Making your own benches for your home or garden can be a lucrative activity for beginners, carpenters, or just about anyone. You can make a variety of benches yourself, including regular wooden planks, stone benches, or modified wooden benches. You can also make benches from blueprint designs or designs that you buy or acquire without having to pay. In addition, imitating someone else's design or using someone else's design as a reference can also help you in making a bench. Here are some ways to make your own stool.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Toggle Ikea Shelving
Step 1. Buy a strong bookshelf with a fairly narrow width
Since bookshelves are not intended for sitting, making stools with this material is more suitable for children than adults. Replacing Ikea shelves is actually a great idea for storing kids' school supplies.
It is recommended to use the Ikea Expedit model bookcase (with five columns). This Ikea shelving model is very useful because each column can be filled with a basket or storage box. This means that you can store everything your little one needs, such as shoes, hats, bags, and other items
Step 2. Change the standing position of the rack
Install the rack according to the instructions, but change the stand position of the rack. Place one side of the shelf on the floor, so the other side will be the seat of the bench.
Step 3. Add wheels or legs
You can buy wheels or bench legs at a hardware store. You can add wheels (like those used in supermarket shopping carts) or wooden or metal bench legs. Basically, you can add whatever accessories you think are useful or suitable for your bench needs. Attach the legs of the bench to each corner of the bench.
- At least the height of the cabinets used must reach 1.2 m. The ideal height reaches 1.8 m.
- Make sure the bolts don't hit other parts that join the rack. Think carefully about the direction to make!
Step 4. Change the standing position of the rack
Make the shelf stand on one side, so the shelf will turn into a bench.
Step 5. Place the pads
You can make or buy seat cushions to put on your bench. Glue the velcro hooks on the bench and stick another piece of velcro under the pads.
It is recommended to attach the soft part of the velcro to the pad as it will make it easier for you to wash it
Step 6. Add another touch
You can add a finishing touch to your bench by painting it a color. You can also put baskets or storage boxes for stuffing into the shelf column.
Method 2 of 3: Recycling Used Beds
Step 1. Purchase and prepare a used bed frame
You will need the head and legs. If still installed, disassemble these two parts. The result will be better if there is a cover on the legs of the frame or two sides of the cover with the top edge. Once the bed frame has been disassembled into pieces, you can sand the wood to remove the old paint, but this step is optional.
Step 2. Measure and mark the midpoint of the foot frame
Measure the center line from top to bottom on the foot frame and mark it with a pencil or other marker.
Step 3. Cut the foot of the bed
Use a chainsaw to cut the legs of the skeleton in the center line. The two pieces of legs will be used as the side of the bench, while the head frame will be used on the back of the bench.
Step 4. Create reference points on the footboard frame
Around the edges of the legs, make holes as needed (for pins). Provide pins according to size and slightly drill holes in the wood with a drill. Measure the distance between the floor and the hole and the distance between the holes. Repeat making the same hole in the front leg frame.
- The number and location of the holes depend on the shape and model of the bed frame used.
- If the shape of your bed is unusual, you may need to change where the legs are attached to the headboard. One way to do this is to attach the legs and head to the right and left rather than the front.
Step 5. Attach the legs to the head
Insert dowels, put wood glue in each hole, and attach the legs to the headboard. At this stage, the frame of your bench is already starting to show.
Step 6. Create the sitting section
Lay the bench on its back and attach pieces of wooden planks (2.5 cm thick, 15 cm wide, with adjustable length) at the legs with elbows and wooden bolts. Glue this piece of wood at the height you want or according to the legs of the bed. Use as many pieces of wood as possible so that the seat is wide enough.
You can add a cover board (2.5 cm thick and 7.5 cm wide) on each side of the bottom of the bench
Step 7. Reinforce all meeting points
Reinforce all common ground links and fill gaps to make the bench frame more sturdy. Make the bench stand upright in this process.
Step 8. Give the finishing touches
You can apply paint to the bench (with a special outdoor paint if you are going to place the bench outdoors). You can also add bench pads or bolsters.
Method 3 of 3: Creating from Basic
Step 1. Prepare the section for your bench
Take a wooden plank (5 cm thick and 25 cm wide) and use a saw to divide the plank into two according to the height of the bench you need or want.
Step 2. Give the connecting rod
Glue pieces of logs (5 cm thick, 5 cm wide, and 2 m long) on each piece of wooden plank. Each stick is attached approximately 4cm from the top of the edge of the board. Attach the logs with long bolts for wood and two bolts for each rod at a distance of approximately 4 cm from the end of the corner of the board.
Step 3. Glue each end of the piece
Using two wooden sticks (2.5 cm thick, 10 cm wide and 2 m long), attach each end of the bench to the other. The top of the log is attached to the top edge of the bench. Drill drill holes at each end of the log (5 cm thick and 5 cm wide) and make the same hole in the log (2.5 cm thick and 10 cm wide). Use dowels to join the two pieces together, then use wood bolts drilled from the outside of the bench to the log (2.5 cm thick and 10 cm wide). Put two bolts on each rod.
Step 4. Create a seat
Place two wooden planks (2.5 cm thick, 10 cm wide and 2 m long) on top of the bench frame. Leave some space between the two boards. Use special long wood bolts drilled from both sides of the board into the seat board. Give 6 bolts on each side.
Step 5. Color the bench
Apply enough paint.
Tips
- You can add cushions to benches that are used indoors. You can also add a backrest to the bench. Armrests can also be an attractive addition to indoor or outdoor benches.
- Visit various woodworking websites and look for blueprints for making benches with the design you want. Some will charge a fee for this kind of planning, but you can still get free bench-building blueprints from the internet and magazines.
