Garden And Yard Build The Planting Bench of your dreams

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First, make the doubled cleats that support the rear of the benchtop. From 1" x 2", cut one 46-inch-long cleat, one 19" and two 12"s. Double the cleat boards by locating the 19" cleat in the middle and the two 12"s at the ends of the 46"-inch board, leaving two 3" spaces to hold cross-braces in the inner edges of the "sandwich:' Fasten with glue and two nails per section. Center this support against the back panel, its upper edge at benchtop level. There will be an equal (1" or so) space at each end. Place top of cleat even with the bench-board-bottom guideline scribed on the back-board. Cut two more "sandwiches"of 1" x 2" x 8" and place at same level to inner faces of rear leg boards, back ends tight to the peg back.

From 1' x 2' pine, cut rear shelf cleats—one for each shelf location—to be 3'8" (or the bench-top width less four inches). Cut upper-shelf side cleats that attach to the inside of the 8 back legs to be 6 1/2" long (or the side-board depth less an inch). Lower-shelf side cleats running across the peg sides should be 20" long. Fasten cleats along scribe marks. Center back cleats on the back panel. Place side cleats with inner (back of bench) edges even with rear of pegboard side panels so their front ends are inset an inch from the front edge of the rear leg board.

Glue all cleats; to assure a good gluebond, weight cleats. I use bricks. Books will do if you glue-proof them. When glue is set in an hour or two, but not fully hardened (set-up time depends on the kind of glue), turn panels over and set 3/8" wood screws through holes pre-drilled through back of peg-board panels and into cleats (It is easy to see through holes in pegboard to drill accurately.). Use 1 1/4" screws to fasten cleats where they face pegboard, and 3/4-inch-thick leg boards. Set two screws an inch from ends of each short cleat, and place screws six inches apart on the long cleats. Let glue dry.

4. Build front-leg/brace assembly
Lay out the 4-inch-wide, 36-inch-long front leg boards 4 feet apart on the floor line, with their long dimensions parallel. Place the 1" x 4" x 46" front brace board atop the legs with its upper long edge even with tops of the legs. Adjust legs in or out under the brace board so that long edges of the legs extend an inch beyond the ends of the brace (leaving an inch of leg board exposed at each end of the brace—so front leg will precisely cover the combined thickness of the nominal 1" side leg and pegboard side panel). Legs must be square to brace. Apply glue to the joints and put three 1 1/4" drywall screws in a triangle shape into the brace/leg junctions. The screws are going in from the inside, so will not be visible—but do not set screw heads any deeper than the brace board surface lest they punch through the outer face of the leg boards and show.

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