Build Log: Kitchen Bench

Summary

Cost: ~$150
Time: ~long weekend
Completed: 2022-05-30

Design

Short of a full built-in window seat, we decided to do a simpler rectangular bench in the kitchen. Doing a stand-alone rather than built in simplifies the project and makes it portable in the future if needed.

Materials Required

Material	Quantity	Description
3/4" Birch Plywood	1x 4'x8' sheet	$85, main structure, link
1x2 Pine	3x 6' boards	$15, battens, link
3/4" Ambrosia Maple	6 board feed (~24"x48"x3/4")	top, assorted dining table scrap
Caulk		Kwik Seal Ultra: Kitchen, Bath & Plumbing
White Paint	~1 quart	Sherwin Williams Harmony Interior Acrylic Latex, Extra White
Top Coat	~1 quart	$20, Minwax Polycrylic Clear Satin Water-Based Polyurethane, link
Wipe-on Poly		clear finish for wood top
Spring Hinges	4	$30, link

Tools Used

Circular saw
Bora circular saw guide
Kreg pocket hole jig
Impact driver
Jig saw
Nail gun
Clamps
Hand planer
Palm sander
Paint sprayer (borrowed this one)

Build Notes

Cut List

Plywood cut list (box structure):
- 1x 3' 8 5/8" x 1' 11 1/2" bottom
- 2x 3' 7 3/16" x 1' 5 5/8" front/back
- 2x 1' 11 1/2" x 1' 5 5/8" sides
- 1x 3' 10" x 5" front feet
- 2x 1' 11 1/2" x 5" side feet
1x2 cut list (battens)
- 8x 1' 2 5/16" (verticals)
- 2x 1' 11 1/2" (top sides)
- 1x 3' 10" (top front)
Top cut list (ambrosia maple):
- 1x 3' 10" x 2' 1/2" top (match cut with about 1/4" overhang on front and sides)

Process

Drill pocket holes
Jig saw for feet
Sand
Assemble main structure
Glue + nail feet and battens
Fill holes + finish sand
Paint with sprayer (1 coat)
Cut + glue up wood for top panel
Hand plane + sand and finish top panel (one side rough finished)
Spray poly top coat (2 coats)
Install hinges
Wipe-on poly top (~5 coats)
Build block and install supplemental hinges in middle so lid stays open

To Improve

Two coats of paint and more time between sprayed poly coats

Created: 2022-05-26-Thu
Updated: 2022-07-17-Sun