My dodgy first bench build

**Biggus** · 15th March 2020, 01:37 PM

After recently deciding that I'd like to learn how to do some 'proper' woodworking late last year the first item on the agenda was a wood working bench. Now let me be frank, until about three months ago the sum total of my wood working experience was knocking up a few bodgy things with scrap timber or MDF and held together with some hastily banged in screws of nails, purely utilitarian in nature with absolutely no concessions toward aesthetics or workmanship for that matter either. You can imagine I'm sure that I was not confident in my abilities to instantly metamorphose into an outstanding or even adequate woodworker, and so my first bench build has been made with the understanding that I'd probably build another in maybe a year.

With that in mind I decided to treat it as a practice piece and employ a variety of joinery techniques in an effort to learn as much as I could from the inevitable mistakes that I'd make, indeed already you can walk around it and see what was done early on and what is more recent. Still plenty to do but I thought I'd give all you pros a bit of a giggle, so here it isTop Pic.jpg Workbench.jpg Wedge Pic.jpg

**forrestmount** · 15th March 2020, 01:45 PM

Well done and a good approach. IMO You need a workbench to make a workbench.

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**Pat** · 15th March 2020, 02:19 PM

My first bench is pine, joined by steel joining plates. It works and is currently in the Turning shed as a repository.

**orraloon** · 15th March 2020, 02:57 PM

A bench is just a surface to work on when all is said and done and for a first go that is pretty good. As your work style evolves you will likely do some adjustments to it as well as have a list of features for the next bench. Good start.

Regards
John

**Biggus** · 15th March 2020, 03:18 PM

I still have to fit the vise and I also intend to build a drawer into the bottom of it to hold all my rapidly accumulating measuring and marking stuff while still leaving room under the top for clamping. The joinery is a mix of wedged mortise and tenon joins (wedged because I wasn't confident in my ability to cut accurate mortises, especially the 80mm deep ones in the frame) and interlocking rebates. The legs are solid 80mm pieces but everything else is laminated 80x40, so I decided to take advantage of this by cutting collars on the middle leg front and rear and laminating the horizontal stretchers around the legs. The bottom stretchers joining the front and rear of the frame also employ this method.

So far it weighs maybe 70 kilos, so it's about time to install the retracting casters to the corner legs as it's getting hard to move around. Once the vise is installed and a drawer or two with some stuff in it it has to be pushing 100 I guess. It's reassuringly solid and free of racking so far, fingers crossed!

**Biggus** · 10th July 2020, 10:07 PM

DSCN0051.jpg
Getting there, have to remake the front vise jaws but it's just nice to have a reasonably solid bench.

**labr@** · 11th July 2020, 04:07 PM

Looks like its come up rather well from here. You may find it will be adequate for longer than you expect.

I don't know if corrosion is a particular problem in your area but you will find that the tools under the bench will benefit from being covered. Something like tent canvas would be ideal, otherwise old sheets, denim etc with some oil or wax rubbed in would suffice.

**Mountain Ash** · 19th July 2020, 10:04 AM

Hi Biggus. I agree with Bob. Looks great and definitely functional. And very professional with the tools on the shelf

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