This is a very solid bench made from a recycled Acacia wood slab and commercially available steel bench legs.

Supplies

I was given an Acacia wood slab (originally a coffee table top too big for my friend's condo), 42" long x 24" wide x 2.5" thick, but any thick wood slab will work. I purchased a pair of 16" high bench legs. These are available at most building stores or Amazon. You will need a stud finder, a table saw or a circular saw with a cutting guide, a belt sander with various grit belts, a router with a round over bit, a palm sander with various grit pads and of course, a one step stain/ varnish finish.

Step 1: Cut and Prep Slab

My slab was made up of a number of pieces laminated together. I suspected there would be some metal reinforcement, so I ran my stud finder over it and sure enough, there was a metal rod through the centre. To save my saw bit I stayed well to one side of this. I decided on a 13" wide seat, marked that on the wood and set my saw guide. I had to make two passes, one from the top and one from the bottom as the slab was thicker than my saw could handle. I used the belt sander, first with #40, then # 120 to smooth the cut edge. I then set my router to the same round over as the original three edges and routered the cut edge to match.

Step 2: Assembly, Final Sanding and Finishing

I attached the legs to the bottom using the supplied screws, staying 3" from the outer edges. Turning it over I removed the finish using the palm sander and then applied two coats of Minwax Bombay Mahogany one step finish. Now it is a totally condo- sized bench and I still have the rest of the slab to make something else.