This gives it a smooth surface that can easily be replaced if needed.Īnother thing I wanted was a bit more height than the old bench. I like to tack a sheet of 1/4″ (6mm) hardboard (AKA: Masonite) to the top. For the top, I glued together two pieces of 3/4″ (19mm) plywood, making it beefy and perfectly flat. Something I can pound on and abuse! The structure of this workbench is all made with 2x4s. What I do require in a bench is strength and stability.

When I require hold-downs, a clamp hrabbing the edge of the bench works fine. For the kind of building I do, I don’t require a traditional “woodworking” bench, such as a hand-tool user needs for holding down work pieces for chiseling and hand planing. The new workbench is similar in design to my old one, and I was able to recycle much its lumber. It also took me that long to realize that my shop was feeling needlessly cramped, especially for shooting video. It took me over ten years to figure out that I rarely need that much work surface and I prefer to break down sheet goods in the driveway. When I built it, I reasoned that its size would be handy for cutting full sheets of plywood and for assembling large projects. Most of you know that I’ve had a huge 4′ x 8′ workbench in the middle of my shop for years.

Wwmm sketchup