Building a Modern Contemporary Bench

Design and Fabrication

In this episode, I Built a Modern Contemporary Bench for a client in Telluride, Colorado. One of the great things about building custom furniture in Colorado is visiting all the beautiful mountain towns. This client wanted a custom bench with a mitered corner so the board’s grain flowed along the top and down the side. The Bench is made from walnut and is about 18″ tall, 14″ deep, and 72″ long.

Summary

Joinery, cutting miters, and Woodworking Glue Techniques Discussed

Brian discussed using dominoes to join boards together, primarily for alignment purposes for the bench top and to add strength to the miter joint. He mentioned the challenges of working with tight tolerances and the need for a deep-cut handheld saw, such as the Ts. 75, to cut through the thick wood. Brian also highlighted the use of West system epoxy glue for its gap-filling and grain-soaking properties. He used a glue block technique to clamp the miters shut. He concluded the build with a final finish of a wipe-on poly.