Modern Five-Board Bench — board plan

What to buy, and which parts come off which board.

Buy 5 boards at 8 ft.

1 1/2" × 5 1/2"

5 boards · 26.9 board feet (includes 15% for knots and defects) · 86% of the boards you buy used

Board 1 · 12 1/4" left over
48"34 1/2"
1. Seat and back slats — 48"
2. Back legs — 34 1/2"
Board 2 · 12 1/4" left over
48"34 1/2"
1. Seat and back slats — 48"
2. Back legs — 34 1/2"
Board 3 · 13 5/8" left over
48"16 1/2"16 1/2"
1. Seat and back slats — 48"
2. Leg supports — 16 1/2"
3. Leg supports — 16 1/2"
Board 4 · 13 5/8" left over
48"16 1/2"16 1/2"
1. Seat and back slats — 48"
2. Leg supports — 16 1/2"
3. Leg supports — 16 1/2"
Board 5 · 13 5/8" left over
48"16 1/2"16 1/2"
1. Seat and back slats — 48"
2. Leg supports — 16 1/2"
3. Leg supports — 16 1/2"

Cuts are listed longest-first, which is how they should be made: the awkward pieces get placed while there is still board to place them on. The layout assumes one end of each board is squared off (1") and that every cut costs 1/8" of kerf — the reason six 16″ parts do not fit on a 96″ board.

1 1/2" × 5 1/2"

Board 1 · 12 1/4" left over

Board 2 · 12 1/4" left over

Board 3 · 13 5/8" left over

Board 4 · 13 5/8" left over

Board 5 · 13 5/8" left over