How to Make a Pioneer Bench

Make a pioneer bench with logs and hand tools.

A primitive log bench requires the same hand tools that most pioneers had around their homes to make log cabins, barns or split-rail fences. If you choose fairly green wood for the seat of the bench and well-seasoned wood for the legs, the seat will naturally tighten against the legs as it dries and shrinks, holding the legs in place. For an outdoor bench, select a durable native wood such as oak or osage orange.

Things You'll Need

• 3-foot long green log, 12-inch diameter
• 2-foot long seasoned log, at least 6-inch diameter
• Sledge hammer
• Wedges
• Hewing hatchet
• Draw knife, adz or plane
• Shave horse
• Hand saw
• 1 1/2-inch auger

Instructions

1. Pound a metal wedge into the end of a 12-inch diameter, 3-foot long log, using a sledge hammer, placing the wedge so it's toward one end of an imaginary line drawn through the center of the log.

2. Pound a second wedge into the same end of the log, near the other end of the imaginary line. Drive them in alternately to open a straight split through the middle of the log's end.

3. Drive a third wedge into the start of the split on the side of the log until the wedge nearest it in the end loosens. Remove the wedge from the end and place it further along in the split on the top of the log. Continue pounding in the wedges and moving them along as the split widens, until the log splits apart into two approximately equal halves. Each of these will make the seat of one bench.

4. Prop one half of the log on its side against the other half, so its flat side is perpendicular to the ground. Hew it as smooth and flat as possible with a hewing hatchet. Lay it with its flat side up and finish smoothing it with an adz, draw knife or plane to remove any splinters or rough spots from the seat.

5. Split out four pieces of well-seasoned wood, about 2 inches by 2 inches and 2 feet long, using an axe or wedge and sledge hammer.

6. Clamp one piece of wood in a shave horse and smooth it with a draw knife until it's approximately round. Draw a 1 1/2-inch diameter circle on one end and finish the last 4 inches with the draw knife so they're exactly 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Taper the last 1/2 inch so it's slightly less than 1 1/2 inches in diameter to make it easier to insert this wood in a 1 1/2-inch diameter hole. This makes one leg. Finish the other three legs the same way.

7. Lay the seat of the bench with the flat face down. Imagine four legs sticking up, each angling slightly out from the four corners of the bench. Hold a 1 1/2-inch auger at the angle of one of the imaginary legs and drill a hole, starting far enough from the corner so you can drill it 3 inches deep. Drill three other holes the same way to make holes to insert the four legs.

8. Place one of the legs over a hole with the 1 1/2-inch diameter end against the hole. Pound it in to the depth of the hole with a sledge hammer, protecting the end of the leg with a block of wood, or use a wooden mallet. Insert the other three legs the same way.

9. Set the bench upright on its legs on a level surface. Place a book, shim or other prop under the shortest legs so the bench sits level. Choose a book or block about 2 inches thick and set it on the floor near one of the legs. Trace around the leg with a pencil, using the top of the block as a guide, sliding the block on the floor around the leg to reach all sides. Do the same for all four legs.

10. Turn the bench upside down again and saw the legs off at the pencil lines with a hand saw. Set the bench upright and it should sit level.

References

• McDaniel College: Half-Round Log Bench