Sjoberg or build my own work bench

[Peter Choi]

Does anyone have any experience with a sjoberg work bench? I was planning to build one but without any jointers/planers nor a current work bench it's a bit hard to build. I was gonna buy a couple work and decker workmates and use those to plane down wood with a hand plane and glue them up. It would be a lot of work especially since I am on somewhat limited time. Buying vises and all the supplies would probably run about 300-400 dollars.

And a sjoberg work bench runs about 500-550. I was thinking this

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Sjobergs-Nordic-Plus-62-in-Workbench-SJO-33448/203856959/

or

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Sjobergs-Duo-58-in-Workbench-SJO-33445/203880246/

And I only can do this because I can get 1000 dollars in Home Depot gift cards from my Amex points. And if anyone can explain to me the difference between the two that would be great. Lol

I probably wouldnt put those shelf things on below the table because my work bench would double as my dining table and Id build a couple benches and hide them under the table when I need to work and bring them out to eat. Oh the struggles of living in nyc... Would not adding those shelves or the wooden parts that go horizontal weaken the structural integrity of the table?

[Myk Rian]

Would not adding those shelves or the wooden parts that go horizontal weaken the structural integrity of the table?
You need something there. Otherwise it'll rack on you something terrible.

[John TenEyck]

In your situation I suggest you buy one of those benches, or something similar. Trying to make one with no machines and no work bench will be an exercise in frustration, and you probably wouldn't save any money in the process. One of those benches is 58" long, the other 62", one has a shelf underneath, the other doesn't. I would lean toward the 58" one because it will likely be sturdier, although neither is very robust, and looks to be made from higher quality wood. You definitely want/need those horizontal stretchers; they are what helps resist racking forces when planing a board on the bench.

If you want the bench to double as a table you are going to need a pretty tall chair or short stool, because the bench is 34" high and a table is 29". Plus you would want to add a wider top for dining so you don't bang your feet into the lower stretcher, and that will add another inch or so. Maybe you should look into a draftsman's table that raises and lowers if you want a bench to do double duty as a table. I think someone offers a workbench that is height adjustable, too, just can't remember whom.

You didn't say what you want to build, but keep in mind that that bench is not very robust. You wouldn't want to try heavy hand planing with it or it's going to be rocking and rolling and shimmying across the floor. For light work it should be fine.

John

[Peter Choi]

Id mainly be building furniture. Nothing huge but maybe some live edge slabs for table tops or just stuff for the home. The heaviest would definitely be the live edge slabs. But mainly pine or whatever reclaimed wood I can get my hands on. But would these work benches be any less robust than a simple work bench made out of pine from home depot and then glued up and 4 legs using mortise and tenon joints? Or is the one step up for around 1000 worth that much more? The dimensions of this are fine and I guess I would have to keep horizontal structure.

[John TenEyck]

It depends upon which $1K benches you are referring to but, most often, you get what you pay for. And what $1K benches have over what you are considering usually is a lot more mass. Mass is your friend whether it be machines or workbenches. A bench made with a heavy top and base, bolted together with stout cross members, and that weighs several hundred pounds, won't move when you push on it planing a big live edge slab. The benches you are considering probably don't weigh 100 lbs. If you flop a big live edge slab on one of them and then go at it with a hand plane, it's going to sway back and forth and probably slide across the floor. Or if you use a power hand plane instead to flatten a slab, and then a ROS, you can probably get by with one of the lighter work benches. A power hand plane costs less than a good hand plane and you'll get work done a lot quicker, too.

John

[John Vernier]

I would recommend you have a look at the homemade bench which Mike Siemsen discusses in his DVD "The Naked Woodworker", and in several associated blog posts: http://lostartpress.com/collections/dvds/products/the-naked-woodworker
Both he and Chris Schwarz have worked on simple, practical, solid bench designs which cost very little, and Mike S. talks about building a bench without having a bench to start with. I really appreciate his simple no-nonsense (and low-budget) approach. That isn't to say that making a bench in a NYC apartment wouldn't be an ordeal, but I've worked a little on one of those flimsy Sjobergs benches and I didn't like it one bit, so I would urge you to consider this as an alternative. There are better things to buy at Home Depot.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Peter,

I used a Sjorberg very similar to the ones you listed. What you'll find is that the base is way too light for most hand tool work. What I did was build a much heavier base out of oak. It was a compromise but I put up with it until I built my Roubo. The thing is is that the price your paying for either of those benches would more than pay for the lumber for a great bench. I got my Sjorberg on a clearance from Amazon for under $200. At the prices you're looking at I'd think long and hard before dropping that much on a temporary bench.

Cliff

[Reinis Kanders]

+1 for DVD "The Naked Woodworker" and there is also a video by Mike Siemsen on You Tube where he discusses work holding with this bench and you can see it in action. One can build that bench in a weekend with circular saw and carpenters square and cost would be less than $100.

[Rich Riddle]

I use a Sjoberg bench as a jobsite bench and enjoy it very much. That said, the less expensive models move a bit when doing handwork. The vises work great. The top is made of beech and offers quite a good working surface. You can purchase accessories that make it more useful as well.

[Marc Seguin]

I would also vote for building your own over those you linked to. The Mike Siemsen one looks very good. I like benches with aprons.

I built myself a version of Roy Underhill's fold-up portable workbench. I made mine almost totally in my living room with hand tools. I did use the thickness planer at work to clean up the rough sawn boards, but that would be no different than the state you'd be getting boards from a BORG store from.

http://projects.mykos.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/finally-assembled-1.png

Mine is made from Douglas Fir and is probably around 70Kg. I've put a piece of 1x12 across the bottom stretchers to make a shelf which I store lumber on to add more weight. I've since added some drawer liner to the bottoms of the feet, and it's rock solid. I can take heavy plane strokes without it scooting at all.

I designed mine to incorporate the changes that Steve Branam made on his blog (http://www.closegrain.com/2010/08/portable-workbench.html), namely the differing leg heights so that it folds flat. I wrote up a short blog on my build (http://projects.mykos.org/?cat=8) as well.

The other huge upside to making your own bench vs. buying one is that you can choose exactly what features you want to have and where things are placed. You get dogholes only where you want, and can have vises (or not) placed where you'll use them most.

[Frederick Skelly]

Peter, I'd find a store that carries this model and try it before buying one. That base looks relatively lightweight, which makes me suspect it will flex/rack under heavy use. You could buy a ready made top and build your own base out of 4x4"s and end up with a more sturdy/durable bench. And Im betting it wouldnt cost a whole lot more.

Otherwise try the video folks are recommending above.

Good luck!
Fred

[Bryan Cramer]

Also another don't buy one vote! those benches are notoriously under built. Build your own bench. You can customize it to exactly fit YOUR work. Christopher Schwartz's second (newer) book on workbenches is excellent. $1000 can get you nice raw materials and good vice hardware (or skip one or both of the vices). Read up to figure out what you need; then you know what to build and you wouldn't be building such a temporary bench. Using a well designed bench that fits your type of work is such an indescribable feeling-the bench and you are one!:p

[Bob Hoffmann]

Hi Peter,

Both of these benches weigh 200 lbs ... I think that the comments about them not being sturdy or moving are not valid for these benches.

I would go for the one that has the bench dogs in the end vice ... I use my tail vise a lot, and the side vise does not have bench dogs -- although it looks like they are in the top -- just not in the end vise ... you could add them, but I would get the bench that already has them in ...

I have an Ulmia bench that I am sure does not weigh much different than the ones listed -- and it does not move -- but it does have a taller stretcher, but these benches should be fine. A good bench is for holding securely what you want to do -- saw, drill, plane, even glue.

You definitely need the stretchers between the legs -- for stability of the bench.

Regarding using as a table -- I would get a top that would lay on the top and extend out from the side -- like a breakfast bar -- and use the bench dogs to clamp it tight. You need to think about the height of top -- at 34" it is higher than normal, and the benches that you build will have to be higher that "normal" bench height.

[Mark Carlson]

I bought the version with the 3 in thick top about 15 years ago from woodcraft and its an excellent bench.

[Michelle Rich]

I think the top would be most challenging in your situation..maybe buy one , then make the base yourself. I think that is what I would do if I had limited tools and lived in NYC..

[Frederick Skelly]

I bought the version with the 3 in thick top about 15 years ago from woodcraft and its an excellent bench.

Well I cant argue if you've got one and all I have is pictures and catalog descriptions. I think it would help him to know how you use it and how it performs on common tasks he might perform though. For example, does the bench shake or "rack" as you are planing a medium sized part (say a 15"x15" tabletop)? I ask because those strechers look undersized for the work that I do. How does it hold up when you are cutting mortises by hand? Do you have to be directly above a leg, for example? I can bang away at a mortise on any part of my bench which gives great flexibility.

Thanks Mark.
Fred

[Jim Matthews]

The Sjoberg is a fine bench that can be readily improved with braces as shown in the photo above.

What's your time worth?

PS - If you haven't yet gone to visit Joel at Tools for Working wood, consider doing so.
He's generous in helping us get started in the craft.

He might even know someone with a well-loved bench for sale... who knows?

https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/more/directions.html

[David Linnabary]

I built my scandi bench in 92 without the use of a proper bench, it was an agonizingly tedious and drawn out project stack laminating up thick stock from thin. The first project I did on my new bench was an absolute joy and my work improved immeasurably.

So... the question... Would I recommend that path for you? No not really. Do I regret doing it that way myself? No not so much. Was the experience valuable? More than I can put into words. Which way would move you along in your craft the quickest? Definitely purchase a bench.

I would say that no matter where you are in terms of developing your hand tool skills, set a goal to eventually build yourself or purchase exceptional bench, if not now sometime in the future. If you plan to work primarily with hand tools, I think you will find that the bench will connect you to your craft in a way that no other tool in your shop can.

David

P.S. A couple of concrete blocks laid along the trestle of that Sjoberg will make a world of difference. I use granite slabs from sink cut outs for added ballast under the bench, they are my scary sharp surfaces and get used regularly.

[Jim Andrew]

Before I built my bench, I obtained a copy of Christopher Schwarz book "Workbenches" from Design &Theory to Construction & Use. I built the French style bench, about 9' long and 2' wide. Bought the vises from Grizzly Industrial, and it has worked well. Works best for using hand planes, etc, where you need to hold the piece securely. It would work better as an assembly bench if it were a bit wider, considering many projects are wider than 2'. Since then, I built a assembly table about 3' wide by about 8' long, variable height based on a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift. Consider the Schwarz book, it shows how to build a bench using construction grade lumber, mortises by leaving blanks in the glue up, and also as tenons, makes a very strong bench.

[Peter Choi]

I'll have to take a look at the dvd but I've read through the book and already had a work bench designed. It's just the process of getting stock ready for a glue up is the struggle. Even then stock at Home Depot and other lumber yards either bow twist or cup. I went to Home Depot a couple times and takes me an hour just to find 5-8 pieces of lumber with minor twists.
i really have been meaning to check out the shop but I don't think they're open weekends and close early weekdays so I can never find a time but I may just rush in right after work and try to get in before they close. Maybe I'll just call them haha.
I did look at their dimensions and it does seem a little thin, the bench top isn't even a inch and a half thick. The more expensive one out of the two weighs 91 pounds. And seems kind of light.
I really do wanna build my own bench but the lack of resources are killing me.

originally I was thinking of doing a butcher block style bench top which is why I needed to true up the wood. But if I do the bench from the naked workshop or something liked that I guess it doesn't have to be completely straight.

[Mark Carlson]

Hi Fred,

The bench I have isn't even sold anymore but its very similar to the Elite 2000. With the cabinets it weighs in at around 350lbs. With the cabinets fully loaded its somewhere in the 450 lb range. Its very solid. There is no racking or shaking when hand planing. Mine is on leveling casters so I can move it and its still very solid. I dont do mortises by hand but wouldn't hesitate to do so on any part of the bench. I will add that its the only heavy duty bench I've ever used so I cant really offer any comparison.

~mark



Well I cant argue if you've got one and all I have is pictures and catalog descriptions. I think it would help him to know how you use it and how it performs on common tasks he might perform though. For example, does the bench shake or "rack" as you are planing a medium sized part (say a 15"x15" tabletop)? I ask because those strechers look undersized for the work that I do. How does it hold up when you are cutting mortises by hand? Do you have to be directly above a leg, for example? I can bang away at a mortise on any part of my bench which gives great flexibility.

Thanks Mark.
Fred

[John TenEyck]

Mark, you are talking apples and oranges between an Elite 2000 and the two benches the OP listed. The Elite 2000 probably weighs at least 3X. The bases on the two the OP listed are very light and whatever mass they have is mostly in the top which is not ideal at all when hand planing. Would they be OK for light duty use. Sure, but that's about it, IMO. If the bench is to be the heart of the hand tool users shop, it needs to be a big, heavy, robust bench. If I were forced to use one of those benches, I'd screw it to a wall so it wouldn't rack when hand planing.

John

[Ted Reischl]

You could also think outside the box. The choice is not whether to build your own or buy a Sjoberg.

Several companies sell serious steel table leg sets that are designed for heavy duty industrial use. All you need to do is purchase a top to fit them. The beauty of that method is that you can disassemble the bench if you need to move. Or, later you can build your own base with cabinets, use the legs for another table. There are even old fashioned cast iron ones from places like Lee Valley.

Speaking of which, you could get the legs off CL or eBay from an old machine and do the same thing.

Cast iron weighs a lot and is extremely rigid.

One other option is to watch CL and eBay for a used bench. I bought one about 7 years ago in Illinois. It was easily 80 years old, solid maple. It came from an old woodworking factory. Paid $250 for it. Cleaned it up and resold it about a year later. I didn't really need it, but I could not resist a deal like that.

I made my own bench about 15 years ago after I got a virtually brand new maple top that was 3 1/2 inches thick for free. However, it needed flattening like all tops do. I did wear myself trying to handplane it. That is all romantic or whatever but IMHO incredibly ridiculous. I made two router fixtures. One to create a flat area about 18 inches square on one corner. The other was a base for the router that rode on the already flattened area but allowed me to cut going forward. Put a huge weight on the backside of it to keep the router from tipping.

Ya got other options!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Since you are going to have this bench double as dining room table, you might consider the $400 gladiator workbench that home depot caries. Unlike a traditional wood working bench, it does not have stretchers running near the floor that would interfere with chairs being pushed in under the table. Use that bench it to build a traditional workbench with face and tail vises.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Fred,

The bench I have isn't even sold anymore but its very similar to the Elite 2000. With the cabinets it weighs in at around 350lbs. With the cabinets fully loaded its somewhere in the 450 lb range. Its very solid. There is no racking or shaking when hand planing. Mine is on leveling casters so I can move it and its still very solid. I dont do mortises by hand but wouldn't hesitate to do so on any part of the bench. I will add that its the only heavy duty bench I've ever used so I cant really offer any comparison.
~mark

Thanks Mark!

[Frederick Skelly]

Peter,
Amazon sells a 2 1/4" thick maple top by Nexel for under $225. It's 30" x 60". There are other options too. Maybe something like that could help you make this more manageable and/or get you closer to the bench you designed.

Remember that you dont HAVE TO get carried away for this to work - the base of my bench is ALL butt joints, reinforced with long lengths of "all thread". There's not a mortise/tenon in the whole beast (mostly because I didnt know I was supposed to do it that way, at the time). The legs were cut from 4" x 4" fence posts I bought at a home improvement store. The stretchers are 2"x 6" pine I also bought there. It's held up to heavy use without a whimper for more than 10 years.

Let us know what you decide to do. The folks here are always willing to help and advise. And we love to hear the follow-up on posts like this one. Pics are nice too!

Fred

[glenn bradley]

The Nordic has a pine base, the Duo is beech throughout. I was going to mention what a terrific waste of space the underside of a lot of bench design are and recommend shelves but, your use as a dining table trumps that ;-)

[Mark Carlson]

Mark, you are talking apples and oranges between an Elite 2000 and the two benches the OP listed. The Elite 2000 probably weighs at least 3X. The bases on the two the OP listed are very light and whatever mass they have is mostly in the top which is not ideal at all when hand planing. Would they be OK for light duty use. Sure, but that's about it, IMO. If the bench is to be the heart of the hand tool users shop, it needs to be a big, heavy, robust bench. If I were forced to use one of those benches, I'd screw it to a wall so it wouldn't rack when hand planing.

John

Yes, I'm talking about the more expensive bench with the thick top. I thought I was clear on that. Fred had a question on that bench and I answered.

[Erik Manchester]

Peter,

About 5 years ago I was looking for a good bench but had insufficient space, power tools, and time to build what I wanted. Then I had a chance to try out the LN bench and decided that it fit the bill. While $2000 (the price then) was not cheap, when I priced the quality wood, the vise hardware, and estimated my time to mill it up piecemeal, and assemble it with the very limited equipment and space available at the time it was no contest. I was able to make a 5 hr drive down to Warren and pick up the vice at the LN bench shop and see how they are made, even met Thomas himself at the main store. While I now have the space and equipment to readily make a bench for myself, I find I have grown used to the one I have and don't wish to replace it.

Only you can decide what works for you, and while I have no direct experience with the Sjoberg bench, the LN bench is a good one and certainly will hold up for generations.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/workbenches/lie-nielsen-workbench?node=4113

[Peter Kelly]

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/18985/still-dont-have-a-workbench-this-one-is-easy

Should cost less than $100. Also I'd avoid both the HD and Lowes in Gowanus, neither are any good. Gates Lumber in BedSty or Feldman in East W-Burg have much better stock.

[Peter Choi]

Ok thanks will have to check out the lumber at feldman. Since I live in williamsburg it's not too hard to get there.

Hahaha that ln bench is way too out of the budget.

I was thinking that I could use steel legs but thought it would be too unstable. But do you guys think something like this would be stable enough? And how much do you think it has to weigh to be sturdy enough? https://www.etsy.com/listing/164962510/industrial-steel-table-legs

[Peter Kelly]

Those metal legs will rack and bounce around with any hand tool use. As previosly mentioned, the Veritas cast iron legs are an excellent choice if you'd prefer not to build your own. http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=40575&cat=1,41637,46343&ap=1

Add bracing, a butcher block top from Manhattan Laminates or Grizzly and you're in business.

[Frederick Skelly]

Those metal legs will rack and bounce around with any hand tool use. As previosly mentioned, the Veritas cast iron legs are an excellent choice if you'd prefer not to build your own. http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=40575&cat=1,41637,46343&ap=1

Add bracing, a butcher block top from Manhattan Laminates or Grizzly and you're in business.

Be sure to order the Veritas "bench" version - it lets you add the stretcher Mr. Kelly points out. You could also do the same with the legs you linked to if the vendor will pre-drill your holes. You could use "all thread" to rigidize it like the pictures show on the Veritas site.

But Id go with the Veritas because of their solid return policy.

[Robert Engel]

Peter, first let me say I admire your desire for ww'ing in less than ideal conditions.
You must be a bachelor or married to a great gal to have a bench double as a dining room table!

Let me make some recommendations based on 1)building your own and 2) purchasing

1)Building.

First of all, yes, its doable, but you've already indicated putting the time in might be an issue.
As you've already noted you will need some kind of saw horse set up to do this.
Make sure the horses are level and parallel (check for wind) because you have to have a flat base for your glue ups.
SYP (south. yellow pine) 2x4's turned on edge and laminated can make a suitable top.
(My bench is a section of bowling alley lane).
The problem you'll have is getting the top flat after assembly. It can be done by hand but is very time consuming work.
You'll need plenty of clamps and a good set of arms cause its going to be ALOT of work by hand.
I'll refer you to Paul Seller's video on building a bench. He basically did it on sawhorses with all hand tools. Check it on You Tube.

2) Purchase.

I think its the best option for you. You have funds available, and you're concerned about the time, hardware, etc.
+'s: saves a huge amount of time, appearance of bench is good. Just thinking about boring 30 dog holes by hand.......

-'s: as other posters noted the bench is on the light side. A friend of mine has one and I noticed the same thing. That doesn't mean it can't be tweaked.
the simplest way to brace it is using plywood gussets between the upper legs and the top.

The shelf won't weaken anything, in fact, quite the opposite.
I would be tempted to beef it up with 3/4 ply and put a couple sandbags on it.

Good luck.

[Peter Choi]

I'll have to look at wood options cuz we I haven't seen south yellow pine in the area. Hahaha my gf isn't completely down but I figured by the time it's just there she won't have much of a choice lol.

I would buy the legs and add a butcher block on top but they're so ugly... I mean I want it to be stable bu t aesthetically pleasing as well.

[joe maday]

Peter...Grizzly has a bench on sale this week....3" top...6 foot long......300+lbs.......but looks like you need to add a side vise...which is good because you could add the one of your choice...take a look.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I love the one I have, but, it is pretty heavy and large. I am uncertain how it would function as a dinning room table, however. The nice thing is that you can pull the vices when you want to use it to eat off of.

If you want to do hand planning (or similar), bigger and heavier is better.

[Peter Kelly]

Hahaha my gf isn't completely down but I figured by the time it's just there she won't have much of a choice lol.That'll go well.

[Jim Matthews]

But do you guys think something like this would be stable enough? https://www.etsy.com/listing/164962510/industrial-steel-table-legs

No. You need a trestle connection between the uprights.

The only thing connecting whatever top you choose to these will be lag bolts.
I've never seen a bench like that, which is old.

There's a reason the trestle design endures.

[Peter Choi]

Ok I think I figured it out! With a little help from the people at tools for working wood!

theres a table top at ikea that's 61x30 and made out of beech, weighs 55 pounds and just over an inch think. I'm going to glue three of those together to make it 3 in thick. Making two wide legs, glue up 2x6 about 12 of them for each leg and have wide legs. Maybe a couple pieces of wood goog across the bottom. I'll be using mortise and tenon joints to put them them together. But I did have a question, if I ever move how do you take the joints off?

[Phil Stone]

Ok I think I figured it out! With a little help from the people at tools for working wood!

theres a table top at ikea that's 61x30 and made out of beech, weighs 55 pounds and just over an inch think. I'm going to glue three of those together to make it 3 in thick. Making two wide legs, glue up 2x6 about 12 of them for each leg and have wide legs. Maybe a couple pieces of wood goog across the bottom. I'll be using mortise and tenon joints to put them them together. But I did have a question, if I ever move how do you take the joints off?

For long stretchers, these barrel bolts from Benchcrafted (http://benchcrafted.com/Benchbuilding.html) are an excellent knock-down solution, although installing them requires some very careful drilling (a drill press is recommended -- see the downloadable instructions on that page). Another excellent, all-wood knock-down design is a tusk tenon (here (http://www.his.com/~tom/sca/tusktenons.pdf) is a basic example).

Wait, *12* 2 X 6s for legs? You mean three per leg, right? Good plan, but...a really good trick I learned from Chris Schwartz is to buy the biggest dimensional lumber you can get, like 2 X 10s or 2 X 12s, and rip and dimension your bench members from them. It's much better wood than 2 X 4s or 2 X 6s.

[Peter Kelly]

You don't which is why benches from Sjobergs, Ulmia, Veritas, etc use truss rods and locator dowels to connect the stretchers.

M&T joinery is only for the trestel part.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/images/item/Instructions/05A0101i01.jpg

[John TenEyck]

It would be better to just buy a thick top. How would you propose to glue the three pieces together? Sounds simple enough but I can't see how you'll get adequate clamping pressure in the middle of those slabs w/o a vacuum bag. I think you would have to use screws in order for that to work. IKEA tops might also have finish on them, which you would have to strip or sand off for glue to stick. Just seems like a lot of work for what might not turn out so well. You can make an amazingly good bench top from three or four pieces of particle board, glued and screwed together, then skinned on both sides with tempered Masonite and edged with hardwood. Heavy, flat, stable, and cheap.

John

[Jim Andrew]

The Christopher Schwarz book recommends you use dowels through the M&T joints, so you don't have to glue them. I glued mine, also used the dowels. Mine is not coming apart. The book goes through the whole process step by step from deciding what materials to use through how to simply make the M&T joints. Worth consulting.

[Peter Choi]

you're right, I completely forgot about the finish. I mean I could strip it off, and won't take too much work but it'll definitely be messy.

by particle boards, do you mean mdf? Will it be that durable?

Ah, I skimmed through the book while I was half asleep and must have forgotten about the dowels. Definitely have that book on amazon kindle for reference.

I know, I'm probably over thinking all of this... Just want to do it right the first time.

[Jim Matthews]

If you plan to move, make the leg joints with a half lap or recess for the ends to fit into.

Fix them together with Hide Glue (which is reversible) and carriage bolts.

Bob Van Dyke's design is used by thousands of students every year.
It's a little spare on work holding, but durable.

Have a close look at the framework beneath the bench for an illustration
of how halflap joints are used to tie everything together.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/42784/build-your-first-workbench/page/all

[Robert Engel]

Barrel bolts are ok but all you need is a long bolt you drill the hole and counterbore a 2" diameter hole partly through stretcher for nut and washer.

[Randy Hermann]

Ikea has some unfinished butcher-block type tops that work fine with a bit of elbow grease to improve the flatness. I mounted a piece on some old kitchen cabinets with a layer of 3/4" ply and 1/2" ply underneath to build it up some. A couple of screws holding the cabinet base to the wall and it is solid. Note that you have to inspect the Ikea tops for ugly/rough/bad pieces if you care about the final appearance. Aside from the cheap price, I had enough cutoff to build a mini-bench (from the Fine Woodworking: http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodworking-plans/article/mini-workbench-works-wonders.aspx
Expect to spend some time/effort planning it to get it flat (or find a shop with a planer/sander to do it for you).
Properly supported, I don't think you are going to flex it even without the layers of plywood underneath, but someone else could better answer that than me!

[Gary Salisbury]

I purchased a 62" Sjoberg workbench with the drawer assembly below five years ago. My observations are that it is well build but too light and too small for serious woodworking. I used it to build a 9 foot Acorn Bench, which I love, and now use the Sjoberg for my reloading bench. Just my opinion.....

[Nicholas Lawrence]

A "guy I know" was in the position of wanting to build a workbench without access to power tools or a bench to build it on, and would tell you that you might look at the plywood torsion box design, which is cheap, rock solid, can be built with a saw and a screwdriver, and while you won't want to let your friends know that is what you are working on, it will allow you to do an awful lot, including building your first bench. Or you might find it works well enough (despite its many undeniable flaws) that you will find yourself still building stuff on it many years later while you continue to perfect your "real" bench design. Or so I have heard.

If you google "workbench design" you will get a website by the same name (I am not sure I understand the link policy and don't want to violate any rules) where the plans for the torsion box design are posted for free. Even if you don't want to go that route, there is a lot of other information there you might find useful.