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Heritage Ukrainian bench
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Build a piece of Western-Canadian history from a hardy group of immigrants for your front hall
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By Dave Bond, photos by Roger Yip, illlustration by Len Churchill
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The whimsical side and back scrolls reflect the Ukrainian love of ornamentation. Cut them to shape from the templates in the plans
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Gluing Up
Smooth all surfaces with 120-grit sandpaper to remove mill marks and dents, then apply glue to the tenons of the side rails and arms, as well as their matching mortises in the legs. Clamp the two side assemblies just as you did in the dry-fitting phase, then set them aside to dry. While you're waiting for the glue to harden, mill small chamfers on the edges of the seat slats.
Let the sides dry overnight, then pull them out of the clamps and prepare the small scallop shapes on the top of the front legs. They extend 1 5/8" down from the top ends of the legs and are 3/16" deep. You can make this cut with a bandsaw or scrollsaw, then clean up the surface with a 150-grit belt in a handheld sander. Glue and clamp the long rails into the side pieces, then clamp the whole arrangement together. The main frame of your bench is now complete.
Seat Installation
The seat slats are supported on strips of wood glued to the inside surface of the front and back rails, 1 1/16" down from their top edges. This positioning allows the seat surface to rise 1/16" proud of the seat rails after they're installed.
Begin by marking the centre of the seat rails area. This should be 19 7/8" from the inside edge of the legs, but double-check by measuring in both directions. When you've found the true centre on your bench, place one seat slat centred on this line. Drill and counterbore for a single, plug-covered #8 x 1 1/2" woodscrew on each end of the slat, then repeat with the other slats.
Proceed outward from the middle, making sure to leave a 1/16" space between all the slats to allow for seasonal movement in the wood. By starting from the centre like this, you end up with the slats being the same width on both outer sides. As you work, you'll find the rabbeted edges interlock shiplap-style. All you need to do is saw off the rabbet on the outer edges of the outer slats, then create a small notch to accommodate the legs.
Shaping and Finishing
The next step covers detailing the arms and legs. The top surface of the arms includes a 1/4"-tall crowned edge. I made this by drawing lines 1/4" down from the top on both sides of each arm, with a centre line along the top. Next, I used a sharp block plane to remove wood in a rounded shape, planing in from both directions to avoid causing splinters on the tops of the legs. With this rough shaping done, sand the crowned surfaces smooth using 120-grit paper in a palm or random-orbit sander. The legs also need a 1/8" radius on all remaining corners. All that's left now is a final hand-sanding with some 180-grit paper.
Since this bench is a reproduction of a late 1800s original, I chose a layered, rubbed paint technique for final finishing. The technique is fairly simple and can be achieved in a day and a half from start to finish.
After choosing your colours, brush on the base coat. I used Benjamin-Moore pearl finish latex in a yellow colour. I let this base coat dry overnight and the following day, then gave the whole bench a thorough sanding with 180-grit paper. Don't worry if you sand through the paint at this stage, just try to get the bench as smooth as possible.
Next, brush on the topcoat. Again I used Benjamin-Moore pearl latex, but this time in blue. When this paint starts to dry, take a damp cloth and scrub areas that would normally receive lots of wear. Work through the blue paint down to the yellow, rinsing your cloth frequently. For a realistic look, avoid rubbing inside corners or anywhere else that wouldn't normally wear.
When you're satisfied with the results, let things dry for a few hours, then take some 220-grit paper and polish some of the sharper edges off to expose a little bare wood. Give the bench added protection with a coat of furniture paste wax.
| YOU WILL NEED | | PART | SIZE (T x D x L) | QTY. | | Legs | 1 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 27" | 4 | | Arms | 1 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 15 3/4" | 2 | | Side rails | 7/8" x 2 3/4" x 16" | 4 | | Front/back rails | 7/8" x 2 3/4" x 42 3/4" | 4 | | Seat support strips | 7/8" x 7/8" x 39 3/4" | 2 | | Seat slats | 7/8" x 3 7/8" x 13 7/8" | 12 | | Side scroll pieces | 3/8" x 3 x 13 1/2" | 2 | | Back scroll piece | 3/8" x 3 1/4" x 20" | 1 |
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