Saw bench design to share

[Acharya Kumarswami]

A photo of my new saw bench appeared in a classified listing that I posted, and someone asked that I put up some photos. It is a take-off on several styles that I studied. I pained over the design quite a bit, even got pretty far into a three legged design. But I am happy with what finally manifested. It is rock solid. I put adjustable feet on it, which I didn't really intend to use as adjusters, only to keep the wood off the floor, but yesterday I found that just turning one of them stabilized a bit of wobble that occurred when I moved the bench forward on the uneven floor. The height is 23-1/2". I have an end shelf on my assembly table at the same height so that I can use the two surfaces together. Marv Werner suggested the slot in the middle, which allows you to insert clamps or to grasp a narrow piece of stock for crosscutting on the right end. The bench is 41" long and 13" wide. The white wood is ylang-ylang, the reddish wood is rainbow eucalyptus and the wedges in the dovetail tenons is koa. I had planned to put a shelf in the bottom on top of the aprons, but decided not to, because you can actually use that space for ripping.


I added the strip on the front side to get the saw a bit away from the legs. It looked better without it, but it serves a function. I didn't want to add to the other side lest it get too wide and extend out too far into the aisle. Photos:

[Joe Fabbri]

That's pretty nice looking, maybe too nice. I think I'd be afraid of cutting anything on top of it, haha.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Acharya.

[Martin Peek]

Looks nice! How do you like the 23.5" height so far?
Also, out of curiosity, what turned you off of the 3-leg design?

[Chris Griggs]

That's a beast of a saw bench. I REALLY like the design. From the background of the pictures your shop looks pretty awesome too. All those windows and natural light - if I had a shop like that I'd never leave!

[Tony Shea]

All those windows and natural light - if I had a shop like that I'd never leave!

I was thinking the same thing as I scrolled through the pics. The vegetation outside is crazy. Quite the opposite of where I live up in the artic of Maine.

And the wood choices for this saw bench is another detail that catches my interest. All woods that I've never heard of or have seen in person. I mean ylang-ylang? That's an interesting name and a very neat looking wood. Just stuff that us Mainer's don't ever see or hear of. Great saw bench, has lots of nice functional features.

[Acharya Kumarswami]

The 23.5 height works well for me. It is high enough for a 28" rip saw. I have used that height for several years now in other spots in the shop. I think the legged bench is very good. It was more a matter of personal taste, wanting the slot to go the full length of the bench. (I may cut a deep notch in the left upright so the saw can pass all the way from the left end of the bench to the right upright). Plus I wanted to try out the big dovetails, having never made those before.

[Jim Koepke]

Wow, that looks like furniture more than a work bench.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

Thank you.

When I build my copy, where do I send the honorarium?
The twinned dovetails atop the legs are clever, but it's the split top that caught my attention.
Adding the holdfasts would eliminate one of my major clamping hassles, with my Yankee splinter factory.

This will be very useful.
Jim
Westport, MA

[Mark Dorman]

(I may cut a deep notch in the left upright so the saw can pass all the way from the left end of the bench to the right upright).
The notch will pay off big time as you will not have to move and reclamp as often when ripping.

[Peter Pedisich]

Acharya, great bench! love the tenons and the thick top. Thanks for sharing.

Pete

[Joe Cunningham]

Wow, I really like that design quite a bit. One of things I can't stand about typical saw bench designs (and the one I made) is the splayed legs which get in the way of ripping. It makes you push the board out so that it is unsupported, and just for saw clearance.

[Acharya Kumarswami]

I totally agree. I started years ago by making a couple of "saw horses" and found the pair of them cumbersome. Then I put a wider top on one of them so that I could rip wood on top of it. That led to looking around and finding out about traditional saw benches.

[Jim Matthews]

Quite the opposite of where I live up in the artic of Maine.

No moose, in "Archie's neighborhood" I reckon. They would take care of all that extra greenery, soon enough.