dining room bench with storage
something that's always great to have is abit of extra seating. today we're gonna be making a couple of benchesusing some reclaimed timber. the fantastic part about this project is theflexibility of the benches. they can be used for a dining table, up againsta wall or even a coffee table. these are the tools and materials you'll needto make a dining table bench. the great thing about this project is i'mgonna be repurposing an old bit of reclaimed timber, sanding up. making it look beautiful. the first thing you need to do is preparethe bench top.
decide the length you want your bench andthen square off both ends to suit. plain the edges to give it a nice smooth,splinter-free edge. as this is gonna be a bench, that's quiteimportant. build the same both at top and bottom of yourbench. you can leave as little or as much paint asyou want. i'm gonna leave a little, because i thinkit adds some character. give it a finer sand with an orbital sanderand round off any edges. finish it how you want. we're gonna be giving ours a wax, so it enhancesthe natural timber.
brings out the colors and protects it. now our bench is complete. it's time to make some legs. to assemble the legs, drill a clearance hole. countersink that hole. drill a pilot hole. glue and screw together. give your legs a good sand and then finishthem off however you wish. i'm gonna give mine a black stain to suitmy decor.
and there we go. we have a two furniture legs completed. i've given them a light coating of the stainso the wood grain shows through. i think they look fantastic. we just need to get them attached to our bench. we're gonna attach the legs with bolts. two bolts in each leg. flip the bench over, and place the legs whereyou want them to be. drill pilot holes all the way through boththe leg and the bench top.
flip the bench over. using the points from your pilot holes asa guide, use a spade bit to drill out a countersink. this countersink is to hide the heads of yourbolts. using a drill bit to suit your bolts, nowdrill through the bench top and through your legs. now that the holes are drilled, flip yourbench over and put your bolts through. put the legs in place and tighten the nuts. and there you go. our dining table bench is complete.
repurposed timber has so much character andusing it for a project like this, really shows that off. you can make as many as you want, just byrepeating the process. i'm gonna go and find a spot for this now. a couple of reclaimed timber benches for ourdining table. the great thing about this project is itsversatility. the reclaimed timber looks fantastic and itcan go anywhere in the house. you can use them for benches or even a coffeetable.