Log-Leg Bench

I built this bench last year for a fund-raising auction. It was fairly popular and easy to make.

The method of construction is very straightforward:

Build the seat as a small platform. Here the seat is 42" long by about 26" deep.

Cut four legs out of a log and notch them to fit on to the ends of the bench. I notched these with a small electric chainsaw. 

Put arms on top of the legs.

Put a back-rest on top of the arms. I angled the back-rest here a bit. I think it looks nice, but isn't really required. Once you put some screws through the back into it, its not going anywhere. I would have used a large branch for this if I had one.

Put the back on. I attached the back pieces to the back-rest with screws, then put screws up through the seat into them.

 I put a bit of darker stain on it to bring the rough-sawn texture out of the wood, then sealed it with outdoor finish.

I made the coffee table with the cut-offs and some slate mosaic I had left over.

Costs: Nothing - Everything here was either given to me or was left over from other projects.

Queen Headboard and Frame from a Five-Panel Door.

My oldest son is moving out with friends, and this is my new-house gift for him:

The headboard is a 5-panel clear fir door that we cut down. It has a little damage on it, but that will be hidden by the mattress.

This is actually a fairly easy project:

• Cut the door to 59" wide, add 2x3 legs and then a 1x4 cap. 
• The foot board is just the same but with a 1x10.
• The side rails are 1x10 with a 2x4 support.
• The side-rails are connected with bed-brackets from Rockler. 

The platform is four 20" x 60" sections of OSB, backed-up with 2x4's. This might be over-kill, but I don't need to worry about it sagging - and its cheap & easy.

It took as long to stain and seal the bed than it did to build and sand it. I think this is a four-evening project - two for building and two for finishing.

Costs: $175

• Fir headboard - $75
• Fir lumber - $50
• 2 OSB sheets - $18
• 8 2x4's - $20
• Bead brackets - $12
• Stain and sealer - already had it.

The project went as planned, I wouldn't have done anything different - and my son really likes it.