1st workbench

[Mitchell Ristine]

I am about to start building my first workbench. I have 7-8 6/4 white ash boards from my brother in law’s barn (they were shelves). They’re about 7 feet long. I plan on making a laminated top about 2 inches thick. Mortise and tenon joinery for the base.

I am thinking about a 66” x 22” top. But I’d also like a tool trough on one side in addition to the 22” work surface. I know what I want it to look like; I just don’t know how to get that top done with it looking nice and being rock solid. Ideally the tool trough would be deeper than the 2” thickness of the top, and I can accomplish that through the incorporation of an apron around the perimeter.

Now I am open to suggestions for the joinery on the top and how to join the top to the base. To aid, here’s what’s in my head for the base.

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[Todd Zucker]

Are the boards plain sawn? If so, you might want to rip them into 2x2 strips, joint the edges and glue up. I am not a workbench expert, but I think just jointing the edges of wide, plain sawn boards and gluing them up for the top would make for a surface that would tend to cup over time.

On my workbench, which is a Roubo style, the front legs are flush with the front of the bench, which is useful for clamping.

I attached the top to the base with steel washers that look like a figure eight. Have never had any problems with it moving or getting loose.

I have read that having an apron instead of a solid top from front to back makes it difficult to clamp in some cases, but my top is less than 2" thick except for the front apron, and I don't find that to be much of an issue.

[William Fretwell]

If the top is solid and the leg frame solid then dowels as locating pins through the top stretcher into the underside of the top will hold it in place. You have to allow for top seasonal movement so either just underpin the front of the bench on each side or elongate the holes at the back of the bench. Most benches the sheer weight of the top is all you need.
You can use pairs of pins at the front and singles at the back.
When you make your leg frame ensure you have room for your feet to move freely and you can sit with your knees under the bench using a stool. With light wood a double stretcher design works or with massive wood a single stretcher half way up will work.
i just posted my new bench on the Neanderthal forum. It may be the best place to ask for help.

[David Utterback]

Built one years ago after reading 3 or 4 books about workbenches. C. Schwartz was the best, imho, and I used Lang's model for my bench.

I placed my tool tray in the center because I could support larger projects on the wider bench top surface and I could machine plane the tops after each half was glued together. If you plane by hand, the later reason would not apply. I would also recommend the vertical legs be coplaner with both bench edges. It makes clamping options more versatile.