30″ long vanity bench plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Countersink bit
• 3/8″ drill bit for counterbores
• Two bar clamps at least 24″ long
• Staple gun with 3/8″ staples (electric is easier on the hand)
• Electric carving knife or a long serrated bread knife (for foam)
• Sharp fabric scissors
• Flat screwdriver and needle-nose pliers (to pull bad staples)
• Marker and a long straightedge
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Build the two side frames

   Lay two legs (B) flat on the bench, 9 1/2″ apart on the inside, with their floor ends lined up against a straight board.

   Mark where the side apron (C) goes: its top is 16 5/16″ up from the floor end, level with the top of the legs, and its outside face is 3/8″ in from the outside of the legs. That small step is a reveal; it hides any tiny misalignment.

   Spread glue on the end of the side apron (C), clamp it in place and drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head.

   Fit a side stretcher (E) between the same two legs with its bottom 5″ above the floor end, centred in the leg thickness. Spread glue on the end of the stretcher, clamp it in place and drive 1 screw, 2 1/2″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head.

   Build the second side frame the same way, as a mirror image of the first: lay it on top of the first to check that the legs and aprons line up and the reveals face out on both.

   • Tip Mark the outside face of every leg with a pencil X before you start, so pocket holes and screw heads end up where you want them.
   • Tip Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries; dried glue blocks stain and paint.
   • Tip Drill pilot holes about 1/2″ or more from the ends of the legs so they don't split.

   ✓ Measure each frame corner to corner both ways (the diagonals). They match within 1/16″, and the two frames match each other when stacked.

4. 4Join the side frames

   Stand both side frames up on a flat floor, aprons facing each other.

   Fit the front apron (D) between the front legs and the back apron between the back legs, tops level with the side aprons. Spread glue on the end of each apron, clamp it in place and drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the leg into its end. Drill a 1/8″ pilot hole first and countersink the head.

   Fit the middle stretcher (F) between the two side stretchers, halfway along them. Glue it and drive one 2 1/2″ screw through each side stretcher into its end (pilot hole first).

   Before the glue sets, measure the diagonals across the top, from the outside corner of one front leg to the opposite back leg, both ways. If they differ, squeeze the long diagonal with a clamp until they match.

   • Tip If it rocks after the glue has cured, set it on a flat floor, find the long leg and sand a little off its foot, checking often.
   • Tip Clamp across the frame from leg to leg while the glue dries; pad the clamp jaws with scrap so they don't dent the legs.

   ✓ On a flat floor all four feet touch with no rocking, and the frame is 28 1/2″ wide and 12 1/2″ deep at the legs.

5. 5Glue in the corner blocks

   Each corner block (G) fits across an inside corner, touching both aprons, with the leg behind it. Cut both ends at 45° so the long side measures 5″.

   Drill two pilot holes through each end of the block, square to the angled face, so screws go into the aprons. Then drill a 3/16″ hole straight down through the middle of the block, and from the bottom widen it with a 3/8″ bit 2 3/4″ deep, leaving about 1/2″ of wood at the top. The seat is screwed on through these holes later with short screws.

   Spread glue on both angled ends, press the block into the corner with its top flush with the top of the aprons (the seat will rest on both), and drive two 2 1/2″ screws through each end into the aprons.

   Why: the bench gets pushed sideways every time someone sits down or scoots it. The blocks turn each corner into a small triangle, and triangles do not rack.

   • Tip Don't overdrive: the screw heads should stop just under the surface, not sink deep and strip the wood.

   ✓ Hold one leg and push the top of the opposite leg sideways. The frame does not shift or creak.

6. 6Glue the foam to the seat board

   Round over the top edges of the seat board (A) with 120-grit sandpaper so they can't cut through the fabric over time.

   Lay the seat board on the 2″ foam and trace around it with a marker. Draw the line 1/4″ outside the board all round: foam cut slightly big fills the fabric and keeps the edges plump.

   Cut the foam with an electric carving knife (or a long bread knife), holding the blade straight up and down and using long, smooth strokes. Don't press down; let the blade do the work.

   Outdoors or with a window open, spray a light coat of spray adhesive on the top of the seat board and on the bottom of the foam. Wait about a minute until it feels tacky, then set the foam on, edges lined up, and press it down with flat hands from the middle out.

   • Tip Cut foam on a scrap board or cardboard so the knife doesn't mark your table.
   • Tip If the cut edge is wavy, trim it again with the knife held flat against a straightedge.

   ✓ The foam overhangs the board by about 1/4″ on every side and does not peel up at the corners.

7. 7Wrap the batting

   Cut a piece of batting 38″ × 22″ for each seat board.

   Lay the batting flat and set the seat board on it foam-side down, centred.

   Pull the batting up over the front edge onto the underside of the board and put one staple in the middle, 1″ in from the edge. Do the same at the back, then each side. Then add staples every 3″ working from the middle toward the corners.

   At each corner, cut away the extra batting in a V so the corner is not lumpy. Batting should just meet itself, not pile up.

   • Tip Batting tears if you pull hard. Pull just enough to take out the slack.

   ✓ Run your hand over the top and edges: smooth, no lumps or folds, and the foam edges look rounded.

8. 8Staple the fabric

   Iron the fabric if it has creases. Cut a piece 40″ × 24″ for each seat board, with any pattern or stripe running from front to back and centred.

   Lay the fabric face down on a clean table and set the padded seat board on it foam-side down, centred. Check the pattern is straight before stapling.

   Staple in this order so the fabric pulls evenly: one staple in the middle of the front edge on the underside, 3/4″ in from the board edge. Pull the fabric firm (snug enough to smooth wrinkles, not so tight it dents the foam) and put one staple in the middle of the back. Then one in the middle of each side.

   Now work from those middle staples out toward the corners, alternating sides: a staple every 1 1/2″, pulling each bit of fabric the same amount. Stop 2″ short of each corner.

   Flip it over often to look. A wrinkle on top means that part is pulled less than its neighbours: pry the staples there out with a flat screwdriver, pull a little more and re-staple.

   • Tip Press the staple gun nose hard against the board before squeezing. A staple that stands up can be tapped flat with a hammer or pulled with pliers.
   • Tip Stripes and plaids show every crooked pull; a plain or small-pattern fabric is easier for a first seat.

   ✓ From the top, the fabric is smooth, the pattern is straight front to back, and the sides look even.

   STOP. Keep your free hand behind the stapler nose, never in front of it. Unplug an electric staple gun before clearing a jam.

9. 9Fold the corners and add the dust cover

   At one corner, pull the point of the fabric straight across the corner onto the underside and staple it once. This anchors the corner.

   Take the fabric on one side of the corner, fold it under itself so the fold line runs exactly down the corner edge, and pull it onto the underside. Staple it. Do the same with the other side. You now have a neat pleat on each side of the corner, like the end of a wrapped present.

   Trim off the bulky fabric left on the underside at the corner with scissors, leaving 1/2″ past the staples.

   Do the other corners the same way so all four match. Then cut the dust-cover cloth 1/2″ smaller than the seat board all round, fold its edges under 1/2″, and staple it over the underside every 2″ to hide the raw edges.

   • Tip Practise one corner on a scrap of fabric and a block of wood first: it takes most people two tries.
   • Tip Keep the pleats on the sides of the seat, not the front, so they are out of sight.

   ✓ All four corners look alike, with no puckers on top. The underside has no loose fabric hanging down.

10. 10Screw the seat on

    Turn the padded seat (A) upside down on a blanket and set the frame upside down on it, centred, so it overhangs the legs by 3/4″ on every side. Measure all four sides to be sure.

    Drive a 1″ screw through the hole in each corner block (G) into the seat board. Nothing longer: a longer screw would come out of the top.

    • Tip Put a strip of masking tape on the drill bit as a depth stop if you drill pilot holes into the top.

    ✓ Turn it over: the overhang is 3/4″ all round and the top doesn't move when you push it sideways.

11. 11Test the bench

    Before anyone uses the bench, sit down slowly, then rock gently side to side and front to back. Nothing should creak, shift or rack. If a joint moves, add glue and a screw there before going further.

    Slide it under the vanity or up to the piano: the top of the seat should be about 10–12″ below the vanity top, or level with the underside of your forearms at the keys.

    ✓ All four feet touch the floor and nothing creaks.

12. 12Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.