Thread: timber bench construction

I would fit a cross member.

The seat is 1400 long which means it could seat three people. Worst case scenario you may have over 300kg on that seat. That is a lot of potential for it to rack and the whole thing will more than likely come crashing down.

For strength make sure the top part actually sits on top of the legs, not inside them.

Cheers, Jack.

Originally Posted by andrew30

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Hi,<o></o>

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I'm making a bench to go with a dining table I've made.<o></o>

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The seat part of the bench is made out of Tasmanian oak, (4 laminated 90*45s). The legs are also made out of 4 pieces of laminated 45*90. <o></o>

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Basically I've glued together 4 long bits of 45*90 tas oak and cut a piece 1400mm long for the seat and 2 pieces 390mm long for the legs. Its all very simple.<o></o>

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I'd planned on attaching the legs by putting a block of 50*50 in the right ange where the legs and top join and gluing and screwing it all up. <o></o>

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Will this be strong enough? The whole thing is going to weigh a tonne and I'm wondering if I need a cross member underneath the seat part to stop it bowing and/or strengthen the legs??<o></o>

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What do you reckon?<o></o>

What do I reckon ? I reckon you need more smilies, that's what I reckon.

Excellent! thanks Jack.

I think the cross member makes sense especially if we get an influx of fatties...

I'm intending on making the top sit on the legs for strength.

Any thoughts on what the best way to attach the cross member would be? I could cut a slot out of the top on the leg so that it fits into the legs.

The top of the leg and the cross member would be all flush and the top would sit on that.

I reckon thats the go, does that make sense?

Thanks for your help.

Gumby, hopefully I've got a more correct balance of smiles this time?

Yep, you’ve got it

Just about right.

Much better than before

I reckon,

Welcome aboard by the way

I second having some sort of bracing - just attaching the legs leaves it very vulnerable to racking.

This is a rough bench that I knocked up to go behind the kitchen table. It's mostly 6x1 pine and 4x1 pine, but it holds up 3 people without protesting and the triangular bracing from each end makes it pretty strong.

Hopefully you can make something more elegant, but the bracing idea does work.

Cheers

Ian

How about a M&T rail lower down the bench for good support.
If you don't want a through mortice it could be a stopped mortice.

A lower rail doesn't really stop racking, although it does reduce the risk. It's more of a help in preventing splaying. Rectangles rack and triangles won't, so I'll second ianab's suggestion of bracing.

If just braces are used they'd need to be about the size of the ones in his pic, joining the legs past the halfway mark. Past halfway down that is. I don't particularly like this look, but to each his own.

If you include the lower rail, these can be reduced in size, only needing to come to down to about the 1/4-way mark. If you also pinch the idea of adding front&back faces (again from inab's pic), these'd hide the topmost portion of the braces, making 'em less conspicuous. (Pic #1)

Or, if you like the old arts'n'crafts style, you could make a feature out of 'em and do something like Pic #2. This is a really strong construction method and one of my faves, especially when exposed pins ala Shaker style are used for the joinery. It looks good too... to my eye anyway.


Edit: apologies for Pic 2; it was resized properly, dunno what happened. Oh, the vagaries of 'putas.... and I'm a qualified SAnal! :eek:

HI Guys,

Thanks for all your advice!

I've decided on a cross member at the top of the legs. the cross member is 110mm high and I've made a stepped mortice so 40mm of the cross member is morticed into the top of he leg and the other 70mm is against the inside of the legs.

My girlfriend has very particular tastes and didn't want a cross member or stays lower down. Best to keep the boss happy, and if it doesn't work at least i can say 'told you so'.

Now, whats the best way of attaching it all together? I'm thinking of gluing the cross member into the legs, maybe with a screw down through the stepped mortice from the top. Then I could just use some metal brackets to attach the top to the frame...

Does that sound OK? (I must get a camera so I can post a photo rather than explaining with words...)

Thanks again for your help.