Framing lumber for bench? What is the trick?

[Phil Thien]

I used LVL for the base on the bench I built back in 2006 (for the record, that was three years before Popular Woodworking did theirs).

I basically just got a big LVL and cut it into the sizes I needed.

I used a door for the top.

Notes:

(1) Some LVL I see these days have a sort of sticky substance on the outside. Mine did not. I purchased mine at Menards, but their newer stock isn't the same as this stuff.

(2) The sides are assembled with glued dowels. The stretchers are doweled (no glue) and bolted to the sides. I used wing nuts in place of cross-dowels.

(3) LVL is kinda ugly, you pretty much have to paint it.