Much depends on how it is proposed to use this piece of furniture, once one of the most common in Russian huts and houses. Therefore, such moments as the selection of the texture of the tree, the shade, the original shape and so on - all this is at the discretion of the master, who will make a bench of wood.
On the practical side, other issues deserve more attention - the ways of connecting different parts( the so-called carpentry technologies), assessing the feasibility of using a particular breed and the optimal geometry of the simplest bench. With all these nuances of making a bench with his own hands, the author also proposes to understand. And everything else depends only on personal fantasy and some preferences( or certain parameters, if someone has made a specific order).
Wood for the bench
First, the benches in our time are used mainly in country or homestead plots. In the house - much less often, except in the back rooms and individual buildings( workshop, sauna, garage).
Secondly, taking into account the specifics of operation( in the open air, in unheated buildings), not all wood is suitable for this purpose. Experts recommend making benches from larch or pine. Since we are talking about performing all the technological operations with our own hands, the oak( who does not mind the price) is not suitable because of its hardness.
Processing this tree is extremely difficult and requires good skills in carpentry. If we think about the durability of the bench, then larch is preferable. Even picking up moisture, this tree becomes only stronger, and less prone to decay than other conifers.
In construction it is allowed to use billets made of wood with an index not exceeding 20%.But this rule. In practice, the boards( bars) will have to "stand" under the appropriate conditions, until the value is between 8 and 10%.Otherwise, the twisting or bending of individual parts of a wooden bench can not be avoided.
Metalware
Making a bench of wood with your own hands without additional fasteners is a difficult task. Whatever is said in the councils about the simplicity of assembly without a single "nail", just a landing on the glue, you should not flatter yourself. This technology, associated with various saws, their exact coincidences with the "spikes", is available only to the joiner of high qualification, with great practical experience. And for a simple wooden bench unnecessary complexity is not needed.
What should I prepare to assemble the bench?
Screws
The best option for wood. First, the maintainability of such a bench is much higher. To replace the damaged( worn) parts, it is enough to unscrew the hardware. With nails it will be more difficult. To pull them out, you have to tinker, and not the fact that in this place there is no dent in the tree.
Secondly, the hole( channel) is first drilled to install the screw. Having correctly determined the position of the drill, it is not difficult to make it directed strictly perpendicular to the surface of the specimen. And here to hammer a nail into wood from the first time, without curvatures, it turns out not always. It's unlikely that anyone will be satisfied with a bench, from which metal sharp "pins" stick out in different places.
Third, nail driving often leads to wood cracking. The most offensive, according to a known law, this happens most often when the assembly of the bench is almost complete.
Additional fasteners
This is a generic name for parts that provide increased strength for all connections. Variants for the tree are corners, figured plates, staples. What exactly is needed, it is easy to understand, looking at the drawing of the bench.
Dimensions of blanks
You can only talk about the recommended parameters. The assembly of any design, if it is done by oneself, is a creative process. This applies to the drawings, which will be given below. They should be considered only as a kind of reference, a hint. And to choose the specific length of the bench, the width and so on - is the master's business.
Bars. Section is a square or a rectangle. For the bench, enough hand( in cm) from 3 to 5.
Boards. First of all, the thickness is meant. It should be correlated with the length of the bench. As it is a question of the simplest variants of "furniture", the presence of intermediate supports, as a rule, is not provided. Proceeding from this, it is necessary to take boards on 30 mm, at least.
Such a bench does not turn out to be too heavy, and it can be rearranged alone. What, in fact, is required for simple models of universal application.
How to make a bench
Preparation of constructional elements
It consists not only in cutting wood in size, but also in qualitative processing of all the resulting parts. Perhaps, grinding and not required if in the future a wooden bench is supposed to be painted, but surface cleaning is a must. It can be done quickly and efficiently with the help of an electric tool called a grinding machine. About commercially available models, features of their application is described in detail here.
Each sample, for convenience of further assembly, should be marked, in accordance with the bench scheme. Given that before the use of wooden parts have to handle, labels must be placed from the ends.
Assembling the
structure Some features of this process are already indicated. Where to start - solve only the master. As a rule, the backrest, if it is provided by the circuit, is installed last.
Such benches are often manufactured for installation in baths. In fact, the same benches, only the name is different.
To give any additional instructions on working with certain tools, the choice of drill diameter and so on, the author considers redundant. A person who is accustomed to collect everything himself, such tips are not required.
Success to you, the reader, in self-design!
