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Icdt April10 Skansen Bench

The document describes how to build a simple bench based on a Swedish antique. It uses through-tenons cut with a jigsaw to join the legs to the laminated seat. Though it may not look like a simple project, the document explains how it can be built with basic tools. It provides step-by-step instructions for cutting mortises and tenons with a jigsaw, shaping the legs, gluing up the seat, wedging the tenons, and finishing the bench. Overall, the document shows how this bench can be a simple and affordable project using dimensional lumber and basic tools.

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223 views2 pages

Icdt April10 Skansen Bench

The document describes how to build a simple bench based on a Swedish antique. It uses through-tenons cut with a jigsaw to join the legs to the laminated seat. Though it may not look like a simple project, the document explains how it can be built with basic tools. It provides step-by-step instructions for cutting mortises and tenons with a jigsaw, shaping the legs, gluing up the seat, wedging the tenons, and finishing the bench. Overall, the document shows how this bench can be a simple and affordable project using dimensional lumber and basic tools.

Uploaded by

api-239142091
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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i

c a n

d o

t h a t

by christopher schwarz

Skansen Bench
Based on a Swedish
antique, this bench uses
through-tenons made
with just a jigsaw.

ve always liked things that are Swedish,


impossibly overbuilt and yet somehow
graceful. For example, my beloved Volvo
240DL, a certain foreign exchange student in
high school and this bench from the Skansen
living history museum in Stockholm.
This bench is from the lvros Farmstead,
a group of buildings from the 16th and 17th
centuries that were moved to Skansen. I
first spied this bench in the book Making
Swedish Country Furniture & Household
Things (Hartley & Marks). For this version I
proportioned the parts so it could be built with
dimensional pine one 12'-long 2x12 and one
8'-long 2x8. Total cost: About $22.
At first glance, this might not look like an
I Can Do That project, with its laminated top
and wedged through-tenons in the seat. But I
assure you, it can be built with basic tools.

Jah, its solid. Thanks to massive tenons and


a thick seat, this bench will withstand both
children and time.

the mortises on the two boards and drill a 3 4"diameter hole at each mortise location.
With your jigsaw, square up the mortises.
After experimenting with several blades, I got
the best results from a Bosch T744D blade, a
7"-long blade designed for cutting wood rapidly. It is a shade thicker than typical blades
and has deep gullets. This helped prevent the
blade from deflecting.
The only downside to this blade is that it
will tear up the surface of your wood. Set the
jigsaws orbital action to 0 and take your time.

When the jigsawing is complete, straighten up


the mortises with a coarse rasp.
Dont glue up the seat yet well do that
after everything is dry-fit.

No mortiser required. With large through-tenons


you can simply drill a starter hole for your jigsaws
blade then square things up. Dont rush the cut
or the blade will deflect.

All in the jigsaw. The shape of and joinery on the


legs is made entirely with a jigsaw. Follow close
to the line and you wont have much cleanup
work to do here.

Get Those Legs in Shape


The legs are shaped with a jigsaw and a rasp.
Lay out the pattern on one leg (you can download a SketchUp drawing of this bench from
our web site). Then jigsaw the shape and clean
up your cuts with a rasp and sandpaper. Use
that leg as a template for the other three.

How the Joinery Works


The heart of the bench is the four throughtenons that connect the legs to the seat. The
tenons are cut while youre shaping the legs.
They dont have face shoulders, so theyre cut
easily with a jigsaw. The mortises are also easy.
You just drill a hole for each mortise, then
shape the mortise with a jigsaw.
Of course, its the details that determine
how easy all this will be, especially with the
mortises. Lets begin there.
The seat is made of two 2x12s glued face to
face. But its best to cut the mortises before gluing up the seat plank youll get less deflection
of your jigsaws blade. Lay out the locations of
24

popular woodworking magazine April 2010

lead photo by al parrish; step photos & illustrations by the author

A Self-made Wedgie

After you have the four legs in shape, fit


them to the mortises. Use a block plane to
thin the faces of the tenons; use a rasp to thin
the edges. Go for a tight fit, though the wedges
will help fill little gaps. Fit the bottom seat
plank over the tenons. Then fit the top seat
plank on that.
Now you can glue up the seat plank using
the tenons to keep the mortises aligned.
Remove the top seat plank and coat the bottom seat plank with glue (avoid the tenons).
Drive the top seat plank onto the tenons.
To clamp the two planks together, I recommend using 2"-long screws that you drive
through the underside of the bench through
clearance holes. Screws cinch the planks
together without clamps. After the two planks
are screwed together, knock the legs out of their
tenons. After the glue dries, you can remove
the screws if youre a cheapskate.

Wedging the tenons is simple. Youre going to


wedge them diagonally, from corner to corner.
This will expand each tenon in four directions.
The first step is to cut a kerf in the tenons to
receive the wedges. I used a handsaw. Any
saw will do. Saw from the top to the shoulder
of the tenon.
For the wedges, you can use builders
shims or make your own. I made mine from
leftover oak. I split out the wedges using a
pocketknife and a hammer. The wedges are
3 16" thick at the top, 2 3 4" wide, 21 2" long
and taper to a point.
To assemble the bench, brush glue on the
mortises and tenons and drive the legs home.
Paint glue on the wedges and drive them into
the kerfs in the tenons. Wait for the glue to
dry, then trim the wedges.
To lighten the look of the top I chamfered

Cheap clamps. With the seat planks glued


together, drive 2" screws through the underside
to clamp things up. Place a screw wherever you
see a gap between the planks.

all the edges with a block plane. The finish is a


few coats of an oil/varnish blend. You could use
paint red is a traditional Swedish color.
When the bench was complete, I jumped
up and down on it its solid. Heck, I think I
could have parked my 240DL on it. PWM

72"
Christopher is the editor of this magazine, the author of
Handplane Essentials and likely in trouble with his wife
for talking about Swedish exchange students.

3"
912"

20"

u Go Online for more


Download the I Can Do That manual:
u popularwoodworking.com/icandothat

elevation

112"

Visit Skansens web site:


u skansen.se
11"

Download a SketchUp plan of the bench:


u popularwoodworking.com/apr10

112"
3"

Build an I Can Do That step stool:


u tinyurl.com/y968omr
214"

Read a tutorial on leveling the feet:


u tinyurl.com/yd4924y

112"

All of our online products are available at:


u WoodworkersBookShop.com

212"

714"

About This Column

5"

PLAN

PROFILE

Skansen Bench

No.

item

2 Top slabs
4 Legs

dimensions (inches)
T
W
L

112
112

11
714

material

72 Pine
20 Pine

1 grid square = 1"

LEG PATTERN

Our I Can Do That column features projects that can be completed by any woodworker with a modest (but decent) kit of
tools in less than two days of shop time, and
using raw materials that are available at any
home center. We offer a free online manual
in PDF format that explains all the tools and
shows you how to perform the basic operations
in a step-by-step format.
Visit ICanD oThatExtras.
com to download the free
manual.

popularwoodworking .com

25

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