It’s just a pretty traditional cabinetmaker’s workbench. Its made of soft maple and pine for the base with big dovetails and all! The base is held together with double mortise and tenons with some bolts for the longer stretchers. The top is just a 2 1/2″ thick slab of maple with the dogholes on there. The caps around the top are all dovetailed and bolted together. The tail vise is just the screw type with the grid work of wood underneath keeping everything in line. I made my own wooden dogs out of padauk just because running into a metal dog is just something I don’t want to deal with. And here’s a link to my blog: Derrevog.Blogspot.com. Thanks and I hope you like it!

Hello Marc! First let me say how much I enjoy reading your blog and watching the videos at your site. They are very informative and interesting! I found you by searching for woodworking resources via Google and I am following you from Sweden.

I thought I’d take a chance to send you a viewer project to see if you’d be able to fit it into your probably large stream of viewer projects? I spent the last month or so building a new workbench for my shop. It’s a pretty straightforward design which has been inspired both by traditional workbenches and also from newer designs, such as the “21
Century Workbench” by Robert W. Lang.

The base is made out of pine with dust covers made of thin MDF boards. The sides are joined using mortise and tenon joints and they are attached to one another using horizontal bars. The bars are attached using bolts that go from the sides into the bars. Small holes are made in the bars where the bolts come out and they are tightened using
a locking nut and a square washer. The sides also have height-adjustable feet so that I can level the bench out in relation to my very unlevel floor :-)

The bench top consists of three laminated layers. The bottom and top layers are 22 mm thick MDF board and the middle layer is 11 mm thick OSB board. I then nailed 6 mm MDF to the top and sides of the top for covering up screw heads and such. Since they are only nailed to the bench top they can easily be replaced when they’re worn out. The bench top is also split into two pieces where the back piece can slide back and forth on the base. This creates a gap where, for instance, the blade of my plunge saw can run when I need to cut down large sheets to size. It also gives a larger effective area for the bench top when working with large work pieces in general. I still have to make drawers, I haven’t decided though whether to have two or four drawers… :-)

Note from Marc: If you are interested in seeing more detail of Jorgen’s workbench, check out his blog at MyTinySteps. He has posted the drawings for the workbench in case anyone wants to build it themselves.

I just had to write to you. I am fairly new to woodworking, although I started a few years ago. My time has been limited and my progress slow. I made an out feed table for the table saw. It was never intended to serve as a workbench but space issues led to it being drafted into that role. The more I tried to work with it, the more I realized that I needed a surface that would stand still and one that would allow for a vise. Then FWW came along with their Getting Started in Woodworking series. I had found the workbench that fit both my skills and my garage/shop.

The base was built according to the original plan. The legs are 4×4 cedar and the stretchers are pine 2×4s. Everything was assembled with 3/8” threaded rod. I had never used my router and ran into trouble getting it into the plunge base. Then after I routed the grooves for the rod, I had trouble getting the bit out of the router. Both situations were resolved with quick visits to the chat room. I took more liberties with the top. It started out with two layers of ¾” MDF glued and screwed together as called for in the plan. At that point, I decided to use a different vise. I created a post on the forum and was directed to a vise that fit my needs. Then I added poplar around the edges attached with screws. The screw holes were filled with oak dowels. Yes, using dowels to fill screw holes was new to me too. Again, I popped into the chat room for a quick answer. Then it was time for dog holes. I was hesitant to try to use a forstner bit to drill a 1 ½” deep hole with a hand held drill. The chat room came through again and I was off to buy an Auger bit. After lots of dog holes and three coats of paste wax, I pronounced it finished. My shop built bench dogs are almost finished too.

There are lots of things that didn’t turn out perfectly. In fact, when I pushed it up behind the table saw, I found it was just about ¼” too tall to serve as an out feed table. It is way too heavy for me to turn over. In fact I had to pay a couple of high school boys to turn it over at one point. After a bit of consideration, I decided that if lowering the bench was not possible why not raise the saw? A couple of pieces of ½” plywood under the legs inside the mobile base did the trick. Thanks Marc for creating such a warm, friendly, and helpful community.

This workbench is the first step in my shop reorganization. I have been using my old bench for the past 9 or so years. It was made from 2X4s that were left behind by the previous owner of the house. The top was some 3/4” maple veneer chip board. Everything was put together with screws. It worked as a basic bench, but was lacking in certain aspects. After doing some research on benches, which included looking through all my magazines, reading Chris Schwarz’s book Workbenches from Design & Theory to Construction & Use a couple of times and watching the Rob Bois video series on building his bench I decided on the design of my new bench.

It is 35 1/2” tall, 26 3/4” deep, with the top 55 1/2” long X 1 1/2” thick. The legs are 3 1/4” square with aprons and stretchers that are 2 3/4” X 2 1/4”. I started this project by working on the top. I had collected a fair number of large pine boards from shipping crates that I had kicking around for the past three years and decided that although maybe not the best surface for a woodworking bench, it was free and it would be nice to finally use them up.

I started by face jointing and planing all the stock to either 1 1/8” or 3/4”. I then ripped and jointed the boards to 1 3/4”. Once all the pieces were ready, I laminated all the pieces face to face so the edges would be used as the top. One slab is 10 1/2” and the other is 13” wide. When the glued dried, I was able to run them through my 13” wide planer to the final thickness. I then set them aside and started on the base.

The base was originally going to be whatever I could get at the local big box store. But on a trip to my local lumber dealer, I came across some very nice looking Elm that was reclaimed from an old barn. The best part is it cost a lot less than what I could get from my local home center. The legs are laminated from two pieces of the Elm to provide the thickness I wanted. I decided to use mortise and tenon joints to connect all parts of the base together. I also decided to draw bore the mortise and tenon joints together rather than gluing them so that if I ever need to take it apart, I just have to bang out the pins. There is also a 2” X 2” board in about the center of the base running from front to back that has been attached by sliding dovetails.

Once the base was together, it was time to introduce it to the top. I positioned the front edge of the top, flush with the front of the base to make it easier to clamp things on the front of the bench. To attach the top to the base, I used wood screws with a washer through a slightly over sized hole to allow for any seasonal movement. I also left a 3 1/2” wide space between the two top planks which I set in two boards that are flush with the top. I can take out the two boards if need be to use bar clamps to help clamp work to the front of the bench.

The twin screw front vice is 26 1/4” wide Maple with 15 3/4” between the screws and is adjustable to open about 11”. The single screw end vice is 12 1/2” wide Ash that can open to about 6”. I drilled pairs of 3/4” dog holes 3 1/2” apart in line with the end vice dog holes. The shelf at the bottom of the base will hold some of my bench top tools and is made up from boards reclaimed from shipping pallets. I have also milled a slot in the top front rail and a runner on the bottom rail that will hold a dead man. So in the future if I find I need more clamping options, I can easily make and use a dead man.

To finish off the bench, I put several coats of blond shellac on the base and several coats of Watco Natural Danish oil on the top.

I just finished off my workbench, and was wondering if you would like to post it. It is 3″ thick hard maple. I laminated 8/4 maple on edge, making 4 rows of square bench dogs holes that span the entire length. I made the square holes prior to the assembly (by doing it this way, I was able to cut the dog holes on the table saw with a home made jig that angled the holes 2.5 degrees towards the end vise). I then routed out 1″ out the top of the dog holes, so the bench dogs can recess flush with the top. The base is solid maple with pinned mortise and tenon at the base, and wedge mortise and tenon for the stretchers. The pins and wedges are black walnut. All base mortises are hand chiseled (not fun in 3″ thick hard maple). The front and side aprons are 7-1/4″ 8/4 maple. I have a Veritas twin screw vise for the end vise (mounted on a 4″ thick maple vise with square bench dog holes), and a quick release front vise made with 3″ thick maple with round dog holes (and 2 rows of of round holes across the bench). It took several days of labor intensive hand planing to get a dead flat top, but it was worth it. I finished it off with several coats of danish oil, and a coat of paste wax. I figure the final weight is around 450-500 pounds. Hope you like it.

Hey Marc….I’m a big fan of your work and website. I finally finished my work table and was hoping you might post it on your site. It was fun to make and inexpensive. Here is a brief description and a few pics.

Introducing my multifunctional work table. I have limited space so I really have to make things practical as well as functional. I started with making the base…It’s fairly simple mortise and tenon joinery using 2x’s. Then I added the doors and drawer. Looking at the pricey router tables on the market I figured I could make my own top and buy the essential accessories that would keep everything flush and square. I spent a couple of bucks on the fence and insert, but I still saved on making the top myself. The safety switch was fun to install just some basic electric work adding safety switch and receptacle to the side. After the router top, I made the assembly top. The bottom is a heavy old kitchen table. I added the hardboard and trimmed it out with maple. I got the idea for the clamp table from Festool…but instead of spending $600 I spent $25 on a piece of MDF and still have left over. I measured out a grid and drilled 1” holes every 4”. All of the tops have 3 coats of wipe on satin poly. I added 1×3’s on the bottom with t-nuts so that the tops are secure to the base. I am looking forward to many projects with these tops and maybe it’ll give you an idea on how to do it cheaper with a little imagination. Enjoy!

My name is Nate (nateswoodworks) and this is one of my most useful projects to date. It organizes and offers dust collection to each tool and it’s accessories. All of the tools except the drill press also benefit from the t-track and measure rule. I put my floor standing drill press into this setup and I love it. If I ever need to drill any item taller than what is allowed with the bench top I can swing the head of the drill press 90 degrees to the left and I have full capacity. I was able to use recycled materials for most of the project. The work top and cabinet bottoms are made from 1 3/4″ solid doors. The face frame, door rails and stile, and the trim pieces are from maple flooring I salvaged from an old house. The plywood for the pullouts under the CMS and RAS is also from a demolition project, and the hinges and pulls are from a garage sale for $5. I had to purchase 2 sheets of 3/4″ and 1 of 1/2″maple plywood, 2 sheets of hardboard, glass for the cabinet door, and some drawer glides. I hope you enjoy a quick view inside my shop as I have from many of yours.

“I finally got my table finished.  I downsized mine to a 4 x 4 top and two bay support cabinet.  I also added adjustable shelves in the storage bay and casters to allow mobility”.

And for anyone who hasn’t seen them yet, here are the two episodes I did on building a torsion box assembly table and base: Torsion Box & Base
We also have the DVD available for purchase (contains both videos and an additional sideshow) in our store.

Well, I finally completed my workbench. I would love to have a typical European style bench with a large twin screw vice on the side, but I have neither the space nor the funds. Furthermore, I needed a bench that I can easily move by myself, yet is strong enough to work with mortising chisels or hand planes. Also, because of my height, I prefer a bench that stands just a little higher than most.

This bench turned out to be a pretty good compromise. Its design revolves around the Zyliss vice and Veritas Bench Dogs / Wonder Dogs / Surface Clamp. My father purchased a Zyliss vice back in the 70’s and I have been very impressed with them ever since. New, they tend to be pretty expensive but if you keep your eyes open they are quite reasonable on eBay. I now have four of them.

The light wood is Alder and the darker is Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus is not only beautiful but also tough as nails. I will say that if I were to do it again, I would replace the Alder with Hard Maple. The Alder is softer than I expected. I made the feet out of Ash to handle the abuse of being moved around. All of the joinery is either pairs of 10×50mm Dominos or Miller dowels. I finished it with Danish Oil and several coats of wax.