Needing a little bench help

[Matthew Brawley]

I am getting ready to start building my bench in the next few weeks and I am looking for a little advice. I am planning on using pine for the base and making an oak top. I figure it will be somewhat in the style of a Holtzapffel bench. I am just wanting any things to do or not do that you might have learned the hard way. Thanks for the help.

[Jacob Nothstine]

I would pick up Christopher Schwarz Workbench Design book. I'm building a workbench and this book had a lot of good information.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Workbench-Design-Book-ebook/dp/B005JEKJZI/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

[Chris Atzinger]

+1 on Chris Schwarz's book. It's a worthwhile read, and gave me a completely different perspective on what I wanted to build.

Good luck!
-Chris

[Mike Holbrook]

Check out the FAQ's at the top of this page. There are links to benches and posts on benches others have made. Derek Cohen just finished his, Joshua is mid bench and I am gathering the final materials and finishing up some related construction so I can get started on mine. The two plans I like are the BenchCrafted Split Top Roubo (or Shaker Plans) and Bob Lang's 21'st Century Workbench. You can buy DVD's and or plans for these benches.

[Jerome Hanby]

Books are relatively cheap, especially if you can find them used on Amazon, so I'd buy all the workbench books. You'll get something out of all of them and after you wear yourself out working on your bench, you can collapse in the recliner and look at the pictures.

[Jim Matthews]

Before you make your layout, consider a cardboard template.

That will help you locate your work holding (vises, etc.).

I find that a bench less than 50 inches wide is too small to incorporate vises. I find benches longer than six feet to be hard to move around in my shop.
Make sure to include sufficient overhang on the top to accommodate clamps. Make the outside portion of the bench replaceable, as it will get rough with use.

A tool tray is just a place for me to lose things under the shavings.

A center divider with a flip stop batten allows clamping in the middle of your bench, and easy work holding for planing.

I found this page (http://www.workbenchdesign.net/rothers.html) to be immensely useful. In particular - this bench (http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=shop&file=articles_500.shtml). While I'm not suggesting you just slap it together, it bears mentioning that this is a rough tool.
There's no need to be obsessive about the fit and finish, get the construction solid and straight and the function will follow.