Wooden Bench With Storage
Introduction: Wooden Bench With Storage
This bench offers a few extra seats at the dinner table and comes with a lot of -invisible- storage space. Perfect for arts & crafts supplies, board games or extra pillows and blankets. The best thing is that you can make this bench in a day (or two if you want to paint it). Just follow this guide and you'll be sitting on your own bench in no time!
Supplies
Tools
- jigsaw or miter saw
- drill
- wood drill bit 2mm
- screwdriver
- pencil
- tape measure
- sanding paper
- masking tape (or other removable tape)
Hardware
- 32 wood screws 4x80mm
- 36 wood screws 3,5x40mm (minimum, recommend buying extra)
- 48 wood screws 3,5x20mm (based on 6 screws per hinge)
- 6 hinges (2 for each lid)
- 6 steel corner brackets 100x70x30mm (or similar)
Wood (see shopping list for dimensions and amount)
- wooden beams 44x44mm
- wooden carpentry panels, thickness 18mm
Optional supplies
- wood filler or putty
- paint or lacquer
- paintbrush
- paper or sheet to protect the floor while painting
- felt pads (floor protection)
Step 1: Preparation
What makes this a quick project is that it requires only a few different parts in only a few different shapes and sizes. All component dimensions are based on standard sizes for each part, resulting in very little left over materials.
Note that standard sizes may differ from the stores here in The Netherlands so be sure to check your local store in order to get the most out of your material.
Most hardware stores around here have a service to saw the wood you buy for free or for a very small fee. This saves you a lot of time cutting all the pieces to size and makes it a lot easier fitting everything in your car ;)
If your store doesn't provide such a service just print out the shopping list and cut all of the pieces to size before we begin assembly in the next step. In case the wood has any rough edges from cutting, use the sand paper to smooth them before continueing.
Step 2: Frame
First make sure you have the right components at hand and make 2 sets of the following parts:
- 2 long beams 44x44x2244mm
- 4 short beams 44x44x312mm (the shortest ones)
- 8 wood screws 4x80mm
Line up the parts on the floor and ask a family member or friend to hold the parts in place while you drill the holes.
Get your drill and wood drill bit to drill the holes for the screws so that they don't split the wood.
IMPORTANT: do NOT drill the holes exacty in the middle of each beam, but off to the side a little bit. Otherwise the screws connecting the second part of the frame will cross the first screws and might get stuck halfway into the wood. Keeping the screws about 10mm apart will do the trick. 250
This means drilling the hole about 5mm off center. If you want you can mark the places to drill with a pencil to make sure you start drilling in the right spot.
Drill all 16 holes (8 for each set) and screw in the screws fixing the parts together to make 2 identical frames like in the 3rd image.
Next get the remaining 8 wooden beams (44x44x406mm) and line 4 of them up with the 2 frames. The easiest way to do this is to place the frames upright and put the short beams on the floor in between. Take 8 wood screws (4x80mm) and place them at each connection.
Get your drill and drill the 8 holes for all connections and screw in the screws fixing the parts together. Make sure you do NOT line up these screws with the ones that are already there. Keep them about 10mm apart.
Once the first 4 beams are firmly attached to both frames creating a u-shape you can carefully flip the frame over creating a n-shape. Place the last 4 short beams on the floor at each of the intersections. Repeat the previous action and drill 8 holes and screw in 8 screws in order to attach all parts creating a box-shaped frame like in the last image.
If you like to be extra safe you can add some additional brackets to the frame (see Step 4, image 4).
Step 3: Front and Side Panels
Before moving on to attaching the panels to the frame, make sure the frame is as level as possible. Wooden beams can be twisted slightly which means the box frame you just assembled can be a little bit wobbly at this stage. Do not worry, this will all work itself out in the end! 56