Cousin Jim’s Entry Bench

Built from a Woodsmith plan (Issue #198, December 2011), this Classic Entry Bench was constructed with quarter-sawn white oak. Once sanded to 320, it was finished with four coats of Watco Danish oil (natural).

The style is robust and simple. The curves and arcs add pleasing lines. The most challenging element of construction was locating and creating the four through mortises in the seat plank, while the most laborious part of the project was scalloping and refining the shape of the seat. I give credit, however, to Woodsmith for providing an excellent plan with good solutions to otherwise difficult woodworking. I did stray from the Woodsmith method of attaching the seat mortise router templates. I opted instead for a method demonstrated in a Crimson Guitars (UK) YouTube video, where masking tape and CA glue take the place of double-sided tape. The sheer strength is better than that of d/s tape and removal is quicker and cleaner. It’s unlikely that I will ever use double sided tape again as a means of securing templates.

Built in central North Carolina as a thank-you to my cousin Jim, the bench now happily resides in Southeast Denver, Colorado.