Pine projects fastened with cut nails, also known as square nails, have great traditional charm of colonial America. You will see many examples of these typles of furniture in places like Shelburne Museum in Shelburne Vermont. Jelly cupboards are a common piece that are made with these techinques. I made the pictured small step stool 25 years ago for our son to use for brushing his teeth etc. We continue to use it all the time. I have also made many book cases using these techniques. They can be finished with a clear finish but also really take a milk paint finish nicely. Students will go home with a bench that is ready for finish.
We will use a mix of power tools and hand tools to build the benches. Hand planes for trimming up edges, rasps and files for cleaning up the leg cutouts and handle, table saw crosscut slide for cutting parts to length and of course the hammer and nail-set and an electric hand drill for pre-drilling certain nail holes to prevent splitting.
This bench is 18" wide, 9" deep and 11" tall.
