The Bench
Welcome to my first official webpage which is dedicated to the construction of my dream workbench.
The project officially started on December 26th,
2002 when my Aunt & Uncle and I removed a
distressed Maple tree from the Elkton Tree Farm in
During the drying process, I read several books and articles on workbench design including The Workbench Book by Scott Landis and Making Workbenches by Sam Allen. I also consulted the helpful resources of www.workbenchdesign.net. The site contains many bench links as well as a forum for discussion. The users are very knowledgeable and more than willing to answer questions. It was interesting to learn the heritage of benches from around the world and incorporating their attributes into my design. Workbench design in general depends on the individual’s woodworking style. Like most woodworkers these days, I’m all about power. However, I also wanted a bench that would allow me the opportunity to use more traditional tools such as hand planes. What I came up with is probably best described as a fusion of Scandinavian and Shaker styles.
The base of the bench is made up of sled feet and rail mortised with 3x3 legs which receive 52” stretchers. Since the overall length exceeded my largest clamps, I used my friend’s car hauler ratchet straps. We held them in place with scrap maple with countersinks to receive the hooks. It was a good system, but make sure you have an extra set of hands when you apply the glue. All mortise & tenon joints were secured with cherry dowels which look sharp in contrast with the maple. I designed the bench’s finished height to be equal to my table saw for optional in feed use.
With the base completed, it was now time for the most intimidating part, the top. I decided to minimize risk by making “sub books” of about 10” each. The smaller width allowed me to run them through my 12” planer. I used a technique that was an original thought for me, but I’m sure someone somewhere has done it before. To achieve flatness on one side of the sub-book, I raised the glue up ½” off the base of the bench. I then toe nailed 2” runners to each side of the book. This created a flat plane to run through the planer. Once the top side of the book was flat, I removed the runners and planed the other side. The nail holes were buried when I put the sub-books together. It was great system, especially if you working with a less than perfect glue-ups.
With the top glued up, I then need to rout the dog holes and install the front apron. I purchased square bench dogs from Highland Hardware, and constructed a jig which fit the profile. Here’s a photo of the completed dog holes as well as the apron which covers them. Installing the apron was the last critical hurdle. I wanted to join the apron and the side cap with a big dovetail, but I’d never cut one without a dovetail jig before, and I only had enough wood to do it once. I decided to cut the tails first by using my table saw and tennoning jig. After cutting the cheeks, I dadoed enough width on the table saw to get my band saw blade in and remove the rest. Once I had the tails cut, I scribed their outline to the end of the apron which the pins would be cut. I then constructed a jig which supported two pieces of Plexiglas which guided a collar on my router. I cut a piece of scrap to the exact offset of the collar and bit to position the Plexiglas, but there was plenty of room for error here. The assembled joint is pictured here. It turned out ok, but if you look closely, you’ll see some tear-out on the tailpiece from the cheek cuts. I used a scrap backer-board, but I should have installed a sharper blade. Keep this in mind when you cut yours.
Here’s a picture of the completed top. The three pegs on the end cap conceal lag screws which hold it tight to the top. Remember not to use glue on this joint as there is opposite grain direction. The top will change width quite a bit with changes in humidity, while the end cap will not change length. The lag screws have clearance on either side so they will let the top move. The caps provide a clean edge to the top as well as help keep it flat.
I love the look of the unfinished maple, but unfortunately,
it’s only temporary. Even if
I didn’t put a finish on it, the color would darken over time. I applied a few coats of Tung oil, which
provides decent protection and is fairly easy to maintain. Here’s a picture of
the finished bench with the front vise installed. I have not yet installed the tail vise
but plan on incorporating a few more “big dovetails”. The vice hardware is made in
Thanks for your interest. If you have any feedback or comments, please email me at cliffntubbs@cox.net.
Cliff
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