My Kitchen bench project.

[tdhetrick]

Here is what I have done so far on a bench for our kitchen breakfast nook. It’s a bit longer than I had envisioned, but it should work out ok. It’s all made from 2-1/4 oak strip flooring and some cherry for the arm rests. Oh and designing a piece furniture from scratch is a real learning experience, many an hour were spent just staring at the wood trying to figure it out.

Oh and thanks to gotojeremy for the use of his band saw for the legs.

Todd

 

[DavidF]

Looking good so far!

 

[cpowell]

Looking good! :icon_thum

I like the curves and must say the seat slat milling came out great. They all look perfectly flat - no small feat with the recent change of seasons IMO.

What joinery is used to attach the arm rests to the side stiles/legs? I think the back is gonna be even more fun for you to build!! :lol: :lol:

Chuck

 

[tdhetrick]

I like the curves and must say the seat slat milling came out great. They all look perfectly flat - no small feat with the recent change of seasons IMO.

Oh trust me they were not flat unitl I nailed them down!

What joinery is used to attach the arm rests to the side stiles/legs? I think the back is gonna be even more fun for you to build!! :lol: :lol:

Chuck

If you want to call it joinery.... the arm rest is attached to the top of the front leg through the top of the arm rest with a nice long #8 screw. It is attached to the back leg throught the back of the leg into the end grain fo the arm rest, with another long screw.

It all seems pretty solid so far, but I am a little conserned what it will be like with a few years of use on it.

Todd

 

[dancam]

Hey Todd,
Looking good! What finish are you planning?

Dan C.

 

[sapwood]

Looks great Todd!
And it's always nice to see a shop with some sawdust on the floor :icon_thum

Roger

 

[tdhetrick]

Hey Todd,
Looking good! What finish are you planning?

Dan C.

Well I am new to diffrent kinds of finishes, but I like the natural color of the wood, so I might just use some wipe on poly.

Todd

 

[skeeter]

Good looking start to the bench. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[dozer]

Now these nails you are referring to these were just used to hold the slats in place until the glue dried right? :rolf:

Looks like a really good job to me, look forward to seeing more pictures.

 

[tdhetrick]

Re: My Kitchen bench project. - Finished!!

The bench is done. I am pretty happy about how it turned out. I finished it with about 4 coats of wipe on poly. This is only my second WW project that has been of the type that one would allow “in the house”, the kitchen island was the first. The real accomplishment in all this is all that I have learned.

One of the things that made this project a success is the materials involved, but not because the wood was of great quality, but because it was inexpensive. Most of it was made from oak strip flooring, and the cherry I used I got for a good deal, but it just as easily could have been something less expensive. That let me loosen up and just get to making chips with out worrying about messing up some expensive stock. As my skills improve I will play with more expensive and exotic wood, but for me the kind of wood used in a project is really just icing on the cake.

Todd

 

[McRabbet]

Re: My Kitchen bench project. - Finished!!

Nice work, Todd. The bench is certainly deserving of a front-and-center location -- you should be very proud of your work! Your cat sure likes it, too!! She must be named "Doe" as she has that famous "Doe in the headlights" look!:lol: