These are the easiest imperfections to detect. All you need to do to check this out in your checklist is to visually inspect the wood for any blemishes caused by fungus, molds, insects, milling techniques, or natural growth issues. There are acceptable wood defects which may even add beauty to your wood working plans, but you have to inspect your wood properly.

Pressure Treated Softwood – You could use pressure treated building lumber, but the stuff that makes it last is poisonous. Considering my kids are going to be around my garden and jumping around on my planter bench, I don’t want them getting an accidental splinter of something that may do harm to them. Also when you work with this sort of stuff you have to be careful of the dust and shavings for yourself.

You may also be able to find some bench plans at your local hardware store or you could also take a trip to the nearest library and look through some outdoor furniture woodworking books or magazines.

Another important wood characteristic to check is the wood’s dryness. Is the wood fully dried out? You can check this out by the use of a portable moisture indication meter which determines a wood stock’s dryness. Another way on how you can check a woods relative dryness is by inquiring how long the wood has been stocked in the warehouse. A wood must always be given enough time to adapt to the current environment. A perfectly dried wood will have a better effect on your woodworking plans than a half dried or green lumber.

1. You don’t need to be a woodworking genius to follow DIY bench plans.

I like to use cedar to build my planter benches, frankly, I don’t think the alternatives are that good really

By all means give free deacons bench plans a try. However, if you want to be a little more adventurous about your garden, patio or decking look, a small investment in an extensive plans site is worth every cent.

Next thing you need to determine is the appropriate design and size of your work bench. Again, the purpose for which you have built the bench plays a vital role in determining the fitting size and design of the bench.

By my calculation the woodworking bench plans allowed me to put the wood bench together on my own and I saved a lot of money doing so, rather than having someone else build one for me. The project gave me a great sense of accomplishment and the wood bench is a welcome addition to our backyard.