Building a Storage Bench II

We bought a sheet of 3/4" plywood ages and ages ago in anticipation of building a set of hutches for our beautiful desk.  Alas, I still don't have a stunning design for those hutches, so we've (obviously) never begun the building process on them.  Which means we've had 4 quarters of a 3/4" sheet of plywood sitting leaning against the wall in the office.   for.   months.

So when I began working on our storage bench, I designed the cut plan around those 1/4 sheets of ply (each being 24"x48").  Which means we used a minimum of new-purchase dimensional wood (yea!).  Which means it took three to four times as long to get the pieces cut (boo!).  But it also means that when I looked at how short 3.5" actually is for a storage area, I was able to simply add 1.5" to my boards and make the storage deeper (the pink pieces, see how they're 5" instead of 3.5"?  That's what I'm talking about).

(Oh!  And some of what you see above is for the jelly cupboard, coming up soon)  One thing I regret is not deciding sooner not to cut any pieces at 1.5".  Those were not much fun.  As we'll soon see.

As I cut, Dave assembled.  Ever wonder what a pocket hole is?  This is a pocket hole:

 Those are the little legs for the sides.  Remember how I had a falling out with the circular saw?  Well, we've had another.  This is a top view of the joint between the skinny part of the leg and the fat middle bit:

 Looks a little S-ish, doesn't it.  It's supposed to be straight.  I guess I tilted the circular saw a bit while ripping that 1.5" board for the leg.  Stupid circular saw.  Sloppy me.

 But otherwise, the legs pretty much came together without a hitch.  So next comes attaching one leg to the next.

 Using a square, of course.

So that now the bench looks like this:

One of my cuts was about 1/16" off.  Doesn't sound like much, does it?

But the back top piece is supposed to be flush and fixed, and that kind of gap will be a real drag to attach it to, so, I ran back down to the basement, snagged a likely-looking scrap, and...

 There.  I fixed it.

Next, I decided to fill some of the more visible pocket holes.  With wood plugs?

Oh, no!  No, I chose caulk covered by wood filler because it takes eight years to dry.  Which is why the bench is not yet finished.  I had wanted today's post to be a Reveal...I guess it'll have to wait.  For eight years.

It's almost Valentine's!!  It's almost Dad's 60th birthday!!!!  (What are y'all getting him??)