The design of the classic five-board bench goes back to Colonial times but it's a simple and sturdy way to build a bench from just two different widths of boards. Make it with cut nails and paint it with old-fashioned milk paint to create a reproduction antique or saw it from rough-sawn lumber and leave it unfinished for a simple primitive-looking bench. If you'll be leaving it outside in the weather, choose a durable wood like cedar or finish it with exterior latex or oil-based paint and set the legs on pavement or bricks to keep them from the damp dirt.
Instructions
1. Fold a piece of typing paper in half so it's 5 3/4 inches wide. Make a pencil mark 5 inches up the folded side and another mark on the bottom edge 3 inches away from the fold. Beginning at the bottom mark, draw a curved line that starts out vertical, then gradually curves toward the fold and meets the fold at the other mark. Cut along the line, discard the V-shaped inside piece and unfold the paper.
2. Lay the paper on one of the 16-inch boards so the paper's 11 1/2-inch width is centered on the 12-inch width of the board and the bottom of the two "legs" line up with the bottom of the board. Trace the cut edge with a pencil. Saw along the line with a coping saw and discard the upside-down-V-shaped piece of wood. This creates the bottom of one bench leg.
3. Measure down from the other end of the same board exactly the thickness of the board and draw a line across it with a carpenter's square. Draw four vertical lines from the end of the board down to the previous mark. Space them 2 inches in from each end and 4 3/4 inches in from each end.
4. Saw along the lines to cut out three rectangles, leaving two tenons on the end of the board. The tenons are square tabs that fit in square holes, called mortises, in the board that will form the seat. Use a handsaw and a coping saw to make the cuts. Mark and saw the other 16-inch board the same way.
5. Draw a line across the 48-inch-by-12-inch board, 7 inches in from each end. Hold one of the 16-inch boards perpendicular against the 48-inch board, the outside edge against one of the lines and the tenons touching the 48-inch board. Trace closely around the tenons with a pencil to mark two mortises that need to be cut out.
6. Drill several holes inside the mortise marks with a 1/2-inch or 1-inch bit to remove as much of the wood as possible, then finish paring the sides of the mortises square with a chisel and mallet. Trim inside the lines and test the fit of the tenons as you get close to the finished size so the tenons will fit snugly.
7. Mark and cut out the mortises the same way along the line near the other end of the 48-inch board.
8. Measure 3 inches along the end and 4 inches down the side from the corner of one of the 5-inch-by-48-inch boards. Draw a line between the two marks and saw on the line to remove a triangular piece of wood. Do the same at the other end of the board. Mark and saw the other 5-inch-by-48-inch board the same way.
9. Spread a thin layer of carpenter's glue on the tenons and the top edges of the leg boards. Lay the board with mortises on edge and insert the tenon boards into it. Check that the leg boards are at right angles to the top board, using a carpenter's square. This forms the seat and legs of the bench, though it's lying on its side at this point. Lay one of the 5-inch-by-48-inch boards so it rests on the edge of the top board and the upper part of the legs, so it will reinforce the attachment of the legs to the seat on the front of the bench. Nail the 5-inch-by-48-inch board in place by driving six 8-penny cut nails through it into the edge of the bench's seat and two nails through it into the edge of each leg.
10. Turn the bench so the other side is up and nail the other 5-inch-by-48-inch board in place the same way, to reinforce the legs and seat on the back side as well. Let the glue dry.
11. Paint or stain the bench however you want.
Tags: 48-inch board, 5-inch-by-48-inch board, along line, from each, inches from, inches from each