Bench - HELP!

[IPaintFurniture]

I've been painting furniture for 3 years but know nothing about building furniture.  I would like to make this bench.  Anybody have any easy steps to achieve this? Thank you! 

[shaneymack]

I've been painting furniture for 3 years but know nothing about building furniture.  I would like to make this bench.  Anybody have any easy steps to achieve this? Thank you! 

More info is needed to be able to answer that. Do you have a shop/workspace? What tools do you own? Do you have any experience building/making anything? What kind of wood do you want to use? How do you want to fasten this? Do you want to build exactly like the photo? With wrought iron or that is optional? Are you able to draw up a sketch/plan to add some dimensions? It's hard to lead somebody to build something with absolutely no background info. Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[Immortan D]

First you need to figure out all the dimensions and angles. You can use a design software, like Sketchup, or do it by hand.

[IPaintFurniture]

My dad has built some benches for me before but just the type that he would attach headboards to.  He would build the seat part himself.  So i'm sure he does have the tools needed.  The iron part is optional but that would give it a nice look.  A one person seater is fine for the first one.  

So maybe my main question is how to do the cross part?

[Tpt life]

Look up half lap. 

[wtnhighlander]

Or bridle joint. Half-lap is simplest, though.

Edit: Just re-read your post, and realized I misunderstood at first. Definitely half-lap for the center cross.

[Mick S]

I'd find a source for similar looking iron scrolls and buy those, then design around them.

[IPaintFurniture]

pretty sure i'll just attach some sort of scroll metal piece. my main concern is how to cut out a cross like that. just use a jigsaw? what kind of wood would be best for a bench like this?

[shaneymack]

The wood in the photo seems to be some sort of reclaimed barn boards since that is the craze these days. The back is made up of 6 individual pieces joined with different joinery at the junctions. The center of the cross could be a half lap joint. Hard to tell on my phone screen. It is not one big piece that you would simply cut 4 squares into. That wouldnt really work unless it was a sheet good and then you could strategically glue boards to it (all butt joints to simplify things) to give you the look you are after.

[wdwerker]

It looks like whitewood from the Big Box stores that has been torched to me. I bet it's pocket screwed then trimmed out with 1x2's and a nail gun. Practice on scraps with a propane torch, working outside of course.

A miter saw would be a good choice to make the cross cuts clean and square.

[RDavS]

One way to assemble the six main pieces of the back (the cross and the frame) is as others have already suggested with half-lap joints. The front half of each of the three uprights would be cut out where they overlap with the top and bottom pieces of the frame. The back half of the top and bottom pieces would be cut out at the same places. The upright that also serves as the center of the cross would have its front half cut out at the crossover point. The horizontal cross member would have its back half cut out in the center and the front half at its ends. The side uprights would have their back halves cut out at the mid points. You can cut these out with a table saw and a dado blade (more than one pass through the saw) or with a table saw and a regular blade (many more passes, even if you leave some wood to be removed with a sander, plane, or chisel) or with a router. Hand saw and chisel and plane would work, too, but would take more time. Once the main cross and frame is assembled, the narrow strips that line the sides of each opening would be inserted. It appears the back was fitted between extensions of the rear legs.