How do I Build a Backbending Bench?

Backbending benches are also known as yoga benches, and they are designed to help the user stretch out their back, as they bend backwards over the raised and curved portion of the bench. These benches are thought to be very beneficial to one's health, and are used by many yoga enthusiasts. Backbending benches are often made of hardwoods, such as oak. Building a backbending bench out of plywood and oak, will help save on material costs, and will be easier to work with when using standard power tools like a jigsaw.

Things You'll Need

  • Safety glasses
  • Tape measure
  • String, 30-inch
  • Pencil
  • 2 Plywood, 3/4-inch, 24-by-48-inch
  • Jig saw
  • Drill
  • Drill bit, 3/32-inch
  • 20 Oak dowels, 1-inch-by-27-inch
  • Screw gun
  • 40 Wood screws, 2 ½-inch
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Instructions

    • 1

      Lay your plywood flat and horizontal. Tie the string around your pencil so the distance between the end of the string and the pencil equals 24 inches. Draw 90-degree arc with a 24-inch radius on the right side of the plywood. The bottom right corner, and the top edge should be the tangents of where this arc starts and finishes.

    • 2

      Draw a straight line from the top edge of the plywood where the arc ends, to the left edge, 4 inches above the bottom left corner. This will be your guideline for cutting your plywood. Repeat these steps on the other sheet of plywood.

    • 3

      Draw another line on both sheets of plywood that mimics the first line, but so it is 2 inches away from the first line, towards the bottom of the plywood. Mark an "X" on this line every 4 inches, starting 4 inches from the end of the line, on the bottom right side. You should have 20 "X" marks on this line.

    • 4

      Cut along the guidelines on both sheets of plywood using your jigsaw. Drill a 3/32-inch hole on every "X" mark. These are pilot holes for your screws.

    • 5

      Position the sheets of plywood so they are parallel, resting on there 48-inch edges, with the slanted cuts aligned, and 27 inches apart. Position the dowels perpendicularly between them so their centers are covering the pilot holes. Screw through the pilot holes, and into the dowels to secure them.