my workbench design

[Ben W Werner]

First post and I'm sure that the workbench topic comes up often enough that some are sick of it, but I’d like to present my design for your input.

It will be all hard maple. A friend sawed a maple that he cut down on his property and it’s been drying for 9 months or so. It’s going to be basically a simple Kirby style bench. It will serve a few purposes other than just woodworking.

Overall dimensions are going to be 30” wide x 84” long x 40” high. I’m tall (6’-5”) and want a high bench. If for some reason I can’t stand it, I can cut down the legs or build a platform to stand on. Its going to be against the wall, I have long arms and will be able to reach stuff on the wall so the width won’t be a problem.

The top will be laminated out of the 6/4 or so wide boards and be 4”+/- thick. I plan to use 4 threaded rods running through the laminations to assist with glue up and to permanently keep the top solid. I’ll countersink holes into the outer laminations and plug the holes afterwards. To anchor to the base, I’ll use a single bolt at each stretcher up into the top (2 bolts total). I'm not sure if I should leave the end laminations open (Kirby style) or is this a bad idea?

I bought a Jorgensen 12” quick-release vice and then found out that a similar Wilton (non-quick release) was available to me as well. So I plan to mount the Wilton on the front and the Jorgensen as an end vice. I’ve got some Ironwood that I can make the vice jaws out of (~2” thick) and will drill round dog holes in (I’ll use round dog holes in the top too). I’ll route a recess to install the back face of the front vice behind the outer laminated board. I’m not sure about the end vice – I might just route a recess so the back face is inline with the end of the bench (the metal face would be exposed).

The base will have 3”x3” legs joined to the stretchers with drawbored mortise and tenon joints except for the connection with the upper stretcher. This will be a breadboard end with the stretcher standing proud of the leg. I’ll route a ¼” groove in the underside of the top for it to sit in. The legs will be coplanar with the top, but will be set in ~16” from the ends. The base will be open except for a shelf ~5” below the top and a shelf ~10” off the floor.

The floor in my garage is somewhat uneven, so I plan to install some sort of nutsert into the bottom of each leg to accept a ½” diameter bolt oriented vertically to allow me to level the bench.

I think I've correctly attached my drawing. Let me know what I should do differently. Thanks.
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[Carl Beckett]

I like it!

Some thoughts:

If that lumber is thicker than 1", it might not be as dry as would be ideal. Is there any way you can get a moisture meter on it?

I think I would make the legs wider.... maybe 5", and 3.5" deep. (not saying those 3x3 arent strong enough, but I like the proportions wider)

I wouldnt bother with a breadboard end.

I wouldnt bother trying to route a 1/4" groove for the stretcher to sit in - it will be plenty stout without it.

4" thick top is good. Will there be a sliding deadman in the future? maybe put a groove in to accommodate that now.

I used door jam shims to level mine on an uneven floor - thinking the load would be carried over a larger (and softer) surface than if a jack screw or leveler.

Like the idea of pulling it together with threaded rod. If you are surfacing by hand, you might have some alignment biscuits or pins or...?

Just some thoughts - its going to be a great tool to use!

[glenn bradley]

Since bench designs often come from rendering down almost everything we can find out about them and then ending up with a design that meets our needs, I assume you followed a similar path. Carl has some good stuff and I'll toss mine on the heap. Any that fit, use 'em; those that don't, toss 'em ;-)

I ran my vise faces out even to the edge of the bench, been happy with that.
I agree on larger/wider lages.
I too built in jack screw feet but, never used them. Door shims as Carl describes were used to originally level the bench years ago and I just left them there.

[Ben W Werner]

Thanks for the comments - I appreciate the help.

I don't have a moisture meter, but I could purchase one if I need to. That's one of those tools that I haven't done alot of research on yet though and I like to be prepared before buying something. That being said, all the wood that I'll be using is over 1", so I guess I could be working with wood that's not "ideal". What effect would this have on the final product?

I thought about adding a sliding deadman, but then thought if I needed that support I could clamp a board horizontally across the front legs at whatever height I need. This is only for recreation so I don't need the speed that a production shop needs, but putting the groove in now would be easy and allow me to install it later.

Shims are easy and would save me some work - good idea.

I was thinking of making a sled/jig for my router in order to flatten the top for the first time. Then just a little bit of cleanup by hand after that and as it needs it in the future. I was also thinking of welding together a frame to assemble the top on. Without have a large bench it could be difficult to build a large bench. So the frame could give me nice straight/flat rails to use as my guides.

Good to hear regarding the vises and I'll go larger on the legs.

[Carl Beckett]

Thanks for the comments - I appreciate the help.

I was thinking of making a sled/jig for my router in order to flatten the top for the first time.



A good way and how I did mine (then I flipped it over and ran it through the planer - but mine was a split top (which I like, but not everyone does).

The problem with building with wood that isnt dry, is that it is going to move, twist, shrink on you as it continues to dry. Sometimes this wont matter. Sometimes it will - and can cause joints to fail. I did have an experience when gluing my legs together where the outside board cupped up, failed the glue joint, and split the corresponding mortise that it went into! I couldnt believe it (will see if its here still... and old posting but you can find it if you search back a couple years).

Others will have some inputs on building with wood that isnt dry. (Although I use a lot of air dried lumber, to this day I still dont have a moisture meter.... I 'should', but dont). 6/4 hard maple that has been air dried for 9 months doesnt sound like enough.... but it can depend on a number of things, including species (and environment where it was dried, etc) - will see what the experts say.

[Carl Beckett]

Ah - found some old pics of that joint failure

It seems that the lower leg stretcher outside board cupped (due to the wood drying), and delaminated and split the mortise on the leg (and yes, there is some pith in that leg but the failure was more than just this!).

I had to take this apart and resurface and reglue it all, and its been fine since

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[Ryan Mooney]

I plan to use 4 threaded rods running through the laminations to assist with glue up and to permanently keep the top solid. I’ll countersink holes into the outer laminations and plug the holes afterwards.

Having tries that, I would recommend against it. There were several problems I ran into.

Doing a glue up that big in one pass is challenging. I had a helper, was really moving but it was pushing the edge of glue open time by the time it was all pulled together.
You have to leave the rods overly long for the glue up or you can't get the end nuts on. This means that you have to cut/grind the rod off inside the holes. This is a pain in the neck to do cleanly (at least with any tools I had available).
Your top will very likely shrink some (mine did over the next ~year) and the bolts slowly extend back out. I ended up threading them out and gluing a new rail on to hide the ugly, which was sort of painful as they were glued in :rolleyes:
You still need a boatload of clamps. 4 rods will definitely not pull it all tight enough.


If I was doing it again I would use dowels or biscuits for reference and do the glue up in 2-3 stages. I might consider cleaning up each chunk before preceding depending on how it looked, although with using router sled there wouldn't be a lot of value in doing that.

[Ben W Werner]

The wood was cut in the winter so it may not have as much moisture as other times of the year. It was/is drying in a covered extension off my garage - good air flow and where the rain can hit it. I may consider a moisture meter now ...

I plan to build up the laminations a few boards at a time. The threaded rod won't be glued in, so I can pull it after the glue is dry to trim it. One idea is to leave the rear plug off and then in a year I could still tighten the nut.

Thanks for the commetns.

[Jim Andrew]

I built a similar bench using white oak 3" thick. Used the threaded rod, used the drillpress to drill the pieces so the holes would line up, and glued mine up in pieces before gluing the whole thing up. Ran two halves through the planer to even all the joints up and then glued the 2 halves together. Worked out very well. My wood had dried longer, was maybe 2 years air dried when I built the bench. Lay out your dog holes before you drill the holes for the threaded rods so they miss.

[Bill McDermott]

Ben, Being 6'4" with a 36" sleeve, I appreciate your bench dimensions. Your plan looks as straightforward and solid as anyone would ever need.

I agree with the comments above and will underscore the suggestion to not have metal bolt heads as the feet. That would be too slippery and there are many better ways to level. Here is the first result of a google http://www.jwwinco.com/products/section7/snsm/index.html.

Also, it's not clear to me how the top is fastened to the base. Your flush front makes sense to me. With all the concern about moisture and movement, I trust your rear attachments allow for the back to move without stressing the base.

My only other suggestion is to skin the metal end vise somehow. You could rout 1/4 inch deeper and attach some MDF to the back face. In any case, I'd cover the metal face and keep it flush.

I hope you get it done quickly because you are sure to love using it. Bill

[McKay Sleight]

I salvaged my workbench tops from the school that taught when they re-built the school. The tops were bolted together w/through bolts and not glued. I believe that is a common way to make wide benches. They stayed flat for 60 years with those sweet children banging and cutting on them. Consider no glue. There were only 2 through bolts and the 6" wide bread board was bolted on much like a head/food board to a rail. The bread board was t/g.

[Ben W Werner]

Jim - good to know that it works. I'm a little nervous about glueing up the slabs individually though incase one or both of the faces are not perfectly straight and would leave a gap. If I just build off of one side, then I can pull it together if there is a bow to that piece.

The top is essentially just going to rest on top of the base. I know that some have done it with just gravity alone, but my initial plan was to have the stretcher (as part of the base) sit in a small dado/groove in the bottom of the top slab and run one bolt up through each stretcher into the bottom of the top slab. This way I can pick it up by the top to move it. Also, the base will be rigid, the groove will keep the top from sliding on top of the base, and the bolt will give it some attachment.

My thought about leaving the end vise metal, was that it simplifies things when I'm building it, and if I need a soft face I can drop a pad on top of it. The front vise will be used more for this purpose.

I definitely would prefer to start on it soon for a number of reasons - I'm really looking for building it, I know it will be a huge improvement, and my garage is unheated. So for the last one, since I live in NY, if I wait too long I'll have to do the glueup in my basement.

Interesting on the no-glue idea. I've seen so many designs where they've been glued...

[Matt McColley]

Your plan should translate into a solid work bench...

I personally would ditch the leveling feat and use a belt sander to adjust the bottom of the legs to accomodate any warp in your floor.

I'd also add a nice 3/4" plywood shelf (band it if you want to get fancy) over your stretchers, as this will increase the rigidity of the base and any tools you store on it will add to the over all mass.

I have also salvaged comercially mass produced work benches. However, all the ones I've seen are indeed glued, but they have threaded rod run widhwise through pre-drilled holes every 6" to 8" and then the counter sunk holes in the outer boards are plugged.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I level my workbench with bolts as you describe, though I got mine at a farm supply house, and the shaft on the bolt is about 1" in diameter, and the head of the bolt is about 1 1/2" across. It makes it harder to adjust than I would like, but it also means it has plenty of sturdiness. I mortised the nut into the end of the leg, and then epoxied it in place.

Doc

[Ben W Werner]

I purchased a Harbor Freight moisture meter and checked the wood I'm going to use. By using the probes alone I was able to get approximately 1/4" deep - this resulted in a moisture content of 13%. Since the rough cut thickness is about 6/4, I used finish nails in a few locations to extend these probes. I hammered two finish nails in 3/4", and over the three different locations got readings of 17%, 17%, and 16%. Is this an accurate method?

In the reading that I've done "dry" is between 12% and 18% when it will be used outdoors. This workbench will be in my unheated garage/barn. Based on the results I got, it appears that I should be ok. Thoughts?

[Paul Murphy]

I purchased a Harbor Freight moisture meter and checked the wood I'm going to use. By using the probes alone I was able to get approximately 1/4" deep - this resulted in a moisture content of 13%. Since the rough cut thickness is about 6/4, I used finish nails in a few locations to extend these probes. I hammered two finish nails in 3/4", and over the three different locations got readings of 17%, 17%, and 16%. Is this an accurate method?

In the reading that I've done "dry" is between 12% and 18% when it will be used outdoors. This workbench will be in my unheated garage/barn. Based on the results I got, it appears that I should be ok. Thoughts?

Acceptable moisture for a garage workshop is going to depend on a few factors such as where you live [Arizona?, Maine?], concrete or dirt floor, and so on. For my use anything over 12% would worry me, and 18% would not even qualify as "air dry". There is lots of wood movement if it takes 6% to reach equilibrium. You can also buy a relative air humidity gauge at the hardware store for ~$35, and that can also tell you what is equilibrium for your shop.

[Ben W Werner]

I also checked some 4/4 rough cut cherry that has been sitting in my garage for about 6 months which previously was being air dryed outside for over a year. The moisture content of the cherry was 12%. I would assume that over that period of time it has aclimated to the conditions in my garage fairly well. And so, 12% seems to be the target moisture. I live in NY and my garage has a few different floors (concrete/asphalt/wood) and I'm sure its lacking a vapor barrier - the workbench will be located on the asphalt portion.