This project has been a long time coming. It essentially started 80 years ago when Morgan Van Matre published an article in American Rifleman magazine titled ‘Another “Smallest”’ about a small traveling workbench for gunsmithing.


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It first described a small bench that he found very useful and I thought so to, so I made one of those first. It wasn’t a construction article at all but he did give dimensions, so with that in mind in the fall of 1987 the first year of my business I built this.

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I’ve used it ever since. Two years ago I was helping install a deck on a 100’ boat so I put it to work and it saved a lot of on and off the boat fitting of pieces. It drew many comments and a few pics and I wouldn’t be surprised if the are a couple around the boatyard now.


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But the real bench of the article seemed to elude me, I just didn’t seem to be able to put the time aside to build it. Plus I wasn’t sure how to put it all together, as I said there were no details. In 2014 I had a bit of a lull at the shop and I had long since squirreled away the wood I would use. So I started with the base.


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Then the “legs” and front and side panels. The top was mortised for the legs and finally the back compartment wall was worked out.


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And that is were it sat till early this spring when I dug it out again, determined to finish it. Like the original two small drawers were dovetailed together. I finally figured out the drawer runners and they work great.


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Still more to do, and still sorting out the tools that will travel in it, so those installments will follow.
I just wanted to get something out there on the 80th anniversary month of the article.
This current bench on bench, small bench craze is not new at all.
Jim