Outdoor Table
Skill Level: Medium
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]All You Need
1372 mm of 26mm x 305mm pine stock, small bottle of carpenter´s glue, small box of finishing nails, 3 sheets of 120 grit abrasive paper, sander or sanding block, tack cloth, oil, clean rags, hammer, nailset, compass, circular saw or hand saw, coping or sabre saw, carpenter´s square, paintbrush or dust brush.
Start by selecting your boards. Make sure they´re knot-free and all the same type of wood. Clear pine is best, but can be very expensive. A good-quality non-clear pine stock may be more economical. Since the pieces of the bench are small, you may be able to find knot-free offcuts.
You will need to cut the following pieces of wood: Top: 19 mm x 292 mm x 610 mm Legs: 19mm x 286mm x 286mm Skirt: 19mm x 89mm x 610mm
If using offcuts, make sure that the pieces are 6mm or more longer than the required parts, so the ends can be square-cut.
Cut the top and legs from the 26mm x 305mm stock, and skirts from the 26mm x 305mm.
To achieve a straight cut, place some scrap wood along cutting line to guide your saw.
Take a compass and mark a semi-circular arch at the bottom of both legs, with the point in the centre of the bottom of the leg and radius set to 89mm. With compass 159mm from each vertical edge of the skirt, draw similar arches with a radius of 38mm, and draw a line connecting the top of both arches
These are the areas to be cut away to make the shape of the bench more attractive. Do this carefully, with a coping saw and sandpaper to the newly-exposed wood
To sandpaper the circular areas, where a sanding block will not fit, wrap your paper around a soft drink can.
Draw a line across the top from side to side (across the shorter length), set 60mm from edge. Mark out six points evenly spread along this line
With hammer, drive nails gently through top board, until they just emerge from the underside
Be careful when finishing off a nail - it can be easy to hit and damage the wood.
Repeat with skirt, putting 6-8 nails at regular intervals along a line drawn about 8mm from top edge, so upper edge is flush with top Apply wood glue to top of each leg and place top over them, with nails pointing into the centre of leg. Drive outer nails in first, checking the alignment of leg and top. Finish nailing together Repeat with skirts. Laying the bench on its side, apply glue to edge of top and down legs as far as skirt will cover. The skirt should be flush with top edge and even with its ends. Checking that legs are square, drive in nails from the outside inwards
To add stability and strength, add a few nails connecting skirt and legs. The other skirt should be added in the same way and the nail heads countersunk using a nailset
The structure of your bench is now complete. Leave to dry, then chip off any excess with a wood chisel or screwdriver. Sand down bench, paying particular attention to end grain and then dust it off Use a tack cloth to remove dust, prior to coating it
Tung oil is a good coating for pine - it deepens the colour and enhances the grain. Two coats should be enough for the desired effect.