1. Home
  2. Plan Catalog

Beginner Farm Table Benches (2 Tools + $20 in Lumber)

The free plans on this website are made possible with advertising and affiliate links.  Thank you for helping us keep plans free.

 

easy to build dining bench
|save this plan
Difficulty
Beginner Projects
| Print this plan

The easiest farmhouse dining benches you can make.  Only two tools, no Kreg Jig required.  Free plans from Ana-White.com

Thank you for all the positive feedback on the Beginner Farm Table plans I posted earlier this week!

We love being able to get back to basics, and make woodworking as accessible to as many people as possible, with as few tools as possible.

As promised, you'll find the bench plans following.

The bench plans are just as beginner friendly. And of course, they are sturdy and perfectly sized for the dining table.

We used the same building techniques as the dining table, just screw this bench together -

And the same easy one step finish, Watco Danish Oil in Light Walnut.

And you can watch the video build tutorial too -

Enjoy, do share if you build, we love seeing your finished projects!

Have a great weekend,

Ana

 

 

Dimensions
easy to build bench
Dimensions shown above

Preparation

Shopping List

1 - 2x6 @ 12 feet long (cut exactly in half)

3 - 2x4 @ 8 feet or stud length (will have a little extra if making two benches may be able to buy 5 instead of 6)

2-3/4" long self tapping wood screws

Wood glue

Watco Danish Oil

Cut List

2 - 2x4 @ 66" - long aprons

4 - 2x4 @ 16-1/2" - legs

4 - 2x4 @ 7-1/2" - end aprons and stretcher

1 - 2x4 @ 4-1/2" - middle

Tools
Tape Measure
Speed Square
Pencil
Safety Glasses
Hearing Protection
Drill
Miter Saw

Instructions

Step 1

Screw the leg sets together using the 2-3/4" screws.  You can use a 1x piece of wood or 3/4" thick plywood to elevate the aprons/stretchers up 3/4" on the leg when attaching.

Step 2

Attach long aprons at top to legs.  

Step 3

Find center of bench and add the middle support. This keeps aprons from spreading and gives you something to attach seat boards to.

Step 4

Screw seat boards to bench.  About 1" overhang on ends and 1/4" overhang on side edges.

Project Type
Bench
Room
Bedroom
dining room
Entryway and Mudroom
Outdoor
Style
Farmhouse Furniture
Rustic Furniture Plans

Comments

Mike Mercer

Thu, 12/28/2017 - 12:12

Thank you Ana, 

These Benches are going to go great with out new Farm House style Table!  I can't wait to assemble them later today.  Taking a quick break to spend some time with the Kids and eat Lunch, then it's back to work assembiling my new Table and Benches. 

Thanks again Ana, 

Your plans are top-notch!

 

- Mike

Project Jumanji

Sat, 01/06/2018 - 14:50

Hi Mike!

Hope you had a good build with the table and matching benches.

I wondered if I could ask your opinion on the finished benches - do they feel too shallow (11" deep) to sit on comfortably?  I'm considering using 2x8 boards (or 2x10) instead of the 2x6 as I wanted to be sure that men sitting on the benches for dinner didn't feel like their bum was hanging over the back too much.

Thanks for chiming in!

Beth

Project Jumanji

Sat, 01/06/2018 - 14:53

Has anyone made these and could comment on the depth of them?  They're 11" deep according to the plan, but I don't know if that is deep enough?  Men, do you feel like your bum is falling off the back of the bench?  Should I be using 2x8 (or even 2x10) boards instead of the 2x6?

Project Jumanji

Sat, 01/06/2018 - 14:53

Has anyone made these and could comment on the depth of them?  They're 11" deep according to the plan, but I don't know if that is deep enough?  Men, do you feel like your bum is falling off the back of the bench?  Should I be using 2x8 (or even 2x10) boards instead of the 2x6?

crtapp48

Sat, 09/14/2019 - 15:04

Just finished one bench and am currently sitting on it as I type this! I thought the depth may not be enough as well but the bench is definitely deep enough! I have chair cushions on it for comfort but I am 5'1" and can sit in a lotus style position comfortably. Even my 6' partner agrees with the depth being just enough.
I think if you'd like to add more depth don't add any more than two inches.

Hope that helped!

BB2004

Wed, 03/04/2020 - 20:30

Great plans! I did alter them a little so I could use 2x8 instead of 2x6 for the top. These will be going in the children’s area at our church. If I could figure out how to upload the pic I could show it but can’t figure it out. 🤦‍♂️
Thank you! 

shamus454

Mon, 07/25/2022 - 08:19

When you built the benches for the beginner farm table back in 2000 and went with the the 2x8 over the 2x6 did you have to alter the legs and supports at all?

Thank you

bonmom707

Wed, 03/30/2022 - 14:25

I made an 8' long version by adding an additional set of legs to add to the middle. Just need to add 2 legs and one 7 1/2" piece (center it) plus 8 screws. Made to match an 8' table. I stained all the pieces before I assembled for more uniform look.