How to Build a Wooden Bench Along a Wall for Baseball Dugouts

Every baseball team needs a dugout bench.

No baseball dugout is complete without a long wooden bench along the wall. Even if you have never built a bench before, building a simple baseball dugout bench is a fairly straightforward procedure, and you should be able to finish the project in an afternoon or two. To make transport and installation of the bench into the dugout easier, build the bench in modular units, which can then be placed end-to-end along the wall inside the dugout. To seat nine adults, you will need three modular bench units.

Things You'll Need

• Two-by-four studs
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Chop saw or circular saw
• Safety glasses
• Framing nails
• Hammer
• ¼-inch plywood
• 1 x 12 inch board
• 1-inch screws
• ¾-inch plywood
• 2-inch screws

Instructions

1. Cut two 47-inch lengths of two-by-four. Cut two 9 1/4-inch lengths of two-by-four. Always wear safety glasses when operating a chop saw or circular saw.

2. Lay the pieces on the floor or work surface, skinny-side down, so that they form a long rectangle with the 9 1/4-inch lengths as end-caps. Nail the base frame together with framing nails.

3. Cut a rectangle from quarter-inch plywood to fit the bench frame, at 9 1/4 inches by 50 inches. Nail the plywood to the bench frame.

4. Cut a 53-inch length of 1-inch by 12-inch board. Lay that board flat on your working surface and center the bench frame on top of it, two-by-fours up. Allow a 1 1/2-inch overhang for the 53-inch board on either end of the bench frame, and a 3/4-inch overhang along the front and back edges of the bench frame. Screw the plywood backing to the underside of the bench top with 1-inch screws.

5. Cut two rectangles from 3/4-inch plywood, at 11 inches by 17 1/4 inches each. These will be the end panels for the bench. Attach each plywood rectangle to the outside edge of the two-by-four bench frame with 2-inch screws.

6. Cut four right triangles from 3/4-inch plywood. The triangles should have 8-inch sides. Fit each bracing triangle into one outside corner of the bench, between the bench top and the end panels. Screw the bracing triangles into place.

7. Cut one 50-inch length of two-by-four to serve as a long brace. Center the long brace between the two end panels, with the brace 4 inches from the feet of the end panels. Screw the brace into place between the panels, screwing into the panels from the outside.

8. Build as many additional bench units as required to accommodate your baseball team. Each modular bench unit will seat three adults.

Tips & Warnings

• Always exercise caution when operating power saws.

References

• Wayne of the Woods: How To Build a Bench