Early Access Video: Four Workbench Mistakes
Added 2021-03-20 11:01:01 +0000 UTCFriends:
Lots of people in our community are building their first (or maybe second) workbench. Building a good bench isn't rocket-science, but there are a few common traps that many bench-builders fall into.
Join me for a tour of my first bench and the LONG list of things I wish I had done differently. After this, you'll know the big mistakes and how to avoid them.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
Totally agree. Plywood for the top. Been there, done that, no dogs in this shop... live and learn
Vasileios
2021-03-28 08:58:37 +0000 UTCHi Rex. Thanks for this great input from your experience. Any thoughts on building a workbench with an opening to integrate a SKIL 15 Amp 10 Inch Table Saw - TS6307-00? I am building my first workbench and wanted to integrate my new table saw into it.
Simone Spieker
2021-03-27 03:29:44 +0000 UTCGreat advice Rex. I am looking at a new bench now that my daughter has moved out, vacating the rump as room she had as a bedroom. I like the idea of the English joiners bench, but am also looking at something I can move easily so that I can work outside In fresher air (New Zealand has a good climate for this). Mobility suggestions would be a great addition to a future video.
David Coxon
2021-03-25 23:37:47 +0000 UTCThis is awesome. Thanks to the pandemic-getting out to get wood to build has been not optimal. I decided that to get going and avoid a lot of rookie mistakes I would order an inexpensive bench from that big box store. It came in yesterday! Today after the day gig I'll be laying it out and starting to build it. It should get me through long enough to learn what I want or need. (Olympia brand-don't get it on Amazon, the people there are upcharging for ordering through another retailer.) https://tinyurl.com/w6fvs53f
Jeanine Hoffman
2021-03-25 18:08:34 +0000 UTCGreat video! Congratulations on 3000+ Patrons!
Jim Williams
2021-03-25 13:17:06 +0000 UTCI have been reading books and plans for years now but am finally in the stage where I will be cutting lumber. I appreciate your thoughts on all of the considerations for the bench.
Paul Boegel
2021-03-24 20:20:12 +0000 UTCJust getting ready to start a new workbench build myself. This couldn't have been timed better. I've built a number of them over the years and even so this has me rethinking my design, materials, and approach.
Art Gelwicks
2021-03-23 14:38:17 +0000 UTCI'll put up pictures when it is complete... I've got the peices cut now, just got to get it together. My 'shop' is also my porch, so I have to do things weather permitting, and around my 'real' job. Lots of challenges, but I live by a philosophy of 'never be in a hurry'... less stress that way. I have enough with work, I don't need it with my downtime. :) I basically got the idea from a saw bench that Schwarz made. (There is a video as he teaches a class on it.) The 'bench' is just tall enough where I can use my knee as a clamp. The rest is the joiner's bench design, only with shorter aprons.
Nicholas Todd
2021-03-22 09:50:15 +0000 UTCWife and I researched a lot prior to build. Chose to go with a Moravian style. Really happy with it, and after watching this, happier still. Solid, portable, and excellent learning experience. We’ve not yet decided on a second vice. May go with a pattern makers vice in end due to some of what we plan on building, but the removable leg vice of the design (though requiring tweaks) is awesome. We knew what to look for because of your channel as well as a few others, and it’s been a joy. I love watching her get lost in creating with wood and having a bench she made, that actually works as her partner (vs a frustration) is really rewarding. No modifications to the original design of Moravian bench has proven wise since. Tried and true.
Cyn R Johnson
2021-03-22 01:37:16 +0000 UTCI agree with Bevan. I have found using all these guys really has helped my knowledge and skill level. Rex I really enjoy how you encourage giving things a try, that making a mistake is OK and that you learn from it. I totally agree. Today I had a friend send me an e-mail about whether he should he get a Grizzly 15" planer as it was a great price. He doesn't do much woodwork so I told him come over and use mine but if he really wants a neat experience try a few hand tools, learn a new "old" skill(s) and enjoy the experience.
Thor C. Ritz
2021-03-22 00:19:53 +0000 UTCThe sharpness and production quality of this video is tremendous. I am the kind of movie theater patron who goes up to the projectionist booth to inform that the picture is out of focus.
Thomas Harm
2021-03-21 22:03:31 +0000 UTCI hit the post button too soon.
Thomas Harm
2021-03-21 22:01:28 +0000 UTCMy problem was distinguishing between my needs for an "assembly table" and a "workbench." This is why so many novices build their workbenches too deep--they want one bench to function as both.
Thomas Harm
2021-03-21 22:00:53 +0000 UTCMan, you nailed all my first time bench mistakes. Have you looked at using Barillettes as an alternative to holdfasts? Chris Schwarz has really nice article on it. https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/the-holdfast-in-your-backyard/
Matthew Cox
2021-03-21 20:10:03 +0000 UTCHi Rex - great viedo. The viedo I would love the most to see is how to instal tail vise into your joiners bench - Do you think it would be possible? :)
Jarek Krzemieński
2021-03-21 19:22:15 +0000 UTCI'm about 80% of the way through a workbench build, and watched this with some trepidation! It's a bit late to change most of my design now, but fortunately I seem to have avoided the mistakes, I think mainly because of other videos of yours I've watched where you explain the reasoning and history behind things. For example my bench is 23" wide by 7ft long (just measured it!) - I'd have made it way too wide if it wasn't for something you'd said in a previous video about not going too wide.
hollo
2021-03-21 19:03:40 +0000 UTCIs the joiner's bench that you made a video about covers these points ?
Alex Nepu
2021-03-21 15:52:50 +0000 UTCThanks!
Tello De Santis
2021-03-21 15:36:02 +0000 UTCI have a couple of adjustable sawhorses and a sheet of 3/4" plywood cut into thirds plus a pile of planks that needs to be planed. When I can find the time I am going to do some experiments to find what my nominal bench height should be. The spindly little saw horse legs are rock solid laterally (planing direction) and like rubber fore and aft. That really drove home how much more efficient angled legs are. I am now approaching my 200th revision to my bench design, so one more really doesn't matter. I have a nice wooden ~No. 4 size smoother but my current go-to plane is a standard Bailey style No. 5.
Jephrey South
2021-03-21 14:54:18 +0000 UTCwhere can I see pictures of your low joiners bench?
KingQueso
2021-03-21 14:47:19 +0000 UTCThere are a few good ones on YouTube. Laura Kampf and Patrick Sullivan have really good ones, plus there's one by Fine Woodworking that's nice as well. Here are the links: Laura: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjqWvpdNbms&ab_channel=LauraKampf Patrick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2fNDxa2GIM&ab_channel=PatrickSullivan FWW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIguWLiQHOs&ab_channel=FineWoodworking
Jake Cotumaccio
2021-03-21 14:41:35 +0000 UTCHi from Columbus, Rex! Despite your advice about innovation, I'm doing it. I came across your channel when I first decided to get into woodworking as a hobby, and of course, I was going to need a bench, and at the time, you had two cheap ones... the 'Low Roman' and the 'Joiner's Bench'. After some agonizing, and reading Shwarz's 'The Anarchist's Workbench'... this is what I came up with for my first bench... I call it the 'Low Joiner's Bench', a combination of the two (Roman and Joiner's). (I also had found a video on someone who made a low version of the Anarchist bench, so they could sit on it.) I'm really excited to see if this works out. Of course, I must end by saying that I really enjoy your videos, both style and substance. Once a week doesn't seem enough. :)
Nicholas Todd
2021-03-21 14:23:56 +0000 UTCHi 👋 I'm new to the patreon 🤗 Very happy to be here. This is my favorite tv show. And perhaps not surprisingly, given that, this topic is great timing for me. I've been thinking of making a bench vice with pipe clamps, and would love to see your take on that. (this video is amazing on that: https://youtu.be/TeprY3nwH9w ) Having made a, um, paper towel holder, I already know that NO piece of wood has parallel sides (especially when you're planing it with a harbor freight plane with no chip breaker and using junk wood) so twin screws is the way to go. ✌
Colin Hartz
2021-03-21 04:48:21 +0000 UTCYou know, built my first bench just before I met your channel. I built a Nicholson, why? Because I had no money for vises and no vises kicking about. I followed the late 1800 instructions from a house carpenter I found kicking about in an old old book in the library. Mortise and Tenon joints, aprons lapped into the legs. The bench used a plywood top instead of the solid spruce recommended in the book. I had plywood, but only 2 2x10s for the aprons. So, plywood. It was a pretty decent bench, BUT!!! 4 legs, 8 ft long, plywood top. After a year of really hard farm use, it began to sag in the middle. Bench 2.0 has 6 legs. It is now strong enough for my abuse. I can take it apart, because I bolted all the joints, rather than glue. I love it. I'm not sure I'd ever build another, unless this one fails in some way. A lot of guys want me to build a fancy bench, with fancy hardwoods, and contrasting colours, and exposed joinery etc. I've seen their benches, they are beautiful. But they don't use them, instead they use the bench they made from scraps. "I want to give this bench to my kids". Hmm. Not for me. I need a bench I can use for everything, including fixing farm machinery, electronics, guitars, furniture, framing photos and paintings, you name it. Thanks Rex, always a really good idea to consider simpler options. I love your English Bench, it is truly an exemplary bench. I'm sure that for a first bench it is going to point nearly everyone towards what they actually need, and that design will indeed allow you to evolve the bench to what you need.
William Allen
2021-03-21 02:30:51 +0000 UTCJeffrey-I’m currently building a Roubo style bench and I’ve been using Christopher Schwarz’s “The Workbench Design Book” as a guide. Rex gave the main way to figure out bench height with the pinky joint entering-the-hand formula. Schwarz uses that principle, too, but mentions two other common ways to determine height. One way is having the bench height based upon the height of the palms when your palms and arms are at rest on the bench top. Another way is the bench being at wrist height when your arms are at rest along your sides. I guess these different ways are for different arm lengths? Anyways, another thing to think about is if you do a lot of planing on your benchtop, are you predominantly using a metal plane or a wooden or transitional plane? A metal plane allows for a little more height, while a wooden plane is usually 2 1/2-3” in height. If you use wooden planes as your main planes, making it about 3” lower will compensate for those higher plane bodies. All this to say that when your planing, you don’t want your bench so low that you have to lean over it, not too high.
Sean O'Neill
2021-03-21 02:28:03 +0000 UTCMy mistake on mu first bench that was too wide and I put storage along the back and underneath. Lots of storage but no room to do anything and not accessible from both sides. Time to build a another bench for work.
Lawrence Burr
2021-03-21 02:13:58 +0000 UTCThe dovetail stretcher is totally unnecessary. I used recycled 2x4 for a bottom thru mortise stretcher on the leg assembly and recycled 2x6 for the bridal joint upper stretcher, no need for a third stretcher. I used 4x6 for the long stretchers rather than laminate 2x6 for these, saved time and the tenon ends are thus solid and 1 1/4 thick (more meat for the tusk tenon mortise) while leaving 11/8 on either side of the leg mortise. Most bench builders laminate many 2x4s together for the top...again too much work. I laminated 3 4x6 edgwise, giving me a 16 1/2" wide top, joined the edges w my Stanley #7. Tried the tool tray which would be useful if the bench stands in the middle of the floor. Mine is up against the wall in my one car garage, and the tray just filled with shavings. pulled it, left a 1 1/2" inch gap, and laminated two more 4x6s to make a split top, into which I fitted another recycled 2x4 with several 5/8" mortises lengthwise. This is notched for the bridal joint stretchers, can pop it up and slide it over for a planing stop, most of the time chisels and back saws slip into the 5/8 mortises for ready access. I had to select the 4x6 carefully, used a cutoff to make the leg vise block which mortises into the long stretcher, leg assembly, and top. Works great. I added a chamfered 2x4 to the front long stretcher and mortised the underside of the top for a deadman traveler, another 4x6 cutoff with 3/4 holes bored for holdfasts to support long boards. Once the main bench is assembled the vise and traveler are easy to add, pop the top to work on the under side, the leg assembly is rock solid with just long stretchers and tusk tenons. Long winded discussion, sorry;)
John Griswold
2021-03-21 00:39:34 +0000 UTCI would agree with that idea normally, but after putting an apron on the workbench it is hard to sit close.
Tello De Santis
2021-03-21 00:31:04 +0000 UTCI was thinking the same thing.
Tello De Santis
2021-03-21 00:30:11 +0000 UTCThanks!
Tello De Santis
2021-03-21 00:29:46 +0000 UTCMy first bench was for my lathe and built Steve Ramsey style, it worked ok and suited my limited skill set, number two bench is the same idea but I made way too wide at 104cm, it won’t move when used but it also won’t be easy to move when I need a new place to call home and work holding is a bit, well average. Clamps are my friend
Wayne
2021-03-20 23:13:27 +0000 UTCHave a look at Pask Makes on YouTube, Neil did one of these a while ago which might work for you.
Wayne
2021-03-20 23:08:53 +0000 UTCHow about making the joiners bench frame work and adding the top you have?
Wayne
2021-03-20 23:03:08 +0000 UTCI really liked the last few video's a lot. A bit ago, you mentioned something about creative burnout or the amounts of videos or such. Maybe it was a recent video, maybe something you wrote on the forums, I really don't recall. But that's why I mentioned that I found these last few to have a positive feel to them again.
Eloque
2021-03-20 23:02:20 +0000 UTCTalk about timing, I just finished putting my bench together about three weeks ago. I started the top two years ago by laminating up 2x4s for a Paul Sellers bench. As you mentioned I made it longer (90"), deeper (21" + 4" tray) and at 38" high to the top surface. I chose 38" height because, for me, that is a comfortable planing height. Regardless of the bench style you build, build it solid, from decent materials and as you say Rex, think about what you might need in a bench in the future. Use your first bench as a foundation.
Matt Evans-Koch
2021-03-20 22:51:29 +0000 UTCI like that idea and was planning to add a moxon vise for that purpose.
William Fishburne
2021-03-20 22:47:06 +0000 UTCThat's so nice! I'm very glad to be your after-work activity.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:43:15 +0000 UTCHonestly, I've never felt the need. But I also don't carve, so it hasn't been an issue for me. When I need to get closer to the work, I sit down. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make one.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:42:39 +0000 UTCI bet! We don't have red cedar in OH, but I bet it's very stiff.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:41:36 +0000 UTCYou're totally right, but I sometimes have trouble convincing people to have confidence in themselves. I believe in people but they often don't believe in themselves.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:41:02 +0000 UTCIt's very much my pleasure. The learning process is the point!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:39:40 +0000 UTCYou're so very welcome!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:39:18 +0000 UTCI'm not sure why I would have included it in a discussion of bench mistakes? It's a good bench, but it doesn't seem super-related to the topic.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:39:05 +0000 UTCIt's hard to say if the videos have been more frustrated recently. My moods go up and down like anyone's I suppose. I bet that gets into the videos some times.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:38:17 +0000 UTCYou're very welcome. I love mine, too.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:37:15 +0000 UTCAll of these things are true! And if you ever outgrow the low Roman, it still makes a dandy saw-bench.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:37:03 +0000 UTCI am currently researching another historical bench that I hope will be built this year and will replace the bench in this video. Stay tuned!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:36:17 +0000 UTCYou really do and bootstraping with the low Roman works very well.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:35:35 +0000 UTCI really think the Moravian might be the ultimate portable/knock-down bench. I'm always really impressed with it.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:35:11 +0000 UTCMy first "bench" had steel legs. I do not miss it.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:34:26 +0000 UTCAll very good points and worth making. My arms are pretty long, FWIW.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:34:03 +0000 UTCAgreed. Always more to discover. And I have ADD.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 22:33:18 +0000 UTCAnother great video. My first bench was from plans with my Kreg Jig that i did two years ago. After watching this video and reading articles by Chris Schwarz about benches I’m thinking of the English joiners bench will be a good addition. Thank Rex for great content again. Just finished my shift at work and came home to watch this.
Jason Ransom
2021-03-20 21:21:03 +0000 UTCHey Rex, do you think you might make a mini-work bench to set on top of a full-size work bench? Maybe to do dovetailing, carving, etc closer to eye level.
Tello De Santis
2021-03-20 21:20:24 +0000 UTCThanks for a great video! My first bench incorporated half lap joinery and carriage bolts as you describe. Glad I went that route for my first try. The ugly Douglas fir 4x4s at the lumber yard were so wet they started moving and twisting as soon as they came inside. So I went back and bought some lovely red cedar posts that were stable, dry and ready to use. Even though the wood is light, it made great legs!
Laura Reutter
2021-03-20 20:14:40 +0000 UTCRex, this was great for anyone building a bench. I like how you used your own experience as an all power tool guy to where you are now and the idea of adaptability in building a bench for others, should they start going the hand tool route. I think we all want to just get something together that’s going to help us get going in woodworking, but we don’t always consider how a badly designed or poorly constructed bench can literally make it hell and thus, not enjoyable to continue in the craft. I bought that harbor freight bench a year ago and it was everything you described in the bad commercially produced benches out there with the composite wood construction, bad joinery and cheapie hardware and vises. I realize some tenon work can be a bit daunting and somewhat beyond new woodworkers, but maybe doing some practice mortises and tenons on some scrap before doing it on the bench could get someone confident before diving into that. I’m taking on doing a Roubo. I’ve gotten the bench top bottom flattened and I’m getting ready for making the legs and those mortises and tenons. I’ve really learned a lot in just doing this part of it and have grown in confidence in planing. I’ll probably do a little practice on some scrap ahead of time. You’re right that you need a certain set of skills to build a bench well, but if you give it a shot, you learn so many skills in the process.
Sean O'Neill
2021-03-20 18:55:38 +0000 UTCI’m using 4x4 douglas fir for the legs and am hopeful they’ll be be adequate. As I mentioned above, I’m thinking about using Rex’s idea for a slanted leg vise on the slanted legs. I may eventually learn that this is a bad idea, but Rex’s angled vise had to compensate for the straight leg of the English joiners bench, while the standard Moravian design has to add extra components to make a vertical leg vise work with the angled legs. I’d love to see a simplified version of the traditional plans. The dovetail stretcher, for example, feels more like a historical aesthetic embellishment than strictly practical, for example.
Peter Schmiedeskamp
2021-03-20 18:21:02 +0000 UTCWell that's smart. Thank you for that.
John Hiemstra
2021-03-20 17:31:02 +0000 UTCThanks to you both. The grain is working against us. Obvious things are obvious once somebody else points it out. It would be far more efficient just to add more thickness of pine if needed. It was easy enough when I was just planning on using my old corded drill with a rasp and sanding block to turn down the shovel handle. Even if I had some thick enough hardwood to change the grain orientation, turning it down would then really require a proper lathe and gouges which is far more money and effort than I am willing to invest. And as a bonus, I now have the perfect place for my worst pine planks!
Jephrey South
2021-03-20 17:29:04 +0000 UTCI am getting ready to build a workbench. The points you made in this video are very helpful in what I need in my design for both now and as my skills improve over time. My plan is to start with the basic English Jointers bench and add to it as I learn what my needs are. Thanks for your valued experience and willingness to share both success and mistakes both contribute to the learning process.
Jeff Hill
2021-03-20 17:13:19 +0000 UTCRex, that EXCELLENT video couldn’t have been more timely for me! You answered most of the important questions that have been swirling in my head for so long now. So thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!
Russell Gough
2021-03-20 17:04:05 +0000 UTCYo, Rex; where is the love for the low bench? I made the "Rexoman" bench and am enjoying it. Thinking up new ways for simple holding (w help from Schwartz' book). Just wondering why you skipped it.
Benjamin Frayser
2021-03-20 16:28:24 +0000 UTCBeen preparing the workbench building for a while now, glad Rex is covering this. Also, the video's seem to have a way more positive vibe to them now. Don't know if it was just me, but there almost seemed to be a bit of I don't know, frustration of sorts in the last few video's since about the start of this year. But the ones about the table and now this feel good, upbeat and optimistic again. Maybe it's just me, but since I can only speak for myself, I will say I liked this video.
Eloque
2021-03-20 16:27:00 +0000 UTCI love the English joiner bench. It’s so much more solid and substantial than I could’ve imagined. Thanks so much for your videos and plans
Colin McKenna
2021-03-20 16:10:03 +0000 UTCGreat video! Thanks! Built a "mini" low roman bench and just really love how my weight adds to the holding possibilities in a form function that works well for a super small apt and also doubles as extra seating when needed. As my skills have grown, I really appreciate how the bench design has allowed it to grow, too: the same mortise for the initial single plane stop now can hold adjustable palms, built with scrap wood. Now I can plane longer and wider boards more easily as I've tried to make bigger things. And the bench can still grow: dog holes, side cuts for wedges: I anticipate these will also allow me to grow a little bit more.
Damion Stodola
2021-03-20 15:28:19 +0000 UTCThanks for the video Rex! Love the content, newly subscribed patron! I'm super excited for you to cover a roubo-esk style bench since I'm a beginnerish type bloke. The English joiners bench would be perfect for my skill set, but I really wanted my first woodworking bench to have a few more features, and honestly, to be a little more, um... fancy? The English joiners bench is perfect for the utilitarian woodworker, and honestly I probably should just make that, but I feel like I want to show off my first work bench as a testament to my passion for woodworking, and be proud of the fit and finish of the end product.
D Myers
2021-03-20 15:23:51 +0000 UTCRex that was a great video and the timing is perfect for me. My goal is to build a Moravian workbench, but I decided to build your $30 Roman workbench in the mean time. In fact last night I rewatched three of your videos last night to get started. Let's face it I will need a decent bench to build the Moravian workbench legs.
Jerry Kingzett
2021-03-20 15:14:03 +0000 UTCAlways worth considering the Moravian bench for a first bench. It does use through mortises for the leg assembly stretchers and tusk tenons to tighten the long stretchers, but these joints don't have to be perfect to work well, great opportunities to practice your joinery in a low consequence project. One beauty of the Moravian is that it gains rigidity through the geometry of its joinery. The leg assemblies slant at 16 degrees towards the middle of the bench along its length, much like many traditional saw horses and table saw or power miter stands. When the top drops onto the dowel pegs it locks the undercarriage into a trapezoid shape, much like a bridge trestle, and incredibly rigid. The other beauty is that it knocks apart or assembles in about a minute into pieces you can carry, or put in the back of your hatch back car, or carry up an elevator. I simplified mine from the excellent pattern offered by Will Meyers, using box store 4x6 for legs, long stretchers, and glued up for a 3 1/2" thick top, and used 2x4 for the lower leg assembly through mortise stretcher and 2x6 for the top bridle joint leg assembly stretcher. Bomb proof portable bench for $100 or so in materials. Just wish I could get southern yellow pine at my box store, envy you guys in the South East;)
John Griswold
2021-03-20 15:08:53 +0000 UTCThanks Rex, you've brought out a lot of points on what I don't like about my current bench. It has a great wood top 3", but has steel legs that aren't too stable when sawing larger boards, shaping, etc. Looks like I'm going to have to build another bench.
Kevin S Thomas
2021-03-20 15:01:06 +0000 UTCKeeping the top is the best idea. If you just add some blocking under the places where you want holdfast holes, you won't even need to thicken the whole thing.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:43:31 +0000 UTCThe holdfast just exerts such force that the bushings all split...almost instantly. They had essentially no effect. Oh, and a pine top will be fine as long as you install blocking for the holdfast holes. I detail this in the plans.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:41:07 +0000 UTCI would just spread everything out a little bit. A little more distance between each component and everything will be fine. The design is over-built anyway.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:39:59 +0000 UTCIn old shops it was common to have a platform for shorter guys and even dig a hole in the ground for taller guys to stand in. (I'm not kidding; this was actual practice.) In my smithing club, all the anvils are at the same height but we have many younger and shorter members so we have a bunch of little wood platforms to throw down next to the anvil. Works very well.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:38:50 +0000 UTCI am compelled to add a comment about the bench height. This came to me after your excellent explanation about the width of the bench percolated for a little bit. The only guaranteed truth about bench height is that it is a very personal dimension. Everything that I have ever seen regarding bench height uses some reference to the hand at your side. This is pretty close but I think that it is misleading. If you look at it from an ergonomic standpoint, the reference measurement should be from your hip pivot point with your feet roughly shoulder width apart. Using the various hand references, I invariable get a result that is painfully low for me. That is because I have orangutan arms and a little scoliosis thrown in for good measure but that simply helped me to see the discrepancy. I don't know what a good rule of thumb for how many inches below your measured your hip pivot point the bench height should be, but I do think that it would be the proper reference point. Just like your bench width explanation, the comfortable width to pick up a tool at the back of your bench is a function of your individual arm length and bench height relative to your shoulder height. This conundrum is the single most significant excuse for me not starting the construction of my "real" bench. It is possible to make a bench shorter, but significantly more difficult to make it higher.
Jephrey South
2021-03-20 14:36:05 +0000 UTCMaybe you just want to build another base inside and just move the TOP when the seasons change? I bet the top is pretty good.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:34:37 +0000 UTCI bet this village can make a pretty good bench.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:33:51 +0000 UTCEverything you say is wise. Heavier is better. I've noticed that front legs of the bench really need to be stout. The rear can be a little slimmer if necessary. It's surprising how FEW historical benches incorporate storage. I tend to think it's unwise. A shelf is a great thing to have and perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the EJB is that it doesn't have a shelf.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:33:33 +0000 UTCThat's funny; I'm often trying to get people to be LESS critical of their work. But I take your meaning; bench designs are harder than they seem and it pays to think in a methodical way.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:29:41 +0000 UTCI would spread all the components out pretty evenly, so increase the distance between the trestles, ribs, key, etc. You can make the overhang (past the legs) a bit longer. There's a lot of potential for tool storage in there.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:28:41 +0000 UTCI think Geoffrey pretty much has the answer here. I think laminating is the key to working with 2x material in bench building. My English Joiners' Bench could be made with 2x material. You would probably want to laminate the top with 2x4s glued face-to-face and then make the legs a bit shorter to make up for the increased thickness of the top.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:27:18 +0000 UTCI love it when I hear people say this is the last bench they will ever build. Lol. It reminds of my time building super luxury homes for people and they saying at the start this will be their forever home until they live there for a few years and realize it's time for another upgrade or change of venue. So I don't think I will ever day my last workbench is my "forever workbench".
Stephen Ellis
2021-03-20 14:25:39 +0000 UTCMost of the components in that bench don't need to be super-square. Maybe tell me a bit more about the trouble you're having?
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:25:01 +0000 UTCJames Wright uses two leg vises and likes it very much.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:24:17 +0000 UTCReally I cannot wait to see that bench.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:23:23 +0000 UTCGood news: I plan to always do this kind along with the furniture and tool stuff.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:23:05 +0000 UTCUnless your pine is super soft or crumbly, which I doubt since you are building a bench with it. Then there isn't any reason to make hardwood bushings or sleeves for your hold fasts or dogs to slide into. They might eventually get a little loose over time but that will take years and years. I have worked on several pine or poplar benches that were decades old that had hardly any compression in the dog holes.
Stephen Ellis
2021-03-20 14:22:48 +0000 UTCThat's frustrating!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:22:30 +0000 UTCI do not use a tail vise, but I've also never tried one and I'm quite keen to give it a go. When I build another bench later this year, I do plan on trying out a tail-vise. You don't need one. Holdfasts will do the same job, but they take more skill to use.
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:22:16 +0000 UTCExcellent. That was the goal!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:20:38 +0000 UTCI would like for that to happen. (Especially the "lot of new traffic" part.")
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 14:20:17 +0000 UTCWhen I first got into woodworking a few years ago, my wife bought me a pre-made bench that I felt was a good start and would grow with me. I'm still growing, but the only good thing about this bench is the top. It came with a tail vise (that I tried to turn into a face vise, then moved it back...), bench dogs, and drawers. The drawers were crap and every time I planed, the drawers open up. So I took two out (after one stopped sliding because the cheap bearing busted out and spilled on the floor). I want to upgrade this bench because my wife got it for me and I don't want to risk hurting her feelings and it means a lot to me that she supports my hobby. So I'm trying to find a way of doing BOTH. I may keep the top (and thicken it to accept hold fasts), but build new sturdier legs. I do hate using the bench to store stuff because it does rattle, but I only have a corner of the garage, so storage is at a premium. Thank you for this video (and the others) as it's coming as the weather is getting warmer and I can get back I to the garage more often to procrastinate on projects I want to do but I'm afraid if screwing them up!
Carl Schultz
2021-03-20 14:18:29 +0000 UTCYou can make a Roubo style bench from 2x4s, if you laminated any time you needed it to be thicker. So, laminate 2 2x4s for the legs, laminate a bunch for the top, and either laminate 2 more for each stretcher, or go with just a single 2x4 for the stretchers.
Geoffrey Wilson
2021-03-20 14:12:47 +0000 UTCI’m building the Moravian bench right now. I bought the video plans made by Will Myers which has answered a lot of my questions. I’m planning on building an angled leg vise as well. When I see the traditional leg vise on the Moravian bench and see the efforts they made to make a vertical vise on that angled leg, I immediately thought of Rex’s angled leg vise. It seems like an angled vise on an angled leg solves a couple problems. I was suckered in by Rob Cosman on the idea of an MDF top. The top I’m working on is very heavy, long-ish (~64 inches), narrow-ish (19”), and I hope will work okay. I really need the ability to tear down and pack away my bench, which seems to be a unique characteristic of the Moravian bench. I’d love get Rex’s treatment of it, because it’s a classic that a lot of beginners look at because of the portability aspect. Edit: also, I like the leg vise idea so much, I’m thinking of perhaps adding two, which would give me some options for moxon-like clamping of very long pieces.
Peter Schmiedeskamp
2021-03-20 14:09:41 +0000 UTCThanks Rex. Why did the hardwood bushings not work for the holdfasts? I was planning to use 1 1/2" OD ash bushings from a shovel handle in my pine bench. Was it the composite surface that refused to cooperate or some hidden property of bushings that I am not thinking about? As always, another great video.
Jephrey South
2021-03-20 13:59:35 +0000 UTCGreat video. I have the English Workbench plans, have purchased the wood and am about to start making it. Is there an easy way to adopt the plans to make it a little longer? Do I need to move the placement of the cross pieces to maintain stability? Thanks
Lawrence Furbish
2021-03-20 13:49:14 +0000 UTCThank you for the video and for talking about the height of the bench. I am 5'6" and have been working at benches that are clearly too tall for me my whole life (I am, well, over 50). I had no idea what an advantage you tall guys had. Using the pinky test, my bench has to come down 9". That is way more than trimming the legs will allow. I am trying to figure out how to handle this and I'm thinking some sort of hinged platform attached to the front of the bench is the way to go so that I raise my height rather than lower the bench (which would screw up the leg vise something awful). Maybe that platform could also work as a short Roman bench or something like that for sawing...I'm open to ideas if anyone has suggestions. I have very little space in my shop, so something that stays down or even has to be stored under the English Joiner's Bench would not work.
William Fishburne
2021-03-20 13:26:36 +0000 UTCAnother excellent teaching session professor Krueger. LOL. I have inherited one of those sjoberg benches from my deceased father in law. I love it except that is racks alot when using a plane. I'm thinking I'm ready for the gold standard joint. I am in a very cold climate (-30 celsius sometimes) and bring the bench inside in the winter. So the half lap makes more sense for moving. Or maybe I'll someday make a second bench...hmmm. Thank you for the hard work you put into these lessons.
John Hiemstra
2021-03-20 13:26:33 +0000 UTCI have found that the leg vise with a sloping front is pretty useful. I left mine square and then ended up cutting into it constantly...it is covered in saw marks. I will round mine over soon. I talked with Rex about a tail vise and he recommended one from Veritas that could be installed in the English Joiner's Bench: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/workbenches/benchtop-accessories/66819-veritas-inset-vise?item=05G3101 I plan to install that as the next upgrade to my bench after I figure out the height problem (see below).
William Fishburne
2021-03-20 13:19:38 +0000 UTCGreat info Rex. It takes a village to raise a child and to make the perfect workbench...
Thomas Danaher
2021-03-20 13:16:21 +0000 UTCI have been dragging home white oak trimmings from the ship project I've been working on the last few years with the idea of replacing my "modern" workbench with something better. I have enough 2" stock in random widths for a top 2'x7'. One thing Rex didn't mention in the video is the weight of your bench. Within reason heavier is better. It keeps your bench stable when you are pounding, planing, etc. I'll end up with a top which should weigh around 110 lbs. I'm looking at oak or ash for the base, probably 3x3, although I might be able to scrounge enough 4x4 stock for the legs. I was considering storage under the bench but there has to be toe clearance under the lower stretcher and clearance above any cabinet for hold fast so maybe that's a bad idea.
Fred Gosbee
2021-03-20 13:03:18 +0000 UTCThank you for making this video. It is great of you to share your experience with us. This video just saved me countless headaches and opened my eyes to be more critical in my project builds.
Jacob Downing
2021-03-20 12:42:44 +0000 UTCThanks again, Rex. If by chance I wanted to make the English Joiner's Bench 7', anything I need to think about besides making the sides longer?
Sean McGown
2021-03-20 12:36:32 +0000 UTCLove it Rex! I am in the midst of re-engineering my bench, because I made most of those same mistakes. I was 15 when I made the bench though (20 years ago, yikes I am starting to get old!) and this was before we had YouTube showing us how people worked on traditional benches. This might seem like a very specific one for you, but can you come up with a design that uses only 2b4 timbers? Here in Australia, you basically cannot get construction grade untreated pine in anything bigger than 2b4 since our building codes basically require H2 or H3 (sometimes H4) treated pine for construction. If there is one thing you can get almost anywhere in the world, it is 2b4 (or 90x45mm) construction pine.
Martin Hartley
2021-03-20 12:31:11 +0000 UTCHello Rex. Thanks for the great tips, as I’m about half way through the EJB build. Making things square in this build is a challenge, and would be great to see how you deal with that. I’m going slow, disassembling sometimes, planning and rejoining or refastening. But every time I remove some wood, there is a compromise to make somewhere else. I find it it very tricky!
Pete seddon
2021-03-20 12:27:59 +0000 UTCI'm thinking of making my next bench a Moravian with the angled leg vise and a Jay Bates style pipe clamp end vise. I'll start the build as soon as I have the materials for the top cleaned and planed. I'll be sure to make a thread in the discourse group.
Tsani Rósenov Sábev
2021-03-20 12:24:12 +0000 UTCGood morning! Now these are the videos I signed up for when I subscribed! These are some of my favorite types of videos, and as I look into making a new bench, this is exactly stuff I want to learn. Thank you, Rex!
Jake Tackett
2021-03-20 12:16:33 +0000 UTCGreat, I am just building my joiners bench and already found a few things I should have made differently :D
Ysjoelfir
2021-03-20 12:16:03 +0000 UTCWould like thoughts on the following as I am a newbie. I have a small work area and only can place a workbench along one wall/corner thus this eliminates using a end vise. Looking at video it shows using a plane stop for large wood. Is there ever a reason I might need end bench with the dog ears and if so could building the dog ears into the English Workbench Leg vise mimic end vise since I can't install one OR is this something I really might never need?
Thor C. Ritz
2021-03-20 12:08:33 +0000 UTCGreat information. I expect I will be building a new workbench within the next few years, so this is useful.
Robert A Carbo
2021-03-20 12:02:32 +0000 UTCGreat stuff here Rex! Looks like this one will bring you a lot of new traffic to the channel and hopefully introduce them to a new hobby :)
Andrew Bourbonnais-Brown
2021-03-20 12:00:31 +0000 UTCYou're very welcome!
Rex Krueger
2021-03-20 11:45:39 +0000 UTCThanks for the great video.
Steve Zimmerman
2021-03-20 11:27:06 +0000 UTC
