On building your bench and tool usage - within the Sellers' method... I took the 9 day intensive course in 2012 when Mr. Sellers taught in Greenwich, NY. Getting wood to rough dimensions and mortising are two activities that seriously aggravate my joints, particularly elbows. I now rip longer boards (and plywood) with a Track saw, crosscut anything thicker than 2" with a Jig saw and make mortices by lamination (leaving a space). In our class, we were presented with stock already cut to length and milled to almost the final thickness - all by machine.