The One-Board Bench

Decide your top length and cut it from the 2x10 (42" is a comfortable entryway-bench length). Cut the two legs at 16" from the same board.

With a jigsaw, cut a tapered design into the top of each leg and a cutout at the bottom. Cut both legs' profiles as close to identical as you can — clamp them together and cut through both at once if your jigsaw and stock thickness allow it. Sand each profile even and smooth before assembly.

Drill three pocket holes on the inside face of each leg and attach to the top with pocket screws and glue. If you want a stretcher for extra stability, add it now between the legs — pocket holes work here too, or simply screw through the outside of each leg into the ends of the 2x2.

If you like the look, drive a few square-head nails into the top where it meets each leg, purely for visual effect — they aren't doing structural work, the pocket screws are.

Sand thoroughly, working up through the grits, then apply tung oil to bring out the natural grain — this is the finish that makes oak worth using over pine here. If you built the stretcher from pine and want it to read differently from the oak, a vinegar-and-steel-wool stain under the tung oil ages it to a darker tone.