How to Make a Dining Bench

Dining benches are designed to sit along the long side of a dining table and seat multiple people. The typical length is 72 inches; however, you can customize the length to suit the specific table it will be used with. Dining table benches provide a rustic, charming country vibe and harken back to a time when communal meals were more commonly shared around a dining or kitchen table.

2 planks 60-inch, 1-by-3 lumber
2 planks 8-inch, 1-by-3 lumber
2-inch deck screws
Drill
5 planks 8-inch, 1-by-2 lumber
1 plank 72-inch, 2-by-12 lumber
4 planks 17-inch, 4-by-4 lumber
3-inch lag bolts
Wood finish

Instructions

- 1
  Create a rectangular frame from the bench-side aprons, 60-inch, 1-by-3 lumber, and the bench-end aprons, 8-inch, 1-by-3 lumber. Position the ends of the end aprons so they're inside the ends of the side aprons.
- 2
  Attach the aprons frame together with two 2-inch deck screws through the side of the side aprons into the ends of the end aprons.
- 3
  Insert five support planks of 8-inch, 1-by-2 lumber evenly across the frame, with the support planks pushed down to be even with the bottom of the aprons.
- 4
  Fix the supports in place with two 2-inch deck screws through the side aprons into the ends of the supports.
- 5
  Lay the bench top--a plank of 72-inch, 2-by-12--face down on a work surface. Center the frame on the bench top with the supports touching the underside of the bench top.
- 6
  Secure the bench top with four 2-inch deck screws driven through each support plank into the underside of the bench top. Leave the bench and frame upside down for now.
- 7
  Insert a bench leg, a 17-inch plank of 4-by-4 lumber, into each corner of the frame. Fix each leg to the frame with four 3-inch lag bolts through each side of the frame into the legs; eight bolts altogether into each leg. Turn the bench over and finish with a wood finish of your choice.

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