Thread: Top first?

Hi Grant, I think it would be hard to make a compelling argument either way. I've built one or two benches (more like 9 or 10 now ) & I've always done the top first. That's partly habit & partly because I've mostly used recycled wood, and the exact dimensions of the top depended on what I had to work with. I could never be absolutely certain that I was going to be able to follow my plans to the last 10mm, and since the undercarriage for the type of bench I'm talking about has to be pretty precisely matched to the top, top first it was.

The other reason to start with the top on your first bench is that you may not know exactly what height is going to suit you, and you may want to set it up on a temporary arrangement & use it a while, to decide. Even on the last bench I made, the top still had to come first because it was to be an auxillary bench, not the main work centre, & I wasn't quite sure what height I wanted it to be...

However, if you know exactly what height you want, it's just a matter of which parts are convenient to make first. You do need something to work on unless you are well-trained in the Asian traditions (what those guys can do holding the work on the floor with their feet is truly amazing to me! ). So if this is your first bench and you have nothing else, some sort of temporary bench would be essential, I'd reckon. Whether you organise that by incorporating parts of your new bench, or simply cobble up a temporary bench would be a matter of what's on hand and how much space you have to work in.....

Cheers,