Benchwright Table

Submitted by Jen Marzen on Tue, 07/03/2012 - 00:24

The benchwright table.... This is my 3rd project. I was very intimidated by the angles and bevels but they turned out to be not nearly as bad as I expected. This table is not made to Anna's dimensions.... i wanted the table to be able to fit 8 chairs so I added 10 inches to the length measurements, I also wanted it to be wider so I added 11 inches to every width measurement (which equaled 2 extra 1x6 boards for the table top) In hind sight i think i would have either made the table a little taller or used a 2x4 for the stretchers instead of a 2x6 because the space for your knees with the 2x6 is a little tight. Before finishing i distressed the table with chains, nails, hammer, and screwdriver gouges. I still have to add some details...... I want the stretcher to have the turnbuckle like to pottery barn version and I have not found the right size pipes or turnbuckle yet so that will come sometime in the future. I also still have to add the bolts to the breadboards. Now to find some great chairs (don't mid my awesome patio folding chairs that are currently in use lol) I think im going to go for the mismatched painted chairs, maybe in a fun color like blue or red?

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain and 3 coats of satin polyurathane.

After the 1st coat I questioned whether or not I chose the right stain and it wasn't as dark as i wanted so I waited 8 hours and applied a second coat of stain. After the second coat I didnt like it at all, thought it was way too dark (it looked black) and was kind of disappointed with my decision to keeping going and not sand it down and start over after the 1st coat. but my husband convinced me to keep moving forward and put the poly on to see what it looked like. I applied that poly and LOVED the results, the poly lightened it up just enough and gave the distressing and grain just the right amount of definition i was looking for!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner