it. Cut both ends at 45° so the long side measures 5″.

   Drill two pilot holes through each end of the block, square to the angled face, so screws go into the aprons. Then drill a 3/16″ hole straight down through the middle of the block, and from the bottom widen it with a 3/8″ bit 2 3/4″ deep, leaving about 1/2″ of wood at the top. The seat is screwed on through these holes later with short screws.

   Spread glue on both angled ends, press the block into the corner with its top flush with the top of the aprons (the seat will rest on both), and drive two 2 1/2″ screws through each end into the aprons.

   Why: the bench gets pushed sideways every time someone sits down or scoots it. The blocks turn each corner into a small triangle, and triangles do not rack.

   • Tip Don't overdrive: the screw heads should stop just under the surface, not sink deep and strip the wood.

   ✓ Hold one leg and push the top of the opposite leg sideways. The frame does not shift or creak.

6. 6Lay the shoe shelf

   The front and back stretchers (F) are the shelf rails, 3 1/2″ off the floor. The shelf slats (H) run front to back across them.

   Set the first and last slats tight against the legs, then space the rest evenly: 6 slats with 1 5/16″ gaps. Gaps let grit and water from wet shoes fall through instead of pooling.

   Drill two pilot holes at each end of every slat, centred over the rail below, countersink and drive 1 5/8″ screws.

   • Tip Cut a spacer block the width of the gap and use it between every pair of slats.
   • Tip Ease the slat edges with sandpaper so shoe laces don't snag.

   ✓ The slats are square to the rails (check with a speed square) and the gaps match.

7. 7Edge-band and attach the top

   Iron edge banding onto the front edge and both ends of the top (A): set a household iron to cotton, no steam, press slowly along the band until the glue melts, then press with a wood block while it cools. Trim the overhang with a sharp utility knife and sand the edge lightly.

   Set the top upside down on a blanket, set the frame upside down on it with the back edges flush and 3/4″ of overhang at the front and each end.

   Drive a 1″ screw through the hole in each corner block (G) into the top.

   • Tip Leave the back edge unbanded: it faces the wall.

   ✓ Turn it over: the back is flat and flush so the bench sits tight to the wall, and the overhang is 3/4″ at the front and both ends.

8. 8Test the bench

   Before anyone uses the bench, sit down slowly, then rock gently side to side and front to back. Nothing should creak, shift or rack. If a joint moves, add glue and a screw there before going further.

   It is sized for 2 people side by side.

   ✓ No rocking and no creaks.

9. 9Finish

   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.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   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.