Introduction: Barnwood Entryway Bench
This awesome barnwood bench with through dowel joinery is a great way to build your skills and add a cool sitting area to your home.
Detailed step by step plans - Barnwood Bench Plans!
Website - https://walkersww.com/
YouTube channel - Walkers Woodworks
Instagram - @Walkers_woodworks
Supplies
Tools used in this build (affiliate links included)
- Glu Bot
Step 1: Milling Material
The detailed step by step plans I have available give all the measurements and a full cut list for this project. (check top for link)
-I started off by cutting all my pieces to length at the miter saw.
-Once I had all my stock cut to length I took them all to the thickness planer to get a uniform thickness.
-Then to the jointer I went to edge joint one side of all the stock.
-Finally over at the table saw I could cut everything to the final width.
Step 2: Marking for and Cutting Biscuit Slots in Panels
- I laid out all of my panels and numbered them so they don't get mixed up, making sure to stagger The boards properly. (center board on the legs taller than the outer ones) and opposite for the top. Once I did that I made a mark every few inches for biscuits at each joint.
- I used my biscuit jointer and cut the Slots at the marks I made. Making sure to set my biscuit Jointer to the proper setting so the slots are cut in the center of the boards
Step 3: Gluing Up the Panels
- Making sure to put the boards Back in proper order I glued everything up.
Step 4: Prepping for Glue Up
- Once the glue was dry I removed all the panels from the clamps
- Using my orbital sander I sanded all the panels down flat making sure to make all the glue joints flush.
Step 5: The Glue Up!
- Its time for the glue up! This can be tricky but make sure you get glue on all the faces.
- Get as many clamps on there as you can to keep it all nice and snugged up.
- Use a square as you clamp it all up making sure it all stays true!
Step 6: Measuring for Dowel Holes
- Once the glue was dry I removed the clamps.
- I used a ruler to mark a line at the center of the protruding board. (3/4” in from the edge if your boards ended up at 1 1/2” thick.) This Will be where you drill holes for the Dowels.
- Then I marked a line 1 3/4” inches in From each edge of that board resulting In two center points for the dowels.
Step 7: Drilling Dowel Holes and Prepping Dowels
- I used a forstner bit that was the size of my dowels to drill all the holes. Trying to keep the drill as straight as possible.
- I then cut 12 Dowels at 3”
- I learned if you bevel the edge that's Going to be inserted into the hole It goes in a lot easier!
Step 8: Installing and Trimming Dowels
- Using a good amount of glue I Inserted the dowels. Tapped them with a mallet until they bottomed out. You will hear it when they hit bottom.
- After the glue was dry I trimmed off the excess dowel with a flush trim saw.
Step 9: Final Sanding
- Using my orbital sander I sanded everything flush at all the joints and then gave everything a nice once over.
- Using a sanding sponge or just sand paper I broke over all the edges and corners.
Step 10: Staining and Finishing
- I applied some light stain to bring out the color and grain of this old barnwood.
- Once the stain was dry I applied a few thin coats of polyurethane sanding between coats. If you prefer other finishes feel free to apply them instead. Just make sure they work on top of oil based stains. I find for these types of indoor pieces Water based poly works great.
Step 11: ALL DONE!
With that done I was finished! This bench looks great by the front door and people comment on it all the time. It was an awesome skill builder as well. Thanks so much for checking out this instructable!
Again don't forgot to watch the build video to see more in depth how I did it and if you would like to support me I have full build plans available linked in the beginning. Thanks again!
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