Now take the shorter of the two-inch planks, the one eight feet long, make a mark in the middle of each end, drive a small nail in the left-hand end exactly in the middle; having chalked your line well, slip the loop over the nail, draw the line taut down the middle of the board to the other or right-hand end, holding the line close to the board; pluck the string sharply in the middle and you will find an even chalk line the whole length of the board.
Put one end of the board over sawhorse, take the splitting-saw and cut carefully down the line, holding the saw a little more vertical than you would a cross-cut saw.
Having divided your board thus, lengthwise, you will have two strips eight feet long, three inches wide, two inches thick.
With large plane smooth the rough sides of these strips as well as you can, resting the boards on the sawhorse. One end of each strip must be good and square: if not so already, take small block-plane and square it as best you can.
From the squared end measure thirty inches; draw a line across the board. Then by aid of try-square make another line one eighth inch beyond. This makes it easy to saw straight across the wood with a cross-cut saw. Take block-plane and square the end nicely.
Fig 5
You have now prepared one leg of your bench Cut another thirty-inch length in the same way from the piece left. Repeat this with the other strip. You now have four legs for your bench just alike with nicely squared ends.