I fixed a bench. It was harder than I expected.

Finished product

Here’s what I got for free, which was a fair price considering the condition.

the wood was pretty rotten and had to be broken or sawn off- like many steps in this process, I didn’t have a free hand to take pictures or video, so you’ll just have to imagine it.

If you guessed that these just came off like they were supposed to, you are wrong. I took a hammer to each of the 24 bolts and bent them back and forth until they broke off.

This is most of what I used for this project. With the wood and the router that I ended up buying, the whole thing cost about $300, but I already had a belt sander and a drill.

Just a simple hand mitre saw, for straight cuts. Lots of them.

Wood all cut to length(ish)- more on this later.

Mostly sprayed. Just these 2 pieces plus the new hardware took over 1 can of spraypaint.

I’m sure someone out there is better with a router than I am- lots of little burns from moving the tool too slowly? I don’t know.

Always the best part. I used Watco danish oil. 2 coats on each board (make sure you let each coat dry fully or you get a gummy mess.

Don’t settle for less than even boards. Not surprisingly, this came back to bite me later.

Ready to drill.

Matched hardware.

Lost about 3 inches on each when I had to cut everything a second time because of those little length discrepancies. Measure twice, cut once folks.

Feels like I made more mistakes than did things right, but it all worked out in the end. Well worth the effort, though I wish I had documented a little better.

Viral edit- it’s great to read so many positive comments! Making things really is such a rewarding thing to do- send more DIY projects (AKA excuses for me to buy more tools)