My list of things I want to make or build gets longer by the day.  I see something that inspires an idea in my head, and I may jot down some notes or a rough sketch in my sketch book so I don’t forget about it.  Little by little I’m checking things off my list, but with each item I check off it’s like I also add five more.  Does that ever happen to you?  🙂

I recently added a new miter saw to my shop.  It’s the Ridgid 10″ Sliding Miter Saw and one of the cool features it boasts is the ability to make 70-degree cuts!  I was already excited to finally have the sliding feature (something I’d never had before) but I knew I wanted to build something that allowed me to use the 70-degree cutting feature, so I started doodling.  I decided I would make a simple modern slatted bench and I did an initial couple of sketches, but the design changed a little bit after I started laying it out in Sketchup and drawing more accurate 70-degree angles:

Right around the time I started drawing up my design I learned that the guys over at the Modern Maker Podcast were teaming up with Rockler Woodworking & Hardware to host what has come to be named the Rockler Plywood Challenge (look up #rocklerplywoodchallenge on Instagram).  Contestants can build anything they want, as long as it only uses a maximum of one sheet of plywood.  I figured this would be the perfect project to try out my bench design.

I chose to use a 4/x8 sheet of 3/4″ baltic birch plywood which I picked up from San Marcos Hardwood Lumber Co.  This is awesome plywood with pretty much zero voids in between layers which will be a great modern look when finished.  As it turns out, I think I only ended up using about a half-sheet (do I get bonus points for that?).  I started by ripping a bunch of strips that would serve as the slats, and a couple extra slats from which I’d cut into pieces for my spacers.  This build also gave me an opportunity to create an MDF template of the shape I wanted to use for the legs.  Back in December of 2016 I attended a Jory Brigham Design Workshop and we learned about and used templates in that project, so it was nice to be able use what I’ve learned.  You can see more about my experience at the Jory Brigham design Workshop here.  So I created my MDF template for the legs (Rockler’s tapering jig came in handy for this), traced them onto the plywood and cut them out.  Rough cut with the bandsaw, then followed up with a pattern bit at the router table.  My plan was also not to use any screws or bolts, but rather hold everything together with glue and dowels (walnut dowels for contrast) so after I cut my 70-degree angles on the ends of my slats and spacers, I had a lot of dowel holes to drill out at the drill press.  I tried very hard to make sure all my holes lined up on all the pieces (using stop-blocks and measurements) but even still, I had to fight with it a little bit. I recently added a few Bessey Parallel Clamps to my shop and I loved using them to hold the bench together while the Titebond Original Wood Glue dried, and when I pulled the clamps off I rounded over the ends of the bench using a Diablo rounding over bit.

When it came time for sanding I used another awesome tool from Ridgid, the 18v Random Orbital Sander.  Up until now I’ve had a corded sander and now that I’ve gone cordless I don’t know what took me so long to do so.  I also tried the new Diablo SandNet sanding discs on this project and they worked out pretty well!  They’re more like a mesh (similar to drywall sandpaper) so the debris doesn’t build up the same as it does on regular sanding discs, and when you hook it up to a shop vac it’s even better.  The SandNet discs also have a cloth-like quality which makes them super easy to fold and wrap around dowels, etc.

After I sanded everything, I heated up my branding iron and put my maker’s mark front and center using a quick little jig I made for alignment.  Finally I applied a couple coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal.  This was the first time I’d ever used this product, and I’ve got to say I think it was a great choice for this project.  I’ve got plenty left over so I’m sure it will be finding it’s way onto future projects!

This project was a great chance to try a couple new things, refresh myself on a couple things I don’t do very often, and stay sharp on a few things I do on a regular basis.  Now that I’ve got this one all wrapped up and I’ve got the leg template already made, I’m looking forward to making some more of these benches in different woods….contact me if you’re interested and we can get the ball rolling because I want to make more of these!!  🙂

The following video is my build for the #rocklerplywoodchallenge, and this is my official submission!  Thanks again to Ben, Chris and Mike from the Modern Maker Podcast, and also Rockler for coming up with this challenge.  There are a lot of creative people out there and it’s been great to see all the submissions over on Instagram.  From simple to complex, it’s all inspiring stuff and I hope there are more challenges like this in the future.  Check out my video and hit that thumbs up button.  If you’re not already subscribed to my YouTube channel I’d love to have you.  And of course, be sure to follow me on Instagram as I post there frequently.

 

 

p.s.  for those of you who have been with me for a while, did anybody notice one of my very first projects making a cameo in the video?  🙂

 

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