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by
Adrian Jones
photos: Ray Pilon
illustration: Len Churchill |
CEDAR BENCH (part 2) |
Joining
the Leg Assemblies
Mark the locations of the three seat supports and two leg braces
on the two leg assemblies you built earlier. The two outer seat
supports should be 11 3/8" from each end; the middle one
is centred between the others. The leg brace dowels are also
centred 3 1/2" from the bottom of the legs and 1 3/8"
from the outer edges.
Put dowel centres in the holes you drilled in the ends of the
three seat supports earlier, align the seat supports with marks
on the U-shaped frames, then press the parts together to mark
the dowel hole locations. The central spur on the dowel centres
marks the inside surface of the leg assemblies in the places
where you’ll need to drill holes. As with the seat supports,
make the holes 3/8"-dia. x 3/4" deep.
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| The
backrest and leg assemblies are conveniently built
in the same way |
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| The
legs are stabilized thanks to the leg braces, which
fasten with dowels |
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Dry-fit the front and rear legs, seat supports and leg braces
using 3/8"-dia. x 1 1/4"-long fluted dowels. Ensure
all the joints come together fully; sometimes slight dowel misalignment
can cause joints to hang up, and you want to find and fix these
problems now. Even if everything fits well, hold off on final
assembly.
Cut the Legs to Shape
At this stage, the main support framework for the love seat
could be glued together, except that all parts are still square.
You need to cut the curves. Make a tracing template out of plywood
for the legs, the back support and seat slats. One template
does all three jobs.
Cut the curves for just the two leg assemblies with your bandsaw.
Get a friend to help: these parts are heavy and awkward. After
sawing, sand the inside and outside edges smooth, then round
all curved edges and the front of the inside rail edge with
a 1/2" bearing-guided roundover bit. Leave both edges of
the centre rails square.
Glue the seat supports and leg braces to the leg assemblies
and clamp them together. Adjust for square and allow them to
cure overnight. Clean up any glue squeeze-out and sand smooth.
Give it a Rest
While you’re waiting for the glue to dry, create the backrest
assembly using the third U-shaped frame you set aside earlier.
The backrest and the back support are built as a separate component,
then added to the bench. Use the curved template you made to
trace the shape, then saw along the lines, trim the uprights
to 16 1/2" long, and then sand the cut edges smooth as
you did with the legs. Create a 3/8"-deep x 3"-long
dado in both uprights to accept the backrest.
Rip the backrest piece to width, trim to length and round the
corners to a 2" radius. Rout a 3/8" roundover profile
on all sides and ends. Get ready for dowels by drilling three
1/4"-dia. dowel holes in each upright, 3/4" deep in
a triangular pattern. These dowel joints will connect the backrest
to the back support assembly. Use dowel centres to transfer
the locations of these holes to the backrest. Drill the dowel
holes in the back, glue and clamp up.
Frame It
Join the entire backrest frame to the seat assembly using 3/8"-dia.
x 1 1/4" dowels. Centre the backrest frame onto the seat
and make a couple of registration marks across the joint with
a pencil so you can easily return the parts to the same spot.
Drill pairs of dowel holes every eight inches along mating parts
of the seat back; use dowel centres to align the holes. Dry-fit
the joint, making adjustments if needed, then reassemble with
glue.
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PART 1 | PART 2 | PART
3 |
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