For less than $100 you can make your gardening jobs easier with a custom-made potting bench. Start by sketching out your bench design. You'll probably want to include a top shelf, a working area and a couple of lower shelves.
Materials:
Hammer
Circular saw
Reciprocating saw
Measuring tape
Drill, with drill bits and a Phillips driver bit
Wood chisel
4" x 4" posts
2" x 4" boards
3/4" plywood
L brackets
Long wood screws
Safety glasses
Work gloves
- Cut a "half lap" notch in the back legs to support the top shelf (figure A). Use a reciprocating saw to make this cut, or make several passes with a circular saw set to the appropriate depth and chisel out the cut pieces after breaking them loose with a hammer (figure B).
- Screw shelf frames together with long wood screws (figure C). Form the wood into a square or rectangular frame with the long pieces on the outside. Screw through the sides of the long pieces into the ends of the shorter pieces.
- Toenail the frames to the 4" by 4" posts (figure D). You may want to drill pilot holes and screw the frames to the posts.
- Notch out 4" by 4" beams for the front legs of the bench as you notched the back legs in step 1. Attach the shelves to the legs with screws (figure E).
- After the frame is assembled, install plywood shelves. You may want to cut the shelves in half to make them easier to maneuver (figure F).
- Notch the plywood so that it will fit around the legs of the bench (figure G).
- Cut the middle shelf so that there's a space between the two sides. That way you can remove the middle shelf if necessary (figure H).
- Attach the shelves to the frame with screws (figure I).
- Add an additional wooden "wedge" (a 90-degree triangle cut from a 2" by 4" board) to help support the top shelf. One side of the wedge should be attached flush with the bottom of the top shelf (figure J) and screwed into the shelf leg so that it supports the weight of the top shelf (figure K).
- Attach L-brackets to the side to hold a tray for dirt or other odds and ends (figure L).
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