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My wife waits for the kids to get off the bus every day and she suggested the idea for a sitting bench. I did a little research here on Lumberjocks as well as taking some basic chair measurements. I'd like to thank Nick Ferry for his basic design inspiration. I strongly urge anyone looking for a sketch up to check out his site.

The project consists of six framing fir 2×6's all 8' in length from the local box center ($38) and handful of 2 1/2" deck screws and eight 4" lag bolts with washers that were lying around.

My wife hates her feet dangling in the air, so the legs were cut to match her comfort. We placed a board on two 5 gallon buckets to find a height that was comfortable for her. For the backrest height, sitting on the makeshift bench my daughter measured the distance from the floor to the center between my shoulder blades. The bench seat tilts back 5 degrees and the back rest was cut at 10 degrees. This seems to be the basic rule thumb for most chair designs.

Being a weekend woodworker, the project only took about 6 hours with the "help" from my kids. I created a 5 degree shim for cutting the tops of the front legs on the table saw. Marked out the 10 degree cut for the backrest and used the bandsaw and belt sander to be sure both sides matched identically. Once I marked out the position for the lag bolts, I used a forstner bit to countersink the washer and nuts for the lag bolts.

My wife was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it is despite the simplistic look.

Gallery

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Very straight forward design, great piece, thank you for sharing
 

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2,600 Posts
The bench looks great. The design behind it, perfect, and the fact that the kids helped build it is priceless. The best type of build.

What species and finish did you go with?
 

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Looks great, and seems like it'll be part of the family history too.
 

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Looks great.
 

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Thank you everyone for the kind words and encouragement. The timber is standard framing lumber, I believe it is Douglas fir. Last weekend the kids helped to add four coats of exterior semi transparent acorn brown sealant.
 

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Do you think this world work just as well with 2×4 lumber, and maybe even 1×4s for the back? My son's school asked for one for an auction, and I want it to be durable, but a little more transportable. I love this design though, and thank you for the thorough description.
 

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If you are looking for a simple 2×4 construction you may want to look at Jay Bates on youtube. He has a nice build

"2×4 Sitting Bench - 104"
 
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