Porch Bench
Simple, sturdy, and stylish — you can’t ask for much more when it comes to a bench that lives on the porch.
It can be a harrowing event moving from messy outdoor activities to the indoor domain. You need a buffer that can take the hit of shedding the boots, coats, and other mud-caked paraphernalia. If you don’t have a mud room, you can park the good-looking bench you see here by any entryway. It’s surprising how solid and strong this bench is for no more than it weighs. 8/4 oak was the wood of choice for all the parts of this project. The thick legs are glued up from this material and gives you the opportunity to put the best face forward. You’ll also notice that the legs are angled outward; it’s subtle, but it adds a little more stability to the bench. Not to mention its eye appeal. You can’t see them but there are tenons at the top of the legs that are epoxied to mortises in the bench. The bench’s bread-board ends are held in place with big lag screws. They pair well with the hardware that’s attached to the bench via the stretchers. All of these components add up to a bench that’s fun to build, durable enough for outdoor weather, and handsome enough to reside at the main entry of your home. I’m thinking that building more than one is a good idea.
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What You Get:
- 7 pages of step-by-step instructions
- 27 full-color photos, illustrations, and exploded views
- Materials List & Project Supplies Sources
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.