Microjig. Maker of the GRR-RIPPER.
Work safer, work smarter.
This is my version of the classic 5-board bench.
You've got the two legs, the two stretchers, and the seat.
I cheated a little bit by joining together two pieces to make the top and the legs
because wide boards can be difficult to find.
I'm going to use some biscuits to help line these boards up.
I'm going to follow the dimensions I drew out on my diagram and transfer those
to this board for cutting out both of the legs.
If you download the plans to this project, I've included a full-sized cutting template
if you'd prefer to paste that onto the board.
I'm using this cool compass a viewer sent me to draw a circle in the center.
I may shoot an upcoming video on how to make this adjustable compass.
It's a really cool design.
The joint between the two boards gives me a good center line.
I need to cut this board in half first, because it's too wide to fit into my bandsaw.
Making those two cuts on my table saw ensures that the top and the bottom of the legs are
nice and square.
It's not as important that the angled cuts are exact, so I can cut them on my bandsaw.
If you don't have a bandsaw to cut any of these pieces out, you can use a jigsaw just as well
I am going to use the cutting template for the seat.
And this is really easy to cut out with a jigsaw.
The final two boards I need to cut are the stretchers that are going to connect the two legs
They sit in here at an angle, so I need to cut a bevel along the edge where it meets the top
But I don't need to know exactly what that bevel is because I can use the legs to set
the bevel on my tablesaw.
With my blade raised all the way up, I can set it at this angle, whatever that is.
I'll use my miter saw to cut both of the boards to the same length.
I'll use this cutting template for the stretchers on just one board.
I just want to make sure I line it up on the top with the beveled side.
For the other board, I can just trace the curve.
I'm going to use my router to round over all the edges that don't connect to anything.
I'll keep those square.
If you don't have a router, you can just use sandpaper to ease over all the sharp edges.
I'm going to attach everything using pocket screws.
I've maked on all the boards where I want to drill the holes.
I'm going to use glue and the pocket screws to give this extra support.
I'm going to start by assembling the stretchers and the legs.
I'm insetting these stretchers about a half inch from the edge of the legs.
These clamps will help hold it in place long enough for me to but the screws in.
Now I can glue and screw this whole assembly to the seat.
And I'm just going to center this by eye.
And that looks pretty good like that.
I am of the belief that nobody who sits on this is going to take a tape measure and make
sure that it's perfectly centered.
And this is normally where I would apply "A few coats of lacquer" or maybe paint it,
but I decided I'm going to try something a little different this time.
Here's what I picked up:
Danish Oil.
And I've used this before but I never really knew what it was.
I figured it was just kind of like linseed oil or something.
But I just learned this weekend after going to the Weekend with Wood Magazine conference
I sat in on a class with Mark Spagnoulo, The Wood Whisperer, and he explained exactly what this is.
This is just a blend of oil and varnish
and you could make your own but I thought it would be fun to try this out
and I got a color: it's called Golden Oak, so we'll see how this looks.
I'm going to flood it on using a rag.
I think the idea here is that you'll get the "earthy' look of an oil finish,
but the protection of a polyurethane.
I've put two coats of the Danish Oil on and I'm going to wipe off any of the excess.
It looks pretty good!
I really think the fun part about building a five-board bench is that
the construction is so simple, you can really make it your own
and modify the design any way you want.
If you would like to build my design, check down in the description
for a free set of plans that also include the full-sized cutting templates.
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