Introduction: An Upgraded Woodworking Bench

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About: I work at Middle Tennessee State University as a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and direct the Computational and Data Science Ph.D. Program. I've been a programming nerd, a woodworking geek, an astronomy d…
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For about 25 years, I used the same woodworking bench. The bench was a Christmas gift from my wife. She purchased it at a big box store, and it served its purpose fairly well. Since my skills have grown, I needed to upgrade to a bench that was more rigid, had a better clamping system, and had more workspace. I wanted to make it easy to disassemble should I need to move. I decided to design and build a project that would address these needs and also be a beautiful addition to the shop that showed off the wood and my woodworking skills.

Although I am including complete drawings and instructions for this bench, the goal of this Instructable is to go through the design and construction process I used. I don't think I have created the ultimate bench or that my construction techniques are superior to all others. Like all projects, this bench was created through a series of choices. I hope this write-up will serve to help others think about their requirements and construction processes.

Supplies

The basic supplies for this project included:

The primary tools I used for the project were:

  • Table Saw
  • Joiner
  • Planer
  • Bandsaw
  • Belt and random orbit sanders
  • Drill press
  • Router (for the mortises)
  • Clamps
  • Portable drill and drill stand

I also used the CNC machine to create some of the templates and Fusion 360 for creating the design.

However - you should this instructable as a guide to possible bench designs rather than THE definitive design that you must build! If you work with dimensioned wood, perhaps half the tools become unnecessary. Using a drill and chisels to cut the mortises would eliminate the need for a router. Most of the pieces could be created in different ways!

Step 1: Designing the Bench

When I first started working on the design, I looked at the benches other people had built. I started with Etsy and some woodworking magazines. I also read one of the excellent books by Len Schleining and Woodsmith Magazine. I watch a bunch of great YouTube videos. I particularly enjoyed the video by Rex Krueger.

After doing this research, I started scribbling in my notebook about possible designs. I did a few measurements of some of the tools in my shop to find the ideal height. I decided to create something about 72 inches long with an end vise and a side vise. The overall height is 31 inches. I opted to use a sled design for the legs to make them sturdy. I used four stretchers between the side assemblies to ensure rigidity.

Once I had the basic structure, I used Fusion 360 to make a 3-dimensional layout. I used parameterized dimensions for the wood pieces to adjust the size as needed. I consider myself a novice with Fusion 360, so I found an excellent video from the Around Home DIY site to help guide me through some of this process. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good 3d model of the Yost vises I am using, so I mainly used this to design the subassemblies.

The big lesson for me with Fusion 360 was using components and joining. Previous projects I built were single bodies designed for my 3d printer. Woodworking requires combining multiple pieces and making multiple copies of boards and pieces. It took me a while to understand this process. I am still a novice using this software, but here are a few hints that you might find helpful:


Create your bodies and then put them into components.

Create hierarchical components - for example, my bench is divided into the tabletop and the support structure. The support structure was divided into four stretches and two end pieces. The end pieces were constructed from the top support, the sled bottom, and the two upright. Each of the uprights was created from two outer boards and two tenon boards.

Each component has its own timeline.

When you activate a component, only the operations of that component are shown on the timeline. Components make editing a LOT easier. The sketches, origin, bodies, and joints are separated as well.

Be careful when you make copies of components.

When you have a copy of a component, it references the original body from the original component. For example, if you perform an operation to extrude a hole, that same hole will appear in all the copies of that component since all of them reference the same body. In some cases, you may not want a feature to be replicated on all component copies. To prevent the modifications from happening, make a copy of the body and then turn that new body into a new component. Since the new component references a new body, operations on the original will not affect the new component you created.

Joining components can be a bit tricky.

When you use the join command to combine comments, you need to click on a reference face, line, or point. However, the joint orientation is specified by a tiny orthogonal axis at the point where you click. It is easy to get this wrong, particularly when joining a tenon into a mortise. I made roughly a million mistakes with this interface. It was easy to fix but perhaps a bit frustrating until I became more familiar with the interface.

Use parameters to make the design flexible.

You can define a set of named parameters for your design measurements. For example, you can define bench_top_length to be 72 inches. Then, when you create your benchtop, instead of typing 72 inches in the design, use the defined variable bench_top_length. If you are systematic about doing this for all your measurements, you can easily adjust the bench size, and the design will automatically update the drawing.

Setting up rendering, drawings, and animations is easy!

Adding colors for the wood, making design drawings, and even creating an animation to show the hidden joints is pretty straightforward. The 3d rendering helped me see a realistic view of how the bench would look when it was completed. This helped me think about my design choices. Creating these plans helped me engineer the joints for some of the parts. The animation of the exploded view was very helpful in showing how this all came together. Here is the video link. The PDF bench plans are linked below. They contain details on all the pieces in the construction.

Here are links to the Fusion 360 files:

  • The main design file for the project. (Note: the timeline is messy! This was an experiment for me, so please be kind!)
  • The drawings I created for the project.

Once I was satisfied that the design would work, I started planning the construction and purchasing the wood.

Attachments

Step 2: A Few Words About Marking, Measuring and Cutting

Whenever I create a complex project, I spend a lot of time on the layout. This project has constructed from 44 pieces of cherry and 15 pieces of ash. There are nine different basic shapes. I used notebooks, chalk, pencil marks, and even a spreadsheet to keep track of everything.

  1. I generally use chalk to assign a number or name them. It is easy to remove chalk from boards and easily visible.
  2. I use a mechanical pencil to mark my cuts. These are usually to indicate roughly where the cut will be.
  3. I rely on stops and jigs to actually do the alignment in most cases.
  4. I used notebooks and spreadsheets to help figure out the most efficient use of the wood. (There is more discussion about this in the next section.)

When doing the layout of the rough cut boards, this process was critical. Marking the number of pieces, I could get out of each rough board helped me use the wood efficiently. It also helped keep me from cutting something in the wrong place - mostly at least.


Step 3: Preparing the Wood for the Bench Top

I decided to use Ash for the benchtop and Cherry for the bench support structure for this project. Initially, I was planning to use Hard Maple instead of Ash. However, my local supplier didn't have enough 8/4 wood hard maple available, and Ash is a beautiful hardwood and a good substitute for this part of the project.

I purchased about 90 board ft of 8/4 Ash for this project and approximately 70 board ft of cherry 4/4. The cost per board ft was about $5 and $6 per board ft. The total cost for wood in the project was $965. Despite the planing, there was some inevitable waste in the project from planing, sanding, ripping, cutoffs, etc. I still have perhaps 20 board ft of scrap material that I will be using in other projects.

I set my benchtop thickness as 3 inches with a length of 72 inches. However, the wood I found was already planed into slabs with a thickness of 1.8 inches. I planned to rip the planks into 2.5 to 3.5-inch widths, then glue them up along their planed faces. Based on what I have read and some experiments in the shop, it doesn't make much sense to have a wider bench than about 30 inches. Anything much wider makes it challenging to reach for tools or access your piece. Since my boards were 1.8 inches thick, I needed 14 pieces to make the benchtop width 25.6 inches.

When you buy 8/4 wood from a lumber store, it comes in random widths. The boards in my project ranged from 6 to about 10.5 inches. I knew I needed to get 14 boards that were 72 inches long and 3 inches wide, so I used a tape measure to determine how many pieces I could get from each plank. I was careful to avoid checks or knots that might interfere with the construction. As a result, I purchased about 20% more wood than I needed, knowing some mistakes would ultimately create smaller pieces for new projects.

Once I got the wood home, I planed one of the edges. Then, I measure the minimum usable width of each board. Next, I numbered each of the planks with chalk. Next, I entered the board width and the number into a spreadsheet. Using the spreadsheet, I experimented with different widths to determine the maximum thickness I could use for my benchtop. Using this data, I calculated how many boards I would get from my planks using 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch widths. I included the width of the saw kerf in the calculations. I found I could get 15 pieces with widths of about 3.1 inches with the wood I purchased. Since I needed 14 boards to create a bench width of 25.8-inches, this would give me one extra board if there were assembly problems.

I used my table saw to cross-cut the planks to about 75 inches. I wanted to be a bit longer than the final benchtop length to clean up any unevenness or problems that might occur in gluing.

I spent some time tuning up my table saw to ensure to precisely aligned the fence and installed a good ripping blade. I used feather boards on the side and the top of the boards. I also set up an outfeed table. Finally, I set the fence for about 3.1 inches, turned on my dust collection, and started ripping the wood.

Step 4: Gluing the Benchtop

Gluing the benchtop pieces was a long process. I didn't want to try and assemble all the pieces in a single go, so I opted to make four subassemblies first. Two of the subassemblies had 3 boards and the other two had 4 boards.

I ran each of the boards with the joiner to ensure one edge was completely flat. It was close flat after being cut by a table saw, but I wanted to make the finishing process easier.

I set two boards on a level surface on my shop floor about 5 ft apart. (I make sure the system WAS level before I started gluing.) I picked each board to match for grain and thickness. I placed them on the clamps and tested the assembly process. I made sure the newly joined surface was facing down toward the pipe clamps. After examining the grain, I applied Titebond III glue to the wood's planed surfaces, being careful to spread an even coat across the entire surface. Once the glue was applied, I aligned the ends of the assembly and clamped the closest pipe clamp. I then tightened the other pipe clamp.

I used about ten more clamps to squeeze the wood along its surface, (I didn't own enough, I raided the collection of one of my friends.) I worked to sure the clamping was uniformly tight across the entire assembly. After 24 hours, I repeated the process with the next subassembly.

When the subassemblies were completed, one of my friends came over with this sliding compound miter saw to square the ends and ensure the lengths of all the pieces were the same. We had one piece that ended up being about 1/8 of an inch longer than the others, but this was easy to fix later with a belt sander.

Because the pipe clamps were flat and the wood surfaces touching them were joined, each subassembly is close to perfectly flat on one of the surfaces. I ran each subassembly through the planer to make sure the opposite edge was both flat and parallel to this reference surface. I passed all the boards through as a set and then lowered the planer blade. I kept repeating until all the pieces cut along their entire length. The final thickness of my benchtop ended up being almost exactly three inches.

I glued the subassemblies together in pairs. Again, I used Tightbond III glue, the leveled pipe clamps, and lots of helper clamps. When I started putting together the subassemblies and the final assembly, I noticed there was some warping of the subassemblies. There were some gaps of 1/4 inch between a few of the boards. I thought about joining the surfaces, and then planing them. Since I could easily squeeze the boards together, I just used the glue and the clamps to fix the minor warping.

Once all the boards were assembled, I realized that I had created something that was very big and extremely heavy. I set up two sawhorses and asked a friend to help me lift the benchtop so I could continue working on it. I started on the bottom side of the bench. I used a hand plane and several power sanders to smooth this surface. Because it was the bottom piece, it didn't have to be perfect. However, I wanted it to sit firmly on the supports without any possibility of rocking.

I moved on to working on the base and support structures.

Step 5: The Boards for the Bottom and Top Supports

The top and bottom support structures for the bench have very similar structures. I based the support design on the "three board mortise and tenon joint" described in the book by Len Schleining. I used four laminated boards instead of three, but the basic design is the same.

The wood for the base was Cherry to contrast the lighter Ash top. I opted to use 4/4 wood. It was pre-planed to have a thickness of 0,8 inches. Since I wanted extra strength, I laminated four of the pieces together to have a thickness of 3.2 inches.

Instead of cutting a mortise out of a solid piece of wood, you cut the pocket on the boards with a saw and chisels and then sandwich it between two outer boards. Again, the pictures and drawings should explain the process.

Between the two top supports and the two sled bottoms, I cut 32 boards need into their final shape:

  1. Eight outer boards for the sleds.
  2. Eighter inner boards for the sleds - with the same outer shape as #1 but with mortise pockets.
  3. Four outer support boards for the top.
  4. Eight boards with the same outer shape as #3 but with mortise pockets.
  5. Four support boards for the top support are 0.8 inches longer than #3 with no mortise pockets. The extra length on this piece creates a tenon that will help will reinforce the connection between the benchtop and the support structure. The 0,8 inches was arbitrary, but it was the same length as the thickness of the wood in these pieces.

My first step was to cut the pieces to the correct length and width. Fourteen of the pieces were 24 inches long and 5.5 inches wide. Two pieces were 24 inches long and 6.3 inches wide.

Once I cut the pieces to their width and length, I created a template for the outer profiles using my bandsaw and belt sander. Next, I made a second template for the sled base to form the pocket between the feet. The space between the feet was 1.5 inches deep and 11 inches wide. The template used a two-inch rounding of the corners. After tracing the template on the pieces, I rough cut the curves on my bandsaw.

I used my table saw with appropriate stops for the mortise pockets to define their edges. I used a test piece to make sure this mortise fit exactly the tenon boards. Next, I set the depth of this cut to be about 1/4 inch deeper than the tenon length. After cutting the mortise edges, I nibbled away the material between these edges. Again - I could have used a bandsaw or jigsaw to make these cuts, but it seemed faster to use my table saw to remove most of the waste wood and remove the remaining figures with a chisel and hammer.

Since I have a finite number of clamps, I glued up the pieces one or two at a time. I used Titebond III and a lot of clamps to ensure a tight fit. Once the glue was dry, I used a belt sander to smooth the curves. I could have used a pattern cutting bit to smooth the edges or even cut the pieces on my CNC machine. I was happy with the result despite taking this shortcut.

Step 6: The Vertical Supports - Four Board Tenons

There are four vertical support pieces in this project. They are each built from four boards. The two outer boards form the tenon, and the two inner boards create the shoulder. The exterior boards are 17 inches long and 4 inches wide. The internal tenon boards are 21 inches long and 4 inches wide. I made all the pieces from 0.8-inch thick cherry.

The construction involved:

  1. Cutting the boards to the same length and width using my table saw.
  2. Gluing the two tenon pieces together.
  3. Gluing the outer boards to the assembly - ensuring they were precisely centered on the inner boards.

A minor issue in creating the "three/four board tenon" is ensuring the outer pieces are precisely aligned. The mortise and tenon joint will not have a flat shoulder if they aren't perfectly aligned. I created a simple jig (see the photos) to help with this process. The basic idea was to have small boards sandwich a spacer board that is the width of the inner tenon boards. The short outer pieces on the jig are cross-cut to the same length on a table saw. You slide the jig over the end of the tenon boards and then use it to guide the alignment of the tenons. This jig solved the alignment problem nicely.

Step 7: Assembling the Supports

Creating the support assembly was straightforward. Mortise and tenon joints should be tight, but they should still allow enough space for glue. First, I did a test fit of all the pieces to ensure everything fits perfectly. Next, I used files and chisels to slowly modify the tenons (and sometimes the mortises) for a good fit. These were relatively minor adjustments but an essential part of the assembly process. As I was testing the fit, I labeled each piece. These were essentially custom modifications, so each tenon had a specific mortise and a specific alignment in that mortise.

To test the fit, I used a rubber mallet to tighten to put together and then break apart the pieces. Once I was confident that the fit was good, I gathered my clamps and added glue to the mortise joints. Next, I used the clamps and my mallet to make sure the shoulder on the tenons for each piece was flush to the edge of the mortise. I did have one moment of panic when I discovered that one was backward. However, with some hammering and my pipe clamps, I made it work. (The valuable lesson for me was "always recheck your alignment before putting on the glue!)

After the glue was dried, I needed to create mortises in the vertical pieces. Had I planned a bit more, I would have done these joints BEFORE assembly. I would have used my mortising machine or drill press to make these pockets if I had done this. Since it was an assembled piece, I made a custom router jig using my CNC machine. The jigs were made of 1/2 inch plywood. I measured the size of a router collar (1 inch) and the size of my router bit (1/4 inch). Using the CNC machine and a little bit of math, I laid out the location of the mortises to be 1.5 inches above the shoulder of the vertical and centered on each piece. I included a few holes on the carved template to help me align this on the center of the vertical leg.

Before carving the actual leg, I did a test cut on a scrap piece. I adjusted the fit on the CNC design and then retested it. On the second try, I got an excellent fit for the tenons on the stretchers. I had to file the edges of the stretcher tenon since routers can't cut perfectly square holes, but this only took a few seconds to do.

Once the mortises were installed, I drilled some holes to mount my portable drill stand to the router template. First, I adjusted the drill stand to center it on the mortise hole. Then, using a 1/2 inch drill, I made a hole through the bottom of the mortise hole through the outside of the vertical leg. (I used a waste board to prevent tear-out.) I used these holes for the bench bolts that hold the stretcher tenons to the vertical legs.


This is a link to the router template for the mortises on the legs I created in Easel. You may need an Easel account to access it, so I have included the SVG files below.

Attachments

Step 8: The Stretchers

I used the same procedure as assembling the vertical legs to assemble the stretchers. Since this was a three-board tenon, I created another jig to help with the alignment of the shoulders. As mentioned in the previous step, I used a file to slightly round the tenon corners. This adjustment allowed it to fit into the mortise holes created in the vertical legs.

Once I glued the boards together, I found some slight alignment issues along the length of the board. Since these were minor, I used a belt sander to smooth these edges.

Step 9: Support Assembly

After building both end pieces and the stretchers, I assembled the support to hold the benchtop. I opted to do this assembly with the stretchers vertical to make it easier to hammer everything into place. I then lowered the second side piece to the top. After making some final adjustments to the fit, I used a hammer to tighten the mortise joints between the stretchers and the side pieces. Once everything was secure and square, I drilled the holes for the bench bolts.

I purchased the bench bolts (1/2 x 6-inch Highpoint Bench bolts) at Woodcraft. They require a 1/2 wide 6-inch deep hole. Because I have four stretchers, I needed to purchase two sets of these bolts. First, I created a guide block in a 2-inch piece of scrap Ash using my drill press. Next, I drilled holes to the required depth using the predrilled holes in the mortises. I used a long drill bit with a stop collar for this operation. Looking back at this operation, it is clear that I should have made these holes slightly oversized. The extra room would have helped with the alignment of the cross bolts. However, I used a standard 1/2 -inch bit in my assembly.

Finding the position to drill the cross-bolt holes was tricky. Since these holes are 6-inches deep, a tiny misalignment of the drill bit can move the location fractions of an inch. This misalignment can make threading the bolt into the cross-bolt impossible.

Initially, I placed the drill bit back into the hole and used a laser guide to mark the approximate location for drilling the hole. After some googling, I found an excellent article by Matt Kenney with some jigs that can help make this easier. I used his second design to help make a jig for my project.

Even with this jig, I used a Forstner bit 1/8 larger than the cross-bolt size. Enlarging this hole was probably unnecessary, but it seemed better to be prudent rather than have to fix the problem later.

After the holes were all drilled, I used a ratchet to tighten the bolts. Combining the mortise and tenon with the bench bolts makes a solid joint and rigid system. I can disassemble this project if I need to move it.




Step 10: Attaching the Top

With the support assembled and benchtop assembled, it was time to connect the two pieces.

Routing the Mortise Holes in the Bench Top

After placing the benchtop on sawhorses with the top of the bench facing downward, I put the support inverted on this piece. In a previous step, I had already smoothed and flattened the bottom side of the benchtop. I carefully position the support into its final position. I need to ensure there was enough space for the vises before proceeding.

You can see from the photo that the support appears to be slightly above the benchtop because the tenons extend about 0.8 inches into their mortises. Once the support structure was in its final position, I used a pencil to mark the location of these tenons on the benchtop.

After looking at the mortise hole I was going to create, I noticed it was nearly the width of the bench. This width seemed unnecessary and might even weaken the piece, so I decided to shorten the tenon length on the support pieces by 3 inches on each side. I used a razor saw and a chisel to clean up this tenon. I then adjusted my marks on the benchtop to the size of the piece.

To cut the mortise holes, I created another jig on my CNC machine to be exactly the right length and width for these pieces. I constructed the pattern to accommodate a one-inch router collar and a 1/4-inch router bit. I could have made this cut with a straight edge or even two parallel straight edges, but the CNC was available and easy for me to use. Before using the template on the piece, I made a test cut to ensure the tenon would have the right fit. I made minor adjustments in my template's design, cut a new piece, and found the new fit ideal.

Because wood expands differently perpendicular to the grain than it does along the grain, I had to plan for wood movement in these mortises. Based on the wood expansion calculators found online, I decided to expand the mortise length by 1/4 inch on each side. Since a single bolt will fasten the top to the undercarriage, this should give plenty of room for wood movement.

I did the routing of the mortise in multiple passes. Each pass added about 1/4 of an inch in depth. I cut the depth to be about 0.9 inches - about 0.1 inches deeper than the tenon. When I tried to drop the table into the mortise holes, I needed to make minor adjustments. I repositioned the mortise template and took about 1/16 of an inch from the inner edge of one of the holes, and the support fit nicely into its position.

Installing the Lag Bolts

The top of the table is attached using 5/8 x 6-inch lag bolts that connect through the support piece into the tabletop. Initially, when I was designing the piece, I had assumed that I should place this lag bolt in the middle of the tabletop and the support. Before drilling this hole, I did a quick check with my end vise and found that offsetting it by about 2 inches would make the installation of that piece much more manageable. (I will discuss the vise installation in the next step,)

For these lag bolts, drilled three concentric holes. The first was a 1 1/2 inch hole to sink the lag bolt by about 1/2 inch. Sinking the bolt hides the bolt head, but it also adjusted the effective length of the bolt so it would go slightly deeper into the tabletop. The next hole was the full 5/8 inch width drilled to a depth to allow the unthreaded head of the bolt to fit without binding. The final hole was a pilot hole for the lag bolt that went 6 inches through the base into the tabletop. I found several suggestions for the size of the pilot hole for a 5/8-inch lag bolt. I tried several different drill bits on some scrap wood before I was satisfied with the fit. I decided not to publish the bit size here because the type of wood seems to make a difference for this diameter. Instead, I would encourage you to experiment and find the best fit for your piece.

I didn't drill this final hole until I flipped the table over and put it into its final position. After inverting the piece, I installed the bolt and washer later in the assembly. Before doing that, we have to deal with the vises.


This is a link to the benchtop mortising template I created in Easel. You may need an account with Inventables to access it. I have included an SVG file below.


Attachments

Step 11: Installing the Vises - Part I

With the bench still inverted and the support fitting snuggly into the mortise holes in the benchtop, I started laying out the final location of the two vises. Since I am left-handed, I placed the end vise to the left of my work area. The side vise is located on the right side of my work area. If you are right-handed, these positions are generally reversed. (There is a discussion about this in the comments section. I apologize for the confusion.)

For my bench, I opted to buy two different vises:

The end vise was about $65. It can accommodate wide jaws and has a large depth for holding wood. The side vise was more expensive - about $150. It has a quick-adjust lever making it easy to lock wood in place.

Installing the side vise was straightforward. First, I added a spacer board to lower the vise jaws about 1/4 inch below the benchtop. At this stage, I just tested the fit. I didn't drill the holes or place the spacer board in place until the table was in its upright position.

For the end vise, I unscrewed and removed the threaded assembly and placed the carriage in its location. Since I needed to make holes through the end support for this vise, I did some careful measurements and created a drilling template in Fusion 360. First, I drew a simple two-dimensional drawing to show the location of the thread and the support rods. Next, I put a 3/4 inch spacer below the tabletop to lower the vise. This adjustment moved the holes needed closer to the center of the support structures.

Creating the template was slightly maddening. I found a machine guide, took careful measurements, drew the template, and then printed it. When it came out, it was ultimately the wrong size! I redid the measurements and printed a new version with the same result. I went through a half-dozen iterations before realizing my default printer settings reproduced drawings at 97% of their actual size. Pro-tip: Make sure you print at 100% size when creating scale drawings.

Drilling the holes through the support was straightforward. I used bits about 1/4 inch larger than the screw hole and the support rods. I used spade bits and my portable drill guide. I also clamped a board to the bottom to prevent chip-out.

Step 12: Bolting the Benchtop to the Support

I usually wouldn't spend a complete step describing the installation of two bolts. However, this step turned out to be more challenging than expected.

The fundamental problem is the weight of the piece. The support structure weighs about 50 pounds. The benchtop weighs well over 100 pounds.

I got help from a friend to flip the top and move it into place. Make sure you do this if you build a project like this. Don't hurt yourself! Get help from a friend.

Step 13: Flattening the Bench Top

Perhaps the best way to make a bench perfectly flat is to use a router sled. There are several good Instructables about flattening slabs using a router. I encourage you to look at these if you are creating a bench.

My approach was a bit simpler. First, I made sure each board was perfectly flat using a joiner. I then used two flat and parallel reference boards to create 3-4 board assemblies. Finally, I used two pipe clamps that were flat and level to assemble these 3-4 board assemblies. The pipe clamps ensure that the pieces are in the same plane, even if an individual board is slightly out of place.

The result after the glue-up was almost satisfactory. However, there were a few places where a board was off by about 1/16 of an inch. These were sharp changes on the surface that needed to be fixed.

Using a hand-plane and a belt sander, I slowly worked across the surface to remove these high points. I tried to work the entire length of the table equally, always sanding with the grain. I repeatedly used a straight edge to test the flatness of the tabletop. I adjusted my sanding and planing to reduce any high points and avoid the lower parts on the benchtop surface. I moved to a random orbit sander with 60 grit paper for the final stages.

Sanding and flattening the top took hours. I used a shop vac and my air filtration system to help me get through this process, but it was tedious and careful work.

At the end of the process, the table was extremely smooth and flat to below about 1/16 of an inch. Most places are better than 1/32 of an inch. The obvious question is, "Is this good enough?" Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer to this question. I will learn more about how it works in practice as I use the bench. If I need to improve the flatness, I will put together a router sled and flatten the benchtop properly. For now, I don't think it is critical to have it better than its current specs.

The important lesson was this: If this isn't good enough, I can always go back and fix it. The bench can be altered and evolve as my needs grow. Don't create unnecessary work just because you think it MIGHT be needed.

Step 14: Installing the Vises

To install the side vise, I screwed the spacer plate into the bottom of the benchtop using two #12 x 2-inch screws. Next, I positioned the vise into its final position using clamps and marked the location for the lag bolts. The Yost M9WW vise has two u-shaped slots for lag screws that can help temporarily hold the vise in place as you sink the remaining screws. I installed those bolts first, clamped the vise to the benchtop again, and then installed the final two bolts.

This operation would have been more effortless if the benchtop had been upside down. Even though I was concerned about the extra weight, I should have installed the spacer plates and countersunk the lag bolt holes before installing the benchtop. Ultimately I will add jaw pads to this vise. I am still considering wooded jaws and just simple padding.

The first step is to mount the vise base into its final location. I screwed the spacer piece into position using #12 x 2-inch screws. Next, I positioned the vise base into its approximate position using a clamp. Then I used a 1-inch dowel to make sure the vise screw and support rods for the vise would go through the holes I drilled in the vertical support. After I was satisfied with the fit, I installed the lag bolts to hold the vise base into place. After installing the first screw, I double-checked the alignment using the rest of the vise. The objective was to make sure the screw and support rods fit before installing more screws. Fortunately, everything worked fine. Finally, I removed the vise screw assembly and installed the remaining lag bolts.

The end vise installation on the bench was more complex. You need to create the jaws for the system, and the back jaw needs to be mounted securely to the benchtop. I opted to add a piece of 1.8-inch thick Ash to the end of the bench.

First, I cut the piece the same width as the bench. Then, I temporarily clamped the piece to the end of the benchtop. Next, I marked the approximate locations for the lag bolts that will connect the piece to the end and the holes needed for the vise screw and support rods.

Using my drill press, I countersank three holes with a 1.5-inch Forstner bit to a depth of about 3/4 inch. One of these three holes was near the center of the benchtop. The other two holes were about 10 inches from the center on either side. I offset all of the holes by 1.5 inches from the top of the piece. At the center of the 1.5-inch holes, I drilled 5/8-inch holes for lag bolts. To allow for wood movement, I elongated the two outer holes.

Using the template I created for drilling the holes through the support piece for the vise, I marked the location of the holes for the vise screws and support rods. As before, I double-check these positions using a dowel passing through the vise's base.

I drilled the hole for the bench screw using a Forstner bit through the piece. The support rods required two concentric holes - one large enough for the rods and a second 1.25-inch hole to hold the collars for the vise. These small metal collars are screwed into place and act to stiffen the support structure for the vise. I used three screws (#14 x 1-inch )for each of these collars to secure them.

After checking the fit, I countersank and installed the piece using 5/8 x 5-inch lag bolts. Using something this heavy-duty was probably unnecessary, but it ensured a solid fit. Also, the drill holes are going through the end-grain of the benchtop, so I thought using larger screws would make sure the fit was stable. I installed the center screw first and then the two outer screws.

To create the vise jaw, I used another piece of 1.8-inch Ash. Based on my installation location, the jaw width was 15-inches. Using the drilling template, I marked the location of the holes and used my drill press. The vise jaw was attached using #14 x 1 1/4 inch screws.

Once I installed the jaw, I needed to make one minor adjustment. The jaw had a slight amount of flexing when I tightened it on a piece of wood. This flexing leads to the front and back surfaces of the vise not remaining parallel.

The Yost manual suggested tapering the front of the vise slightly to deal with the flexing of the jaw vise. Since my jaw was somewhat deeper than the example in the manual, I used a 1/8 inch spacer and ran the jaw through my planer to create this taper. It worked beautifully. The vise jaws came to parallel as I tightened them.


Some final thoughts:

Installing this vise was a complex project by itself. There are many good resources you can use to help, including:

The Yost website also was helpful.

Step 15: Adding Bench Dogs

Once I installed the vises, it was time to drill the holes for the bench dogs. I spent some time laying out the location of possible holes. It is helpful to note that there isn't a right or wrong way to choose the location of the holes. However, it helps to have some design considerations in mind. These were my design constraints:

  1. The hole positions should allow any piece length of wood to be clamped using the end vise or the side vise.
  2. Shorter pieces (less than 24 inches) can be held using the side vise.
  3. Longer pieces (24 inches to approximately 72 inches) can be held by the end vise.
  4. The vises should allow simple clamping either through dual holes at the board edges or center holes.
  5. The spacing of the holes should be small enough to adjust the vise to wood relatively quickly. (I didn't want the spacing to be too large.)
  6. The bench should have the minimum number of holes needed.
  7. The spacing of the holes should be precise to enable some future theoretical jig to use multiple holes if needed.
  8. The hole spacing should be adequate for holdfasts and other clamping equipment besides the vises.


Based on these considerations, I decided to make three rows. I centered one row on the end vise. I centered the other two rows on either side of the center. I also wanted the bench dogs to align with the side vise. Therefore, I set it up so two holes would be located symmetrically on either side of the center of this position.

I set the spacing of the holes to be 5 inches. This spacing was about half of the depth of the vises I used. I felt it would allow easy adjustments for different size pieces of wood.

To help me with the task of drilling the holes, I created a template using my CNC machine with six holes. Each of the holes was the size of my bench dogs - 3/4 of an inch. The spacing between the hole centers was precisely 5 inches. I screwed my drill press guide to align the 3/4 inch spade bit to fit through one of the center holes. I set the distance between the edge of the template and the center of the drill bit to 7.5-inches. I could have easily made this template on a drill press. However, I am that lazy. I should note that using the 1/2 inch MDF for the template was probably a mistake. The hole for the spade bit slowly enlarged as I drilled the holes. I would have built it out of 3/4 plywood if I were doing it again.

The goal of the template was to make sure that all the holes were exactly 5 inches apart. Since I was considering making some multiple bench dog jigs, the exact spacing will help with their construction. The extra holes on the jig were for aligning to the holes that I had already drilled. Then, using a few pieces of 3/4 inch dowels, you can fix the piece to follow the pattern.

I aligned the edge of the template to the edge of the bench for the center row of holes. After drilling the first hole, I moved the template and used a dowel to lock the template in place. I kept the edge of the template flat against the edge of the bench. After working my way down through the rows, I used the other holes to align the drilling holes for the two outer rows.

When I was drilling the holes (and doing the layout), I was careful to note when I might run into the table's vise carriage or support structure. The other bench dog holes pass through the entire thickness of the benchtop. These holes will help sawdust flow through instead of accumulating in the bottom of the holes.

Drilling the holes was a tedious process. Creating 3/4 inch holes through 3-inches of Ash takes a long time. I used a vacuum to clear out the dust periodically. In addition, I had to change battery packs on my drill about every five holes. Using a corded drill would have been the smart thing to do.

Note: The bench dog holes on the end vise haven't been drilled yet in these pictures. I left for a vacation before I finished this step. However, they will have the same spacing as the other holes.


Here is a link to the bench dog hole drilling jig in Inventables.. You may need an Easel account to access this file. The SVG file is attached below.

Attachments

Step 16: Finishing the Bench

I sanded the top down to the 220 grit level using a random orbit sander to finish the bench. After removing the dust with a tack cloth, I used Danish Oil to seal and finish the top. This project was the first time I had used this finish. You flood the surface with the oil using a brush or cloth. You keep the surface wet for about 30 minutes by periodically adding more finish. At the end of that time, you wipe off the excess and let it dry for 24 hours. Oil finishes don't crack and are easy to refresh if needed. When I need to resurface my bench, I can apply the oil to to match the previous finish. The oil also offers some protection against stains, and it certainly brings out the colors and grain of the wood.

When I constructed this bench, I finished the support structure before attaching the benchtop. Finishing is easier before the support structure is attached and inverted.

There are still a lot of things left to do:

  • First, I need to drill the bench dog holes in the end vise.
  • I need to pad the side vise with wood or perhaps leather.
  • I might install some shelving and storage. Originally I thought shelving and even drawers for tool storage would be critical. However, I like how the bench looks right now, so I decided to postpone this step for now.
  • I might install a hidden power strip on the back of the bench for hand tools.
  • I need to think about additional jigs. I have some bench dogs and holdfasts, but I suspect other needs will arise as I get to know this new tool.

The total cost of this bench was high - about $1100, including the wood, vises, finish, etc. I could have used cheaper wood, but I like the final look of the piece. It took about four months to construct - mostly in 2-3 hour sessions about once a week.

Despite the cost and the time, this bench will be the most commonly used tool in my shop. I enjoyed making it. I hope you find some nuggets of practical knowledge from my trials and errors that will help you with future projects.

Woodworking Contest

Second Prize in the
Woodworking Contest