microjig. maker of the grr-ripper. work safer, work smarter. this is my version of the classic 5-boardbench. you've got the two legs, the two stretchers,and the seat. i cheated a little bit by joining togethertwo pieces to make the top and the legs because wide boards can be difficult to find. i'm going to use some biscuits to help linethese boards up. i'm going to follow the dimensions i drewout on my diagram and transfer those to this board for cutting out both of thelegs.
if you download the plans to this project,i've included a full-sized cutting template if you'd prefer to paste that onto the board. i'm using this cool compass a viewer sentme to draw a circle in the center. i may shoot an upcoming video on how to makethis adjustable compass. it's a really cool design. the joint between the two boards gives mea good center line. i need to cut this board in half first, becauseit's too wide to fit into my bandsaw. making those two cuts on my table saw ensuresthat the top and the bottom of the legs are nice and square.
it's not as important that the angled cutsare exact, so i can cut them on my bandsaw. if you don't have a bandsaw to cut any ofthese pieces out, you can use a jigsaw just as well i am going to use the cutting template forthe seat. and this is really easy to cut out with ajigsaw. the final two boards i need to cut are thestretchers that are going to connect the two legs they sit in here at an angle, so i need tocut a bevel along the edge where it meets the top but i don't need to know exactly what thatbevel is because i can use the legs to set the bevel on my tablesaw. with my blade raised all the way up, i canset it at this angle, whatever that is.
i'll use my miter saw to cut both of theboards to the same length. i'll use this cutting template for the stretcherson just one board. i just want to make sure i line it up on thetop with the beveled side. for the other board, i can just trace thecurve. i'm going to use my router to round overall the edges that don't connect to anything. i'll keep those square. if you don't have a router, you can justuse sandpaper to ease over all the sharp edges. i'm going to attach everything using pocketscrews. i've maked on all the boards where i wantto drill the holes.
i'm going to use glue and the pocket screwsto give this extra support. i'm going to start by assembling the stretchersand the legs. i'm insetting these stretchers about a halfinch from the edge of the legs. these clamps will help hold it in place longenough for me to but the screws in. now i can glue and screw this whole assemblyto the seat. and i'm just going to center this by eye. and that looks pretty good like that. i am of the belief that nobody who sits onthis is going to take a tape measure and make sure that it's perfectly centered.
and this is normally where i would apply "afew coats of lacquer" or maybe paint it, but i decided i'm going to try somethinga little different this time. here's what i picked up: danish oil. and i've used this before but i never reallyknew what it was. i figured it was just kind of like linseedoil or something. but i just learned this weekend after goingto the weekend with wood magazine conference i sat in on a class with mark spagnoulo, thewood whisperer, and he explained exactly what this is. this is just a blend of oil and varnish
and you could make your own but i thoughtit would be fun to try this out and i got a color: it's called golden oak,so we'll see how this looks. i'm going to flood it on using a rag. i think the idea here is that you'll getthe "earthy' look of an oil finish, but the protection of a polyurethane. i've put two coats of the danish oil onand i'm going to wipe off any of the excess. it looks pretty good! i really think the fun part about buildinga five-board bench is that the construction is so simple, you can reallymake it your own
and modify the design any way you want. if you would like to build my design, checkdown in the description for a free set of plans that also includethe full-sized cutting templates. and as always, thank you for watching woodworkingfor mere mortals. if this is your first time here, welcome! and i would love to have you subscribe tomy channel. i post brand new woodworking videos everyfriday, and i've got a large archive of videos too, so if you're new to woodworking, browsethrough those videos
and you're bound to find some projects thatyou can make! if you found this video valuable, please takea moment to share it with others and spread the word about woodworking formere mortals. woodworking that all of us can do. thanks everybody. i'll see you next friday!