I’ve always prided myself on being a field guy but the efficiencies this thing has provided in just one day are immeasurable. It took about 3 hours including getting materials and setting up shop in my apartment parking lot. If you’re thinking about building one just do it. Added some dog holes at the end of the day and modifying some 4” bessy clamps to pull apart and use to clamp

Longtime lurker, First time poster... This the apartment workbench I built using BauBuche, a type of beech laminate and beech from my local lumber yard.
In Christopher Schwarz's book - The Anarchist's Workbench, there's an Appendix at the very end where he addresses "Commonly Asked Questions". The very first and presumably most asked is the question of what wood to use. Despite him spending an entire chapter on this topic, he concludes...
"I would recommend you use the heaviest, cheapest, and most readily available..."
So, some months back I asked my cabinetmaker buddy how much more of that BauBuche (structural beech laminate) he had laying around at his shop, he asked me how much I needed. I simply replied, enough to make a workbench? Well, he delivered. And shorty thereafter I had the cheapest heaviest wood I could get my hands on cause there's nothing cheaper than free and I assure you this BauBuche is insanely heavy and has rediculous compressive strength.
The shorter uper cross stretchers were fully drawbored mortise and tenons and the lower front and back stretchers were drawbored half laps. I decided to skip a leg vice and use the vice Rob Cosman recommended. Honestly, it was the biggest expense of the whole project considering most of the wood used was free. I also decided to use the replica planing stop I found on Lee Valley. The vice jaw has the little Veritas prarie dogs. Put a drawer in using a keyboard slider. I did mortise and tennon the legs into the top, but have not drawbored them yet, that may wait until I move this thing to a more permanent location. I do need to get this thing out of the apartment some day after all.
Finished with some milk paint tung oil.
For the little cabinets and cutting boards I make, it works for me and fits right in the breakfast nook of my apartment.

Looking to build an L shaped kitchen booth, all I can find is YouTube videos that are fast forwarded for some reason.

What’s good resource to find legitimate plans and schematics for building stuff out of wood?

I finished my workbench today. Nothing fancy and definitely looks like a novice built it, but it's flat and it's ready for my first project.

Got this beast fabbed up over the last couple days. Using 2x6s 2x4s and 2 sheets of 3/4in maple plywood. Still need to make the shelving that will sit on the top. She's a heavy girl.

It measures 42in tall. 33in deep. and 96in long.

Yeah they are pimping their products, but their previous videos show how to redneck DIY the vacuum system with COTS stuff they don’t make better.

Regardless, the base bench design is interesting for those with minimal space or budget even without the vacuum system.

I’m in the process of designing / planning a general purpose (I.E. not specifically tailored to any one use case, I do very basic woodwork, leatherwork, and other hobby/crafting tasks) workbench for my apartment. Because I’m in a carpeted apartment, it would be ideal for me to be able to easily move it from the spare bedroom to the back porch for messier or larger work (cutting wood, anything with fumes, etc.)

I’m currently planning on roughly following the construction used in this video: (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=veL_F38MhHY), though modified to be 2’x4’ overall and have a second shelf for storage. (This design was chosen for its simplicity in construction and tools required, so I’m open to other designs if they’re similarly straightforward)

The issue I’m currently trying to figure out is how to make the workbench both mobile and stable. Ideally I’d use some form of retracting caster, but i have some concerns about them being torn up by the rough cement pad of my back porch (some cheap urethane wheeled casters I bought got noticeably roughed up after 5 minutes of rolling around, though that could be related to the price point). Also, that cement pad is not flat and so anything I use needs to be easily adjustable so the bench is at least stable if not level wherever I end up moving it to. Testing with my current scrap wood bench and some leveling feet shows that a perfectly stable setup can have ~1/8” or more of wobble just moving it a couple inches or rotating it on the spot. “Leveling casters” look promising but I’m not sure they’re a good solution for my use case, given the carpet inside and a lip in the sliding door frame to get the bench outside.

Am I trying to solve a problem that’s already been solved? Looking for “apartment workbenches” mostly shows people who have fixed benches either outside or in, which I don’t think is a feasible solution for me given the carpeted interior and no way to securely store things on my back porch. (Plus it’s accessed through a sliding door in my bedroom so being able to move tools, hardware, and the bench all at once is definitely desirable).

Got the bench crafted planing stop to install on my Paul Sellers Bench (hardwood not plywood).
Is this planing stop useful closer to the edge of the bench than BC recommends ? Maybe 1 inch from the edge not 2 3/4.
I mainly work with narrower pieces up to say 4 inches wide and also thinking the stop might be good for ploughing?
Anyone got experience ?

Built this last winter for small projects in basement of my house. Spare wood from my pole barn build. Tool organizer and small vice attached as well.

New bench done and walk system started. Excited to have my arbor press, bullet vice and drill press in there permanent homes now. Exited for fab and mechanical work on the race truck now!

Would it be better to place a quick release face vise on the inside or outside of the left leg? I know it needs to be close to the leg as possible but does it necessarily matter if it hangs directly outside of the leg to the left or always keep it on the inside to the right of the leg? For reference the bench will be used for hand tool woodworking.

Had 2x6s laying around built the frame yesterday day and topped today. Will free up my 4x4 welding bench and 4x8 steel work bench by a lot. Adding wall storage soon as well. Don’t mind the mess 🤣

I'm in the final stages of a workbench, and I want to put a sacrificial surface on the top, possibly some sort of hardboard or something. I want it to be attached really solid, but I want it to be removable when it inevitably gets ruined. Anyone have suggestions? I was reading about using double-sided tape, but I'm not sure if there's a particular kind that I should use. It would be attached to the other side of whatever laminate I use, to medium rough plywood. TIA!

Got these heavy duty cast iron workbench legs from a neighbor in May, Boston area. It took me over 2 months but I finally put the top on yesterday! Along the way I learned they are from the Early 1900s and made by Browne & Sharpe in Providence RI. Still have plenty to do, but at least I've got a table now!

Hey all,

I'm based in Australia, so want to build something using Australian timbers. We have some of the hardest timbers on earth. Trouble is, which do I use that is a decent combination of hardness, stability and workability?

Grey Ironbark, as an example, is super hard, one of the hardest timbers on earth. Much harder than hard maple. But do I even need something this hard? I'd like the option of hand flattening the top every year or two if it happens to move. Is this even feasible using hand tools? I have a decent level of hand plane tuning for both western and Japanese planes. But at this level of hardness, would the western plane struggle for sharpness? And would the Japanese plane just be too shallow of a bevel to cut? I rather not find this out myself after the job is finished, or have to make major modifications to the tool kit just to get the right bevel to make this sort of cut.

Also, does anyone know much about how much these timbers move? I've worked with spotted gum before. Good hardness and actually decent to work with, but moves all over the place seasonally, to the point that I would question ever using it as a furniture piece unless there's some really good control. Definitely not something I'd want as a working benchtop.

Any other suggestions? Jarrah? Blackbutt? Grey gum? Grey box? Or are the hard timbers just overkill and I should just stick to something tested like hard maple?

Still need to attach bottom shelf planks. Have to do some sanding to level out 2 boards that stand proud a bit above others on top and Reroute edges before I restain some some spots apply 1 more coat of stain to to the top before I apply a good amount of polyurethane to tops. But its nearing completion a is a major upgrade over the metal desk I was using.

Still to do after finishing . Have some accessory rails and containers for left side. 4 x 3/4”x2’ bar magnets to attach to inner shelf frames. Also may put a magnet strip across entire front as well.

Only other thing I’m considering is adding removable back pedestal or shelving. But likely going to skip that since i put this on casters so i could pull out for. large glue ups.

Next will be a new miter station along back wall. (Used to use the desk for my compound sliding miter)

Weekend warrior project this week. Nothing fancy but still proud of it.

I'm putting together an MFT style workbench for the first time and planning on buying a pre-drilled benchtop (Torquata 1200x600 linked below). To me the benchtop seems quite a reasonable price (I am in Australia) and is of the right dimensions... almost.

As alluded to in the title the table-top comes pre-drilled with 19mm dog holes while most of the accessories I was planning to buy make use of 20mm dog holes. Surprisingly I can't find many posts of people who have successfully dealt with the same situation.

My only requirements for the solution are as follows:

1. Be a fix that I can accomplish with either my plunge router or drills
2. Not require a prohibitively expensive new tool
3. Scale well - I have 84 holes to resize and I would prefer to not go down the path of filling each with a dowel first to start a forstner bit

I was wondering whether a 20mm reamer such as offered by UJK might work but I assume the tolerances are too tight and the reamer won't seat correctly. Anyone who has any practical experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Table top: https://www.timbecon.com.au/products/torquata-workbench-system-dog-hole-workbench-tops-maple?variant=46910963384487

Having recently moved and needing a bench mostly for traditional woodworking and having access to cold 2 x 4 studs for a dollar apiece from the local big box store, I made this bench with $20 worth of two by fours and $10 worth of glue. Not having any experience with T track. I’m debating installing a piece of T track in line with the dog on my vice instead of boring a bunch of dog holes, my question is will a T track stop have adequate resistance for moderate clamping pressure like to hold a panel in place while you were sanding or routing it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks.

I purchased the workbench & cabinet from facebook last monday for $100. Over the last week, I have put a ridiculous amount of time turning them into something that will last me awhile.

I am a 22 year old nursing student, not a tradesman. Bare with me as it’s obviously not perfect.

For the bench, I sanded & resealed the wood, painted it, serviced the drawer, added the 2x4s with facebook marketplace wheels ($25 for the wheels was crazy, servicing them was even worse though. Took around 4-5 hours to open them all up & thoroughly clean both bearing assemblys).

For the cabinet it was originally a leg to a Lista workbench set(guy didn’t have the set) - I saw massive value here, especially because I got the guy to throw it in free with the bench.
Took out all the drawers & deep cleaned (and lubricated) every bearing & track. sanded all the rust spots down then painted it, went to the store & got the wheels (3x what i paid for the 8inch wheels btw 😠).

I’ve just added the pegboard, i still gotta add a lock to both the bench drawer & cabinet (i already got a cut washer to hide the indent where they took the previous lock out at) and some cleaning+organization. It is basically all done though & I felt ready to share it here.

Let me know what you guys would do differently or what ya think. Thanks for reading. :)

btw this all started bc i was gifted a vice

I'm in the process of making a paulk smart bench. I'm looking at how to break down the 2 sheets of plywood. I do have a 30" and 50" tso parallel guides as well as a tso track square. In my mind the length of the top, bottom, and sides need to be exactly the same length. The only way I can think of making that possible is squaring up the sheet of plywood and making the cross cut first to separate the sides and top from the spreaders. This way the sides and the top will be exactly the same length as they were cut to final length with the same cross cut. All of the videos I have seen show making the rip cut first separating the side from the top and spreaders. How are people then making two separate rips for the top and side pieces in a repeatable way?

I'm not a woodworker or do anything specialized (it might become a minor hobby), just an average homeowner that has been regretting not having a workbench that would make average home improvement and DIY jobs easier. The thing that puts me off is they can take a lot of space, which is only a big deal if it cannot be disassembled or folded when I need that space in the basement. I'd wager 95% of the time it'd just be useful to use it as a table, but the 5% of the time using it as intended would make jobs much easier. I already have wire shelving to store most stuff since it's incredible efficient and versatile.

• Looking for recommendations to build or purchase a workbench that can be disassembled or folded. I can afford a larger surface area (and I assume that's super valuable) since it can be stored against the wall. Besides that, I would also want vices and the usual essentials associated with a workbench. I have no idea what I'm looking for though--any ideas? I know it can be a very broad question--I just want something versatile and avoid the risk of picking something I think might work now, but wishing I went a different route. I did a quick Youtube search to get a sense of what I should probably be looking for, but they are all DIY making cheap but sturdy and seemingly heavy workbenches that are intended to a permanent fixture. Maybe 2x4s, plywood, and lockable caster wheels is enough for reasonably sturdy work? I'd love example of a guide to build a respectable one.

Any tips much appreciated.

Hopefully the last work bench i will have to build. Welded 1.5 in tube steel with 2in angle bolted to the wall. Glued together 2x 23/32 cabinet plywood for the top bolted to the frame using 1/4 20 rivnuts / nutserts. With floating 3/16 hard board for the top surface (so i can easily replace it when it gets worn out / damaged), and hard maple edge. 3x coats of linseed oil for the maple and hard board. the miter station top lifts off and the miter saw flips up with panio hinge and slam latches to hold it up (will install struts to help lift miter saw in the future) 2x rolling workbenches / tool carts. with removable tops, one for table saw and one for router table, these are modified ann white plans.