HOW TO BUILD AN ELEGANT FUNCTIONAL STORAGE BENCH

This Old House general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O’Connor build a storage bench for an entryway.

Shopping List for Building a Storage Bench:

  • 1/2-inch and 3/4-inch cabinet-grade birch plywood
  •  1×3 and 1×8 poplar
  • Crown molding
  • Two wicker storage baskets
  • 4 Decorative coat hooks
  • Carpenters’ glue
  • Cloth rag, for wiping off excess glue
  • 1 1/4-inch pocket screws, used to join rails to stiles
  • 1-inch screws, for attaching stiles and rails to the plywood back of the bench
  • 2 1/2-inch drywall screws, used to assemble the storage box
  • 1 1/2-inch brads, used to join together the legs
  • 120-grit abrasive disks
  • 1-inch pins, for securing the crown molding
  • Primer and latex paint or wood stain

Tools List for Building a Storage Bench:

  1. Table saw, for ripping plywood to width
  2. Track saw, used to crosscut plywood to length
  3. Miter saw, for cutting poplar parts to length
  4. Pocket-hole jig, used to bore pocket holes
  5. Clamps, for holding parts during pocket joinery
  6. Drill/driver
  7. Impact driver, used to drive screws
  8. Router with quarter-round stepped-beading router bit, for shaping edges
  9. Wet/dry vacuum, used to collect dust
  10. Jigsaw, for cutting a radius into each leg
  11. Pneumatic brad nailer
  12. Random-orbit sander
  13. Pneumatic pin nailer

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