Build a Carving Bench

Build a work bench with no real plans, little measuring, little time and use from the hip designing techniques to customize it for your specific needs. We talk about the why as well as the how in this tips filled build we use a combination of hand and power tools to build an inexpensive "Spoon Carving Bench?".
[UPDATE: I eventually redid this bench. www.popularwoo...]

[@donscottvansandt4139]

I'm new to the craft ... so everything I build is a prototype lmao... but you always give information tricks and advice I can and do use in almost every project! Thanks dude! You ROCK !!

[@DavidOmaha1]

Finally, someone I can relate to. In my case, I'm poor and live in an apartment, so your make-do approach appeals to me. Thank you for the detailed instructions.

[@wortheffort]

If you watch my first video's they were all done in the corner of a 500 sq/ft efficiency apartment.

[@bozkurt158]

I've just found your channel and I've been binge watching, and I have to say you must be the BEST "teacher" on YT , not boring, I hadn't noticed 6+ hours had passed. I/we appreciate you taking your time(valuable no doubt) to show me/us all you know, TY : )

[@wortheffort]

thanks

[@izme2132]

Well, I love the way you literally explain the reasons why you make each decision along the way that’s just awesome because that sentence person down the path towards more resembling wisdom than route knowledge which can lead to skill, but wisdom seems to lead more to something comparable to talent

[@brucemcnally3924]

Great presentation, you show and tell with the same skill you demonstrate in your woodworking - refreshing honesty too. I'm totally with you on spoon carving and look forward to the Mk II splayed bench. Thank you sir for your ideas and inspiration.

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@danmottesheard5294]

thanks for sharing the shortcomings. well done young man. I am getting addicted to carving

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@phewbee]

I like the table. I carve on a round bit of stump. One thing I like about the stump is that it is not totally flat. There is about a 1 inch step in the wood as a result of having to turn the log while cutting with the chain saw. This little step gives me a place to wedge my spoons if I need to stabilize them when hewing with the axe. Just a thought. Good video

[@deezynar]

You get one thumbs up for telling people about glulam beams. If I could, I'd give you 10 more for admitting you are designing a bench for a job you've never done before. And 20 on top of that for admitting it could've been better. I think it will work just fine for you as is tho.

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@interact48]

Love this , I would love that bench right now straight legs and all, I’m in lockdown with zero wood to build one. Greetings from the UK x

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@superdrs1960]

Nice video, I enjoyed watching. Nice idea using a beam for a bench top. Thank you for sharing.

[@WilliamAdrianMoore]

Love your honesty, however to me it looks just great but having many years in a similar constructive way iv3 sort of been there and although it works if I know about what shouldn’t be there I’ll certainly do it over. I’m new to this kind of creativity and learning lots from you so keep it up I’m following your every move and i5 helps. So happy holiday stay safe and be well. Thanks fo4 your valuable time Billy

[@devils30hockey]

wow you are very hard on your self I would love something like that and it came out great

[@schnooder]

I agree with the other posters. Yours is a terrific channel and you're a great teacher. My only request would be for you to get a proper microphone, either a lav or a boom mic. You'll save your breath and it won't feel to your viewers like you're yelling across the room! :-)

[@paulhenry7122]

I'm a Bushcrafter and I carve spoons all the time what you made was cool .Peace Pops Bushcraft

[@marcellwallace]

I love it! Would you consider to sell it?

[@russbowman6801]

My first carving table was a big and short log with legs on the sides. I used 2 x 4 legs, and they turned out to not be stable enough. The stump cracked, of course, but it worked for a while. Next plans are to use 2 x 6's to make an enclosed box but fill it with pea gravel, 4 x4's at the inside corners for legs with cuts on the sides of the 4 x 4's so they will flair out at 5 degrees at each corner. The pea gravel adds weight without spending a bunch of money for wood, and this serves as a blow dampening feature that cuts back on vibration. The 5 degree angles at the legs helps the blow forces to translate to the floor rather from side thrusts bearing so much on the legs. Table height is crucial. I think it should end up with average work being about 2 inches below natural elbow joint height, so the table itself needs to be lower to allow for the height of the work. Later I can buy brass kingserts, which are drilled and tapped into the wood with wood glue that are hollow with a tapped center. This allows clamps and fixtures to be bolted directly onto the table. This feature is often used in machine shops to hold down work pieces using a sub plate with kingserts that is attached to the base mill table. Thus, the milling table is not damaged as parts are being machined.

[@slantsix6344]

Love the carving bench idea! Thanks for posting!

[@billastell3753]

Spoon carving is my obsession. All I use for axe work is a piece 30+ inch log wood standing up on its end. I don't think it would be much heavier than your bench. For carving, any small table is OK but a workmate works well for me.

[@matthegedus8249]

Great video man. Building my carving bench tonight... my own design. You got the techniques down... I love simplicity in ww.

[@davidzucchi3680]

Matt Hegedus

[@garyglendenning1695]

Great job of instruction. I wondered early on about splaying the legs. Thanks. I learned a lot about laying out mortis & tenon and dovetail.

[@wortheffort]

Thanks, I eventually redid it. www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/ugly-need-not-be-how-i-built-a-hewing-stool-twice

[@davidsmart8594]

HA! I'm carving spoons as I listen to you (too busy to watch). You're all set...now all you need is some gauze and a roll of sticking plaster. Have fun! (Nice bench)

[@mihumus]

Great work and nice video, thanks for sharing!

[@onxkrinear]

Mind blowing Chris and all the best for all that you doooooo...

[@wortheffort]

Thanks, but who's Chris? :)

[@dr1llb1t8]

Lol

[@MattJonesYT]

You'll actually always be able to turn even a 4 legged table around a center point and find a spot where they are all touching the ground, the proof is a topology brain teaser but it's useful to know that you can make unstable things stable just by rotating them around to find the stable point.

[@douglashopkins8070]

You can prove it by the mean value theorem as well.

[@meanders9221]

I wondered why you didn't splay the legs all the way thru the build since I knew you could have, and also why you imposed the 90 degree requirement. With 3 splayed legs equally spaced you probably wouldn't need the stretchers. Still, a good solid usable workbench, and new ideas (glulam) and a learning experience for us. Thanks for sharing.

[@wortheffort]

Me being lazy. The only reason.

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@johnmurray517]

Thank you, I learned some things. JM

[@Meesago]

Wow... I like your teaching method. Would love an example of how to do this with the legs splayed out.

[@BoxcarJerry]

Nice an simple design , if you do make another with the splayed legs make a video on it . I'd like to see the process for doing them . Thnks for the great vids

[@julesjenkins9044]

great shop project, looks great, thanks and appreciated. i now need one.

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

Nice build with good info. Cheers 👍🏼😊

[@thoperSought]

Chris Schwarz has an approach in his new book for splaying legs. the book is called "the anarchist's design book," and it's a follow up to his toolchest book. I thought it might be handy if you're not familiar with it. it's visual-based geometry, rather than doing the working out on paper, and looks reasonably fast and easy-I haven't tried it myself, yet.

[@randymartin2396]

this was very fresh keep it up i'll be watching

[@douglashopkins8070]

Tell us how it handles wracking forces. Since most milking stools have sloped legs I think I would have stated there. That super heavy top you've got may fix the problem.

[@sethwarner2540]

I forgive you 26:00!!Thanks for some good ideas for holding my work(the ongoing curse in my shop)!

[@windmillcancersurvivor2568]

I'm more into spooning than spoon carving but that's just me. When I start a project I expect failure and usually am surprised that it works out better than expected. I learned a lot watching and from the comments. I want to commend you on the Robin Wood products which are top shelf. I just put a Gransfors Bruks Swedish carving axe into play and want to buy the knives you mentioned. Did you get them stateside? Maybe do a show about splaying leg angles... 10* 14* what?

[@wortheffort]

I bought them direct from Mr. Wood. After a few months use I'm going to build another bench a little smaller to take with me to markets.

[@SerJahPhoto]

Great idea. I'm sure gonna do something like this.

[@Timbo868]

Love this video!! Your a fantastic woodworker & teacher!! Where did you learn this stuff? Did you go to a ivy league school and study woodworking? I took a carpenter school at a tech school years ago.They didn't teach what you know!! Keep those videos coming!!

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@1miltond]

Great idea looks more like a butcher table but serve the carvings to

[@thomasarussellsr]

You need hold-fast holes in that bench and/or maybe a small clamping system of some kind to hold the stock for your spoons.

[@malcolmoxley1274]

nicely done mate,instead of rebuilding why not put sheet ply on the bottom of the legs wide enough for you to stand on,that way you could if need be place pieces on the legs like a butress,just an idea thats all,anyway mate great idea

[@jameskoehn4331]

Make a good butcher block too . Love your work ...

[@wortheffort]

Pine transfers flavor.

[@jameskoehn4331]

@@wortheffort ok i didnt see the pine part .

[@springwoodcottage4248]

Rare if ever do I make or do anything I am totally happy with, but mostly what I make does what I need and that is better than trying to do something perfectly and never finishing or sometimes never starting because I need more knowledge.

[@skippyjones2077]

I love this great job.... thank you

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@JohnSmith-il4wi]

liked and subscribed, thanks from Chicago

[@suecollins3246]

Got you by the short and curlies, didn't it?

[@jpdenis1992]

Nicely done!!! If you don't want it we could use it :P

[@Ibaneddie76]

Why do tables get twist if you don't splay the legs?

[@douglashopkins8070]

Are you going to add a benchtop spoon mule?

[@willwegiel5350]

A slight angle out on the legs would of made really stable.

[@qigong1001]

Would you consider more stretchers (just under the table top) like a skirt to prevent the twist? Seems like it would be easier than doing angled legs and possibly angling tenons and mortises.

[@wortheffort]

More stretchers wouldn't effect that legs are parallel which allows the 'twist'. Slaying them changes their plane.

[@Tome4kkkk]

Excuse my impertinence but you could probably still fix the bench by using truss construction. Unless you have some grand plans with regard to the space underneath the bench. All in all I find lessons that include troubleshooting (even a failed one) twice as substantial as those 'of course it came out flawless' ones. Thank you!

[@davidchang7500]

If you want to make something to hammer or chop on, never make a perfection out of it. That way, your heart won't bleed when you strike the first chop!

[@martijnfransen9933]

You can cut of the leg's and redo them... Make a nice dovetail in the side so your legs are as far on the outher edge as possible...

[@wortheffort]

You are correct.

[@christopherharrison6724]

You don’t need every tool ,start carving then see what you really need.

[@thomashverring9484]

Stop slapping the goddamn glulam! XD

[@thomashverring9484]

The chapter should have been "Slapping the goddamn glulam! 4:15-5:25" :D

[@thatsurprisedguy3646]

What type of wood is the working surface?

[@wortheffort]

SYP glulam

[@charlescox6608]

Should have just mounted carving board on work bench, it would have been a lot more stabl,because your bench is heavy and stable !!!!

[@datawolftech]

You mention selling theses table on website but did not list web link etc

[@wortheffort]

+datawolftech not the tables but I have other items on our website that help fund video production (including a T-Shirt of the month program coming shortly.)

[@evanherk]

what do you call that first cleaving tool please?

[@wortheffort]

Froe (sp)

[@evanherk]

+wortheffort A word I had never heard before. Was looking at throw, etc. they're hard to find as a picture on Google images as well.

[@wortheffort]

+evanherk it's definitely a niche tool of green woodworkers. I got mine from lee valley. Lie-Nielsen makes em. Commonly shop made. It's a blunt tool (not sharp) used as a wedge.

[@leonardburns1780]

good job thanx for the video ehhh

[@Youzack1]

All too familiar buddy lol.

[@hugoakerlund5114]

or you could just go out to the woods and cut up a small log and use that. But hay what do i know? ive just been carving and doing woodcraft for about 25 years

[@wortheffort]

That'll work too.

[@abaddon2479]

No I have a stump for my carving and I would trade for this.

[@RyanJKUS2012]

Most carving benches are a log split length wise with some splayed legs, cool project, but I think you over engineered this one

[@wortheffort]

I eventually redid this bench. www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/ugly-need-not-be-how-i-built-a-hewing-stool-twice]

[@artesanodelalma4280]

Hablas mucho

[@wortheffort]

Thanks

[@drewsleepmusic8656]

Dude , you talk too much. Constructive criticism!