DIY Folding Bench | Turns Into a Table

okay in this video i’m gonna be making a three for one

it’s a bench or is it a table or is it a picnic table

let me show you how i made it for this project i’m actually using the leftover

seed or two by fours i have on hand from building a fence

so i first had to load it up and transport it over to my personal shop

from my commercial retail space the woodshed

anytime i’m hauling lumber these days i always reach for one of my simple straps

this is extremely flexible strapping that sticks to itself regardless of

if it’s wet or dry you just need a few wraps then tuck the end

into itself they come in long strips but are meant to be cut to length which is

quick to do with a simple pocket knife for this project i’m actually using the

leftover cedar two by fours i have on hand from building a fence

so i started off by loading them onto my armor tool mobile workbench and getting

them ready for building personally when i work with cedar i

always run the boards through my thickness

planer first to remove the roughness and save on sanding later on

then i moved all the boards over to the miter saw to start cutting up the needed

pieces if you’re interested in a full cut list

and material list for this project i have plans linked for you down below

since i was going off my cut list i was able to process

all of my boards at the same time and just a tip for you i

always move my workbench in line with my miter saw stand so that i can pull my

material directly off and into position

after everything was cut then i started assembling

this bench will be for kiddos so it’s lower to the ground but

know that you can very easily raise it up higher for adults

you just need longer legs i grabbed what will be the two legs

and the stretcher that connects them and started putting them together

you can see that i used a scrap near the bottom to make setting the legs in place

easier i applied some outdoor wood glue then once the top was flush all the way

across i used the countersink first and then drove in two screws

per leg after attaching the first i repeated on the second

then i made another assembly identical to it for the other side

if you’re making both benches at the same time then you would want to make

four total then i set those aside and started

making the bench seat for this i laid out four two by fours on

my workbench and lined up the ends flush to each other

i first found center on the bottom board then started attaching a center support

member again using the countersink first then

driving in the screws after attaching it to the bottom board i

moved to the top board and repeated note use a speed square to ensure you’re

attaching this board on at a 90. now that i have the top and bottom

attached i cut a spacer to make spacing out the remaining boards equal

then i went back to the center and attached the center support to these

middle two boards as well now we can attach the two the ends won’t

want to stand up on their own so i grab some clamps to increase their

footprint and this works like a champ at least

well enough for me to grab the bottom and set it into place

next was attach them together i first applied wood glue then use screws and

all of the boards to go into the leg assembly

and i recommend using a speed square here to ensure the leg is

not only square to the bench seat but also vertically from the ground

after checking both planes i drove in the screws on both sides

again using my spacer to make sure everything was nice and even

alright now let’s add the left and right supports that will join the bottom

boards together and stiffen up the seat easy enough

let’s move on to making the top this is almost the same as the seat

except it has more supports in the center of it

so i first laid out my marks according to my plans then set the boards in place

once i confirm that it all looked equal i attached them

now on to the arm assembly for this i first cut the two pieces that

make up the bottom and the front of the arm and then use my

triton super jaws to join them together it’s worth noting that i first only used

wood glue and screws here but later came back and added some dowels to

reinforce this joint some once i was put together i added a strap

hinge this is the part that will allow the

bench to convert into a table by folding up or down by folding

after getting it attached to the bottom of the assembly i moved to the top and

added on what will be the back this is also the part that will allow me

to attach this entire unit to the back itself

i set it in place then used a clamp to secure everything down

while i drove in screws okay so let’s set it in place now and figure out where

it needs to be set in order to fold forward and work properly there

isn’t an easy way to set it in place then

start folding it forward to mark the needed screw locations without moving it

so i ended up cutting a scrap to link so that i could flip the top forward and

it hold it in place for me and this worked beautifully

once it was forward i was able to use the countersink and screws to attach the

hinge in the needed location okay it isn’t

completely done yet but let’s try it out

that’s pretty neat huh

okay last part that’s needed is the arm simple enough

i used a roll of tape off my workbench and used its curved surface to trace a

round shape on my 2×4 and then i cut it out over at the

bandsaw now this arm can be attached to the entire assembly

and if you build this definitely follow my plans instructions instead of what

i’m doing here remember that as i’m building these

projects on video i’m building them for the first time

so if i see something that can be refined or done easier then i make that

change in the plans to help people who want to replicate the project

so anyways it would be much better to attach the arm in place before the

entire arm assembly gets attached but i made it work by using my armor

tool pocket hole jig and connecting it in that way from

underneath okay let’s see how that works so it’s a bench that can be tucked on a

port but then easily converted into an eating station in just a few seconds

then if you go through all the steps to build an identical second

they could be moved together and turned into a larger seating area

that could go back to two benches after all the festivities are done

i personally don’t think these will be moved together very often

but the fact that it’s another option is pretty cool

remember that if you want to build your own then i have a set of plans over on

my website to download also if you’re interested in outdoor

furniture then check out my website where i have plans and templates for a

ton of other projects such as a folding adirondack chair

rocking chair and poor swing i really hope that you have

enjoyed this video i’ve left the links to everything i mentioned down in the

description also if you’re interested in an aw hat

or other aw merge then that’s also link for you down below

i will see you on whatever i’m building next

monday morphin picnic tables

if you’re looking for some great software’s plans then i have a link for

you right here for this one as well as two other

variations this one’s cheap it’s sturdy it’s very

quick to put together and the thing that i like the best is that

it’s pulled

and it’s collapsible