Potting Bench for a Friend

Submitted by Jake on Sun, 05/20/2012 - 17:07

A friend of mine said she needed a potting table (aka bench) so I offered to make her one. Got the plan for the simple potting bench and went to work. The friend wanted a lip on the left and right sides of the top self and she wanted the top shelf to be solid. So adding the lip was no problem and I added the same but smaller on the bottom shelf. I built the solid top from three pieces of wood held together with pocket joints and glue. Worked great. With just a little sanding it is a beautiful flat solid piece of wood. Much better and cheaper than plywood. Since I do not like to rip lumber the final top self was about an inch or so deeper than the plans but that was easily adapted to. It is a good lesson to cut as you go along rather than cutting everything at the onset of a project. You make changes and it effects other aspects of the build. I added a Shaker peg on each end to hang a bar towel or a trowel whatever suits your fancy.

Most important is to continually check for square joints. Especially if you don't have the fancy tools and jigs. I got lucky and my final bench was square and level in all directions.
The build takes about 8 hours (plus a couple of days for priming and painting) using mostly hand tools. If I do another one I am going to substitute lighter and thinner wood. The 2x4 shelves and supports are over kill. I think it will give you a better and nicer looking final product. Keep Ana on The Web,,,,

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30 - $35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I made the potting bench on the agreement that she would finish it. So with the table went instructions on sanding, priming, and painting. Maybe I will have a picture later of the finished product. My cost above does not include the cost of finishing,
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Jake

Sun, 05/20/2012 - 17:10

I also added a face to the exposed lumber ends in the front and for the top and bottom shelves. The bottom face is actually a piece of old cedar fence I found in the garage. Sorry I forgot to mention in my first Brag ...about the potting bench.