A Rustic Garden Bench You Can Build

How to Build a Rustic Garden Bench

Building a rustic garden bench is easier than you might think. I built this bench in about 6 hours. Now, I have built quite a number of these, and this makes it easier and faster, but if you use these instructions, you can build your own rustic garden bench in as little as one weekend.

If you have never built rustic furniture, you might want to check out the following link ( Rustic Furniture Basics ) before you get started. It will provide you with details for building just about anything you want the rustic way.

The tools needed for this project are amazingly simple. They are: bow saw, pruning shears, knife, electric drill with bits, hammer, various sizes of nails and screws. That's it! Now let's get started.

Gathering the wood is the first step. You can make you garden bench just about any length that you want, and this will vary how much wood you will need to collect. For this project, the bench was 9 feet in length. Here is a list of the building materials used:

Garden Bench Frame:
(sticks for should be 1 1/2”-2 1/2” diameter)
3-front legs (length 19”)
3-back legs (length 32”)
6-horizontal side braces (length 24”)
3-diagonal side braces (26”-may need to cut to size)
4-long rails (length 9')
1-top rail (length 9'6”)
2-diagonal braces for back (cut to fit)

Seat/Back:
(sticks for the seat rungs should be 3/4”-1” diameter)
40-50-small diameter sticks or saplings. The length of your garden bench will determine the number of saplings you will need. Just about any small branches will do. They do not have to be saplings. Collecting willow, birch, or alder saplings is just quicker than trimming branches out of trees. (see article on collecting wood for more tips)

Critical Note:
Pre-drill before placing a nail or screw (see Building Basics Article)

Step 1: Assemble the side frames as shown in the picture. Make sure you use the techniques discussed in the Building Basics articles. Place a front and back leg on a firm surface and then position two horizontal braces over the legs. The bottom rail should be about 4” off of the ground. The top rail should be placed about 1” to 1 1/2” from the top. The braces should not be flush with the legs but should extend out past them by 1” to 1 1/2”. Place a deck screw and a nail at each joint. Repeat this process for the other two side frames.

Tip: After you have built one side frame, build each of the other two right on top of the first so that they are exactly alike. I temporarily screw the legs of the second side frame to the first, assemble the horizontal braces and then unscrew it from the first side frame.

Step 2: On all 3 side frames assemble the diagonal side braces as shown in the picture. Only one deck screw is necessary on each end for the diagonal braces.

Step 3: Now that you have the side frames built, you are ready to assemble the 4 long rails. The picture shows the top two after assembly. Assemble the bottom two the same way. Make sure and place a nail and a deck screw at each joint as you go.

To complete the frame assembly, nail or screw the top back rail to the back three leg posts as shown in the picture.

Step 4: With the frame complete, you are ready to build the seat. First, you will need to cut your sticks for the seat rungs to the proper length. Lay one stick across the frame from front to back. Cut the stick so that it comes completely across each long rail it is setting on.

After you have one rung cut, you can use this as a template to trim the rest to size.

Start on on end of the bench frame and begin screwing or nailing each rung to the frame. I usually use nails for the seat and back since this saves on cost and the results are just as good. ALWAYS PREDRILL.

I leave about a one inch gap between each rung, using the width of my thumb as my spacer.

Step 6: Back assembly: There are a variety of designs and styles that can be used for a seat back. For this project, I decided to use what I call the setting sun look. This design will give the bench a classic western look.

Make sure and space your rungs evenly as the bench will look nicer if the back is symmetrical. I do this by alternating sides as I go so that I can match them as closely as possible.

Step 7: With the back and seat now complete, there are just a few extras that will make the frame a bit stronger and add some character to this garden bench.

First, I decided to add two diagonal braces below the back as shown in the picture. This will add that extra lateral support that will be needed if kids are playing on it.

Second, after I had finished the garden bench, the person who I had made it for decided that they wanted arm rests. You can see in the picture how I added the arm rests by simply attaching a vertical branch to each front leg with two screws.

Then I attached a horizontal arm rest to the back leg and rested it across the vertical branch and secured it in place with screws.

If you want, you can also make the front legs longer in the beginning so that you would not have to attach another stick in front.

Another finishing touch is to add a 1-1 1/2" diameter branch in front the front of the seat to cover up the ends of all of the seat rungs.

This can be seen in the front of the seat of any of the pictures.

The bench is now complete, but it is import to protect the wood from the elements. You can do this by coating the green wood linseed oil/turpentine mix.

Mix the linseed oil and turpentine 50/50, and apply one coat. Allow to dry and apply a second coat. The linseed oil allow the green wood to continue to cure and dry where polyurethane would not.

Below is the finished project with my neieces and nephews on it.

If you liked these Garden Bench instructions check out my Home Page for more great Ideas

SBI!