DIY Network

Church Pew Seating From "From Junky to Funky" episode DFJF-103

In this segment an old church pew found at a thrift store by the designers--David Beaupre, Samantha Gleisten and Michael Spatafora--is taken apart to create three-piece seating around the table in the homeowners newly designed dining room.

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	One long church pew is retrieved from the back room of a thrift store...
	and with a few modifications, becomes new seating for the dining room table.
	Figure A
	Figure B

Materials:

12' church pews
Wood stripper
Sandpaper
Nails
Semi-gloss polyurethane
Sander
Circular saw
Reciprocating saw
Grinder
Heat gun
Scrapers
Mask

Pew

1. First, find a long church pew.

2. Determine your dimensions. We based our length dimension on the length of the thrift store dining table that we found.

3. Make your marks and then cut the pew with a combination of circular saw, reciprocating saw and jig saw (figure A). We found multiple saws were needed to be able to cut into all the nooks and crannies that were in the pew.

   Note: When determining proper measurements for your cut, make sure you take into consideration any tennon material that you might need to leave for the ends of your pew to attach into the arm sections.

4. Disassemble remaining sections to allow for easier stripping (figure B).

5. Completely strip and sand all pieces that you will be using in your final product. The more detailed you are on this step will vastly improve your finish on the final product.

   Tip: To remove layers of paint or finish from the pews, try using a combination of scrapers, heat guns and propane torches. Make sure to wear a mask and eye protection.

6. Reassemble the pew using new screws where needed to make sure it's structural.

7. Finish with two or three coats of clear protective finish. Semi-gloss polyurethane was used in this project.

Chairs

The remaining sections of the pew were used to build two custom chairs adding to the dining room set, because we found ourselves with four extra leg pieces and enough pieces of seating and backing.

1. First, make and cut the seat and back to chosen dimension. We chose our dimension by measuring other chairs around the shop.

2. Add taper and work edges of seat and back with sanders and grinders. This was done to give the chairs a more pleasing shape.

3. Attach the legs to the seat/back section using appropriate screw.

4. Strip, sand and finish in same manner as used on bench.

Project Expense:

Pew: $80
Materials: $10

Total: $90