Help with workbench design

[Levi Winters]

I'm in the process of building/designing a workbench. I have three things I'm not sure about, that I'd love to get your feedback on.

1. Where should I put my 2 top strechters. Right up against the bench top, or below it? Pros cons?
2. How far apart should my legs be?
3. Silly question perhaps, but what would be the best way to attach the top to the base? I don't want any screws/bolts on the top of my benchtop.

Specifications:
The top consists of 2x 22mm MDF sheets for a total thickness 44mm (1 3/4"). Including edging the top measures roughly 125x65cm. (roughly 49"x25")
The base is going to be built out of 44x94mm spruce beams (a little under 2x4").
All joints of the base will be mortice and tenons. The legs will be glued, the stretchers will have bolts to allow for disassembly of the workbench.
It'll have a single end vise.

This is the sketch I made:

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Any help much appreciated!

[David M Peters]

Treat the stretchers as you would with any other table, they should directly support the work surface.

I'd space your legs as far apart as possible but with two considerations:
* Leave some surface overhang on the sides for clamping
* You might want to hang a face vise off to the side of one leg; it's nice for doing crosscuts

I hear ya on not wanting to screw down through your work surface. I would screw up through your stretchers. To do so you'll likely wind up needing a larger counter-bored hole that goes 3/4 of the way through the material.

Good luck with your project!

[Mike Burke]

looks a lot like the Rob Cosman work bench. Search Rob Cosman workbench...

[Holmes Anderson]

1. Where should I put my 2 top stretchers. Right up against the bench top, or below it? Pros cons?

Not up against the bench top because they will interfere with clamps, vises, and dog holes.

2. How far apart should my legs be?

The distance between the legs is dictated by the vises and dog holes. First calculate space required by the vises. Next calculate dog hole locations that don't interfere with the vises (some probably will, unavoidably). Finally, choose from the little remaining space where to attach the legs. The distance between those attachment locations is the distance between the legs.

3. Silly question perhaps, but what would be the best way to attach the top to the base? I don't want any screws/bolts on the top of my benchtop.

Like Dave Peters commented, lags up into the top from below is typical.

Why use spruce for the legs and stretchers? If you are not using hardwood or (Cosman-style) laminate then doug fir would be strong, heavy, and relatively inexpensive compared with spruce. Also, it can be very helpful to have the legs flush with the front edge of the bench top and the vises mounted recessed into the bench top so that the edge of the bench top is the static jaw. It is also helpful to have a width greater than 65 cm if the bench will be used for assembly and finishing. There are workbench books and videos that swear by a 24" width but it is easy to find much wider examples of antique benches that were used by hand tool pros back in the day.

[Richard Coers]

No better reference or better way to spend a little money than buying this book. Mine is a version of the Frank Klausz bench that's in the book. https://www.amazon.com/Workbench-Book-Craftsmans-Guide-Publishers/dp/0918804760/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=workbench+book&qid=1633020582&s=books&sr=1-5
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[Mike Heidrick]

https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AWB_Consumer_June-2020_v5.1-1.pdf

Chis's Anachists's Workbench book is free in PDF format.

Mikie

[David Bassett]

No better reference or better way to spend a little money than buying this book. ... [Scott Landis's book]

That edition is out of print. Lost Art Press has reprinted it as a high quality hardback:

The Workbench Book


(https://lostartpress.com/collections/workshop-books/products/the-workbench-book)I'd also suggest Christopher Schwarz's books. He wrote two while at PopWood, probably available from Amazon, and has a new one with his preferred Roubo model on the LAP website. (Free PDF or $30 for a hardback.)

OP, how do you intend to use your bench? To clamp to the face (to work on edges with handtools) you will want the top flush with the legs. OTOH- the overhang is nice for using clamps to the hold parts to the top, e.g. for working on faces or using powertools to work on edges.

[Levi Winters]

1. Where should I put my 2 top stretchers. Right up against the bench top, or below it? Pros cons?

Not up against the bench top because they will interfere with clamps, vises, and dog holes.

Would that create the risk of sagging?



Why use spruce for the legs and stretchers? If you are not using hardwood or (Cosman-style) laminate then doug fir would be strong, heavy, and relatively inexpensive compared with spruce. Also, it can be very helpful to have the legs flush with the front edge of the bench top and the vises mounted recessed into the bench top so that the edge of the bench top is the static jaw. It is also helpful to have a width greater than 65 cm if the bench will be used for assembly and finishing. There are workbench books and videos that swear by a 24" width but it is easy to find much wider examples of antique benches that were used by hand tool pros back in the day.

Spruce is really the only affordable option where I live (North West Europe). Douglas fir would be almost twice the cost. Plywood, aside from the still highly inflated price at the moment, is less than ideal because I work mostly with hand tools.

[Levi Winters]

OP, how do you intend to use your bench? To clamp to the face (to work on edges with handtools) you will want the top flush with the legs. OTOH- the overhang is nice for using clamps to the hold parts to the top, e.g. for working on faces or using powertools to work on edges.

Good point, it's a tradeoff, but it would definitely be nice to have to option to clamp boards that way.

At the moment I clamp a lot to the top of my work bench. But that's mainly because I don't have dog holes at the moment, I expect to do that less with this bench. I don't work on long boards a lot to be honest. I work a lot on smaller and more detailed stuff, so for about 90% of what I'd do the end vice will likely suffice. I also work predominently with handtools.

I mainly got into woodworking for building (electric) guitars. So I will be working a lot on the faces of projects. In that sense I think the ability to clamp to the top would likely be preferable for my purposes.

[George Yetka]

I would leave use some kind of support for the top MDF could sag over time. If your doing dog holes run your holes to miss the top stretchers and maybe 1 front to back.

Then I would keep the bottom low So you could throw drawers or a cabinet in later. If you go this route the top stretcher could be part of the cabinet.
I like the bench I inherited It is a solid top so I didnt need support for the top and I have 8-10" on top of the drawers underneath. Nice to have short clamps/shooting board/misc right there.

[Holmes Anderson]

Would that create the risk of sagging?


Spruce is really the only affordable option where I live (North West Europe). Douglas fir would be almost twice the cost. Plywood, aside from the still highly inflated price at the moment, is less than ideal because I work mostly with hand tools.

Yes, and the Cosman bench has aprons to support the top but your top is only about 50" long so the unsupported spans are only about 16" long so the MDF may be stiff enough. But maybe not.


Ok, my fault for assuming you were in North America. If you can buy clear spruce at an affordable price then maybe build the entire bench with spruce. Or use spruce strips glued to an MDF core for the top. I would attach the long aprons and stretchers with hardware so that the aprons could be removed and top replaced easily if the MDF and aprons are unsatisfactory.

[David Bassett]

Good point, it's a tradeoff, but it would definitely be nice to have to option to clamp boards that way. ...

I have my doubts about MDF as a top, but I don't like MDF and have never used it as a workbench top. So what do I know? (It occurs to me Festool's MFT is MDF and with stops and something like Lee Valley's "Bench Pup" or "Wonder Dog" clamps you might have all you need for electric guitars.)

But I really want to emphasize the book suggestions as a way to help you recognize and work thru tradeoffs for your own situation. At the very least you can download the PDF of Christopher Schwarz's latest workbench book for free:

Updated ‘Anarchist’s Workbench’ PDF (https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/07/07/updated-anarchists-workbench-pdf/)

While it is focused on constructing the style Chris favors, it does explain the features needed to do handtool work... and it's free.

I'm not sure of your shopping options, but the other books will show a broader range of designs and discuss tradeoffs in more depth, but aren't free. (LAP has a section on retailers, I know Dictum has stocked most of their books in the EU.)

[Holmes Anderson]

looks a lot like the Rob Cosman work bench. Search Rob Cosman workbench...

The top of the Cosman bench is 3" thick MDF (four 3/4" sheets glued up). https://robcosman.com/pages/newsletter-article-why-i-build-my-workbenches-out-of-mdf-and-plywood

Can the OP's 1 3/4" MDF top hold the lag screws that will attach the vises and base to the top? And with such as small bench, what is the cost difference between a 3" MDF top and a 3" solid wood top?

[Steven Woodward]

Consider going with a proven bench design. There are so many well regarded bench designs available, they have all the bugs and dimensions worked out through years of iteration.

Many years ago I built the Tage Frid bench shown in FWW 1977. Could never have designed that on my own. It has served well and is versatile. Just one of many great designs available.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/1976/10/01/work-bench

[Tom Bender]

Here's mine. 27" x 67" and 31" tall.

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The aprons are 3" x 5" eggs are 5" square

Weight 180 kg (400 pounds)

note sweeping option

The end vise is custom made and works great. You'll want the leather faces on the jaws to gently grip delicate pieces.

The metalworking vise is handy for metal work and good for small wooden pieces with the wood jaws installed

The longer overhang on one end is handy at times

The split top is also handy for clamping and it allowed me to glue the top directly to the aprons and legs