Saturday Morning Workshop: Outdoor Trestle Bench
Beautify your patio, deck or porch this summer with this attractive, easy-to-construct outdoor trestle bench.
A few hours
Intermediate
$101–250
Introduction
A sturdy, serviceable bench, its many design details combined in bold form and strong lines are reminiscent of Santa Fe styling. And, it’s small and light enough to lift and move around easily. We used cedar because of its rich warm color, light weight and weather resistance. All surfaces were sanded and corners slightly rounded.Tools Required
- Drill/driver
- Hammer
- Miter saw
- Punch
- Reciprocating saw
- Rubber mallet
- Table saw
- Wrench
Materials Required
- 1/2-in. -13 galvanized USS lock nuts
- 1/2-in. galvanized washers (1-1/8 in. dia.)
- 1/2-in. threaded rod
- 3/8 in. x 4-in. galvanized hex-head lag screws
- 5/16-in. galvanized washers (1 in. dia.)
- Cedar 1x3
- Cedar 2x4
Cutting List
Project Plans
Project step-by-step (9)
Cut the cedar boards to length
Cut the cedar to the following pieces from 2×4 cedar:
- Seven 60-in. seat rails
- One 37-in. stretcher
- Two 9-in. crossbars
- Four 17-1/2 in. legs
Cut the 1×3 cedar to eight 3-1/2 in. pieces.
Cut the notches into the legs
Clamp a scrap piece of 1/2-in. plywood to the table saw fence and set the fence so that the leg board (B) is lined up with a 2-1/2 in. mark from one of the ends. Make sure that the temporary plywood fence is behind the blade. Set the blade to 3/4-in. high. Run the board through the table saw at even intervals and make sure to trim the very end, as it will make the next step easier. Clamp the board to the work surface and chisel out the leftover wood from the notch and sand to an even finish.