Build a Sturdy Woodworking Workbench

[@thedrizz1913]

Ridiculously nice. Been putting off building one but I've watched enough KZbin vids and think I can finally muster up the courage. It'll likely be somewhere between this, Jay's, and Mike Montgomery's LOL.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Adrian! Good luck!

[@kfk2]

I love the way you finished flattening the top. I've seen the router sled method before, but using the flush trim to clean it up was an awesome idea

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Kenny. I think I gave it 3 or 4 passes with a hand plane and said nope! Then I grabbed the flush trim bit and was done in a minute or two.

[@billonthehill9984]

Nice bench build. I didn't see any hdwr used in this except for the vise. Glue & dowels, well done... Poplar is a beautiful wood to use on floors, walls & furniture, nice greenish grain & can be bought at a good price, usually. Not the hardest of hardwoods but very much a usable wood. I burned 5 cord of poplar one winter back many moons ago now, gives off little to no creosote & will effectively put out some heat for a few hrs.of burn time between loads... Thanks for sharing your build... :-)

[@parillaworks]

Thanks William.

[@KnottyDogWoodshop]

thats a nice looking workbench! i like the wood selection for the bench. Sturdy yet soft enough to re surface down the road

[@parillaworks]

Thanks! It's served me well so far.

[@1totheright]

parillaworks Poplar?

[@parillaworks]

Yup. It was cheap and available. So far I haven't noticed any dents.

[@1totheright]

parillaworks nice

[@katzmosestools]

Great work bud. We have a lot of the same tools. Building one now.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks man. They get the job done! Looking forward to seeing your build.

[@gd3design63]

Gotta admire anyone who spreads wood glue with their bare hands & works heavy lumber in flipflops 😜

[@bennythebrokerau]

That was what made me think this video was done by an Australian. 😂

[@mass112594]

Very nice Joinery. Love how you don't use any Screws to build this. It shows a skill that a lot of carpenters don't have these days. Typically it's because of speed but sometimes out of laziness and not wanting to take the extra steps to build quality and durability. Thank you for the inspiration. Great work! I'm in the process of building my own fold down bench top out of the same Poplar 8/4.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Mark! I suppose every type of joinery has its place. Good luck with your build!

[@callihanhopwood6255]

Really enjoy it. Let's check wood prix plans also

[@marcelocruz12]

Your carpenter's bench was very well done, great job!😊🤝🇧🇷

[@LocutusOfTim]

Thanks for the video. I'm a beginner and I appreciate that you show all the steps.

[@carolmoore3706]

Can you send one of those to Australia it’s a ripper love it

[@SebastiaanMollema]

Very nice looking bench! All the joints look spot on and all surfaces nice and smooth! Are you enjoying working on this bench? Thanks for sharing!

[@antidamageable]

Hard to believe that only took ten minutes from start to finish. Would have taken me at least an hour.

[@vincent7520]

Clearly only a matter of training …

[@ChinskiChat]

Can I ask - the wood facia against which the inside of your vice is mounted - did you attach that to the underside of the table top also and if so by what method? Thanks - great build.

[@barryroberts6470]

Very Nice Workbench looks really sturdy as well. should last you a few years that. Nice Joinery methods as well. Well Done on one Excellent Build. Barry (ENG)

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Barry! I appreciate the comment.

[@maikay1403]

Very nice work bench and this is example I am looking, I think I can do this. Thank you for takes time sharing this I very much appreciated. Have a GREAT day.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot! Good luck.

[@KingsFineWoodworking]

That is an outstanding job. I subscribed, good luck with your channel.

[@patrickbrinkmann7447]

Best Bench you ever created!

[@MichaelMiller1]

This video answered every question I had about building my own bench. Thanks man!

[@dr.sawdust4278]

2:15 sounds like a TI-Fighter is flying by :p Great video! Love your content

[@ozziebarton2374]

glad to see you used pegs, see so many go to all that work and then use screws, did mine with all lap, mortise and tendon with 3/4 in. pegs, looks a lot better that way

[@chrisemens4022]

Go Gators! Nice work on the bench.

[@parillaworks]

Didn't see this comment...thanks Chris! Go Gators!

[@RonMarshallrone]

Dam that came out nice and clean! Excellent job.

[@D3ADMANN]

What a beautiful workbench, i want to build one but I don't have those amazing tools and much space in my garage. Maybe one day

[@parillaworks]

Thanks! Work with what you got and you can make some pretty cool stuff.

[@JustAnotherDayToday]

Great workbench-any plans for purchase?

[@parillaworks]

No not at the moment, sorry!

[@tzavitz]

@@parillaworks great video but plans would be awesome also!

[@thrice1629]

This looks like a very nice bench. Are there plans available?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks, I don't have any plans available though.

[@JayBates]

Nice bench!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Jay! I'm a huge fan.

[@baltimoreace]

Jay Bates did he buy your plans? Or just copy your build

[@Moe7133]

I don't understand why people like to make a real nice bench like this. Don't they get destroy in the process of constant abuse? Even the Japanese just sit on floor and hand plane thing on the floor.

[@JayBates]

Moe7133 nothing wrong with building something nice to work with. People buy nice vehicles every day and they get abused and depreciate quickly. This bench will last forever.

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

I suppose once you destroy the bench through use, it's a tool and not a piece of furniture, then you just build another.

[@ryanrich4596]

Excellent job on the bench. Currently trying to figure out how i want to build mine.

[@dylanmccoy6029]

Been watching a ton of these videos and yours is top notch man! And you have a very impressive arsenal of tools!

[@parillaworks]

Thank you Dylan. I very much appreciate it.

[@sidneycastro4879]

This woodworking book *TopFineWoodworking. Com* contains a great deal of details about woodwork. There are some designs in the book but it is primarily explaining the procedure of how to do various things and what tools to use to accomplish them. In general, this book fulfilled my basic desire to learn about wood working.?

[@marcpoolman2538]

Great looking bench , nice and solid . Good job 🖒

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Marc!

[@ted4088]

Damn you got some cool tools, so much cheaper in the US than in Australia

[@michaelkaye4998]

Beautiful job.

[@karlpopewoodcraft]

Proper job mate. I think I'll be making something very similar, thanks for sharing.

[@EmJayCD]

This is an awesome table. Great job. Are the plans for sale by any chance?

[@alecmacleod9147]

I like the bench and I’m going to build one like it, maybe a little longer. I especially like the pegging approach - looks great. But why did you use poplar? Won’t that dent and lose its flatness pretty quickly?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Alec. The main consideration for the poplar was cost and softness. It definitely has a lot of dents but thats sort of the point. If I knock my workpiece on the bench, the bench will dent and not the workpiece.

[@floriano7096]

Beautiful workbench ... Congratulations!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks you Marcelo!

[@68shiloh]

Great work bench. Thanks for sharing.

[@parillaworks]

Thank you Casey.

[@marcusviniciusdeoliveira8269]

The bench was a luxury. congratulations!!! For me to have a parameter you can tell me how much you spent on material to make the bench. I would like to make a comparison with the values ​​in Brazil. Thanks. 

[@davefieldhouse5119]

Great bench bro

[@robertogutierrez7863]

Great job…What materials did you use? Where can I get the vise?

[@parillaworks]

All of the lumber is poplar, which is uncommon for a workbench because it’s relatively soft. But I’m still pleased with it performance. The vise is a pretty generic front vise from Lee Valley.

[@steamboat1342]

Very nice work. Thanks for the ideas. Is that vise purchased? If so where did you buy it from? Thanks again.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks! I believe it’s a basic one from Lee Valley.

[@naynay5637]

Outstanding work! Did you notice any wobble once you stood it up? If so, how did you deal with it?

[@parillaworks]

There was some wobble most likely from my garage floor and just error on my end. All I had to do was slip a small shim under the high leg to fix the wobble.

[@toysoldier46552]

So did you ever fix the wobble in the legs? Nice joinery but sandpaper on the bottom of the high feet is your friend :)

[@parillaworks]

I think most of the wobble was from a non-flat garage floor. The easiest solution is a small wedge/shim under one of the legs to keep the bench stable. So far so good!

[@thebobloblawshow8832]

Great work. 👍👍

[@deckrower]

Go Gators. Love the video and the bench.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Paul. Go Gators!

[@AncientEnergyEyesOpen]

Thanks! I know this is a few years old, but I'm in the middle of my first bench. It's similar to yours. I was looking for a video that had the same style of base. I'm worried it won't be sturdy enough, but after seeing your end bracers I'll keep on with my plan. (That's what I was going to do too)

[@parillaworks]

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.

[@AncientEnergyEyesOpen]

@@parillaworks thank you! My legs are 4x4, and I cut large dados for 2x4s on the sides like you did. I want to do the ends the same way your is but I'm worried the 4x4s will not be as sturdy. Too much stress on them. ?

[@parillaworks]

I think 4x4 would be pretty solid. The legs in this video are something like 5x3 or so. The stretchers are bit beefier than a 2x4 but it should work just fine.

[@AncientEnergyEyesOpen]

@@parillaworks thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Have a great weekend

[@race9359]

Great video. Might there be plans for this bench?

[@MugRuith]

How do these shops stay so clean with all the woodworking going on?

[@Toyotaamazon80series]

Dust and chip extraction.

[@johnwright1152]

Poplar's nice to work with but isn't it soft for workbench?

[@parillaworks]

It is soft but for a workbench it still works nicely. Every ding or dent on the bench is one less on one of my workpieces. So it’s a give and take I guess.

[@timothyplacko5441]

Very nice. About to build one of my own. I'm thinking of a Roubo style though.

[@cdl1701]

Now that you have had this for a few years do you feel Poplar is hard enough for a workbench? I am planning on building a Roubo style bench and still have not decided on the wood I am going to use.

[@parillaworks]

Definitely. There are dings and dents on it but nothing that wouldn’t have affected a maple bench. The only downside in my opinion, is that poplar doesn’t necessarily look as nice as ash or maple. But that’s not a big deal when it costs half the price. Depends on your local prices I suppose.

[@QuanNguyen-og6pq]

great job, bro. I have a question. At 7:43, Can I just use screws instead of dowels? Do dowels work better? Or it's just for aesthetic purposes?

[@Tom_Lynx_98626]

That was one of the reasons I gave this vid a thumbs down. The dowels he glued in will not hold nearly as well as screws would. Do yourself a favor & use heavy duty screws. Set them 1/3 of an inch below the surface & fill the holes with dowels to hide them.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

Do you glue the legs to the table top? Or no glue so that you can disassemble later?

[@parillaworks]

Sorry for the delay! I planned on gluing it but once I did the test fit (without glue), I just left it assembled.

[@dschmidt972]

Why do you have two jointers? Does one have a different style cutterhead?

[@parillaworks]

The little one was my first and then I bought the bigger one on Craigslist. Now I use neither and upgraded to a big 16” combo machine.

[@Wood_Slice]

Is poplar good for a workbench? Just cruious as it is about as soft as d fir.

[@parillaworks]

Sorry for the delay on my response! The poplar is doing well and as intended. It has a lot of dings and dents but overall has held up well. It was cheap and easy to get in 8/4 thickness, which was good for me at the time.

[@acidchristo]

Stella job mate.

[@ArchangelArchangel-tq3xo]

Great build

[@marcelocruz12]

Sua bancada de carpinteiro ficou muito bem feita, ótimo trabalho!😊🤝🇧🇷

[@maikerumine]

Excellent workmanship!!

[@the_sharp_carpenter]

Good Build. How have you found the poplar to hold up? Thinking about using it on a bench build, as I always have lots of it around. Not trying to be a safety police, but appropriate foot ware is a must, for your feet and your back. (ask my big toe, ;) I was wearing steel toes and still put me out for a week, I can't imagine if i was in sandals.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Rodney. Sorry for the delay on getting back to you. The poplar seems to be holding up well. It has a few dings from things hitting it, but that was part of the plan when I chose poplar. As for the sandals, you are absolutely correct. I should switch to sneakers at the very least.

[@abajhalghamdi9219]

very great table . I really like it very much .

[@ColinMohammed]

Great work bench do you have any plans?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Colin. I don't have any plans at the moment.

[@ColinMohammed]

OK will try to see if i can build it out of the video

[@brycerick]

Found you on Reddit and subscribed. Great video. Keep them coming.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Bryce!

[@carbonfe]

Just found your channel and loving what you've built. How is the poplar holding up on this bench?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Jason. The poplar is doing fine, exactly as expected. There are plenty of dings and dents all over it but that’s sort of the point right? I probably would go thicker with the top next time. Maybe 4-4.5” or so.

[@artrobert0875]

Nice work man!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks!

[@jbb5470]

Nice bench! This size would be just right in my garage / shop.

[@ejicon3099]

@3:38 - What kind/size bit did you use to level the top?

[@parillaworks]

That was a really large straight bit from Freud/Diablo. I would look for “surfacing bits” in the 1.5-2” range.

[@ejicon3099]

parillaworks Thanks for that. Unfortunately, I only have a trim router and it looks like a 1-inch double flute cleaning bottom bit is as wide as I can go. I really need to invest in a larger router.

[@tonyjoe5707]

Next time you've got 10 mins to spare let me know. I need a new bench. Awesome job.

[@edstengel2495]

Nice work on the bench, good tight joints. I'm curious why you choose poplar vs birch or maple. Was cost the major factor?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Ed. Yup, it was mostly cost. I figured this would be my experiment bench. Down the road I'll figure out what I want and don't want in a bench and make the next one out of nicer material.

[@visakanthiruchelvam5028]

After you finished clamping the subframe, you put a long clamp across the length of the subframe clamping the legs towards each other. Unless I misunderstood the actual method of joinery in the crossbraces of the legs, wouldn't this have weakened the drying glue joints. To me it looked like the movement of the legs towards each other would pull it away from the width crossbrace and introduced a lateral slide on the length crossbrace. To do this while the glue is drying maybe would have weakened the joint. i dunno. I'm not an expert but I could follow your reasoning in all the steps but I got a bit stuck on that one. Could you clear that up for me? Thanks

[@parillaworks]

Thanks for your question! After clamping all of the joints I checked if the legs were square to the top of the bench. One of the legs was slightly out of square so I added the long clamp to bring everything into square. I don’t think the integrity of the joints were compromised or weakened. Let me know if that answers your question. Have a nice day!

[@davidvega9823]

i need to built one like this! awesome work man!

[@carabidus]

Noob question incoming: in terms of squaring up the wood, what's the difference between putting the planks through a thickness planer versus a joiner?

[@parillaworks]

A jointer will make a rough and unflattering surface completely flat. The planer can make a rough surface flat but you need a flat reference surface. Which is why you typically joint one face first then take it to the planer to make the other face flat and parallel to the other. If you go straight to the planer, you will make your surfaces smooth but no completely flat and parallel.

[@carabidus]

Ah yes! Now it makes sense. Thank you!

[@ronaldklotz6842]

Good job man! Simple and nice. What size boards did you use for the top and the legs? I have checked your web, pretty interesting, good stuff!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Ronald. Everything came from 8/4 poplar which was milled down to 1.75" or so.

[@Slovenianwoodworker]

Nice bench. its sort of has traditional euro look. It reminds me of that:-) Nice video

[@sawyeredu]

I kinda squirmed in my chair when I watched you glue up the rails to the legs without checking for square with a large square or some geometry, but I realize a lot goes on when not filming. However, it's an important step to show when novices are watching as an instructional video. Filming was great. Poplar was a good choice for timber. Sometimes I wish I had gone with it instead of hard and soft maple. It would have been a lot cheaper, but I opted for the extra weight. Nice video.

[@parillaworks]

Thomas Sawyer Ya I only used a small engineering square when checking for square on those legs. But it seems to be in square still. Thanks for the comment!

[@rudymaryn3806]

Donde compro el tornillo para la prensa

[@behnam22]

Great work. Any idea how much it weighs?

[@parillaworks]

Thanks! It's probably Maybe 200 pounds or so?

[@rjsenn4142]

Looks great!

[@TopekaCitizens]

I really like that router sled you're using in this video :-)

[@mattterrien3698]

After scouring you tube & other sites your design embodies the two design elements important to me as a novice: simple joinery (not quite up to mortise & tenons yet) without a reliance upon screws, bolts, etc. Bravo! Any chance you'd be willing to provide your rough sketches? Anything would help. By the way ... why the added dowels in the stretchers/legs ... does that add strength/support - just curious?

[@mattterrien3698]

By the way ... I have some 8/4 Ash milled 2-years ago from a single tree that's been drying in my garage ... I'm hoping to begin building a bench from soon.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks for the comment Matt. I agree: as long as it works, simple is the way to go. Especially for something as important as a workbench. With how strong wood glue is, the dowels aren't entirely necessary but in the end they do provide a little extra strength. All I have is a rough sketchup file. If you're interested, shoot me a message with your email address. And good luck with the ash. One of my favorite woods!

[@mattterrien3698]

parillaworks parillaworks would welcome the sketch up file; email is: Keep up the great work!

[@fivepointbaptist]

Are those flip flops OSHA appoved?

[@iluvball11]

Could you point me in the right direction for buying a clamp to put on the table? The clamp that you attached to the table at the end with the wood jaws. Do you have a link of where to order one? Been looking for one just like that. Thanks in advance! Well done on the table.

[@parillaworks]

I believe this one came from Lee Valley Tools. But you can find them at other retailers as well. If you look up "front vise" you should come up with plenty of hits.

[@iluvball11]

Thanks!

[@dermotcoogan5693]

What was the brand of the vice you used .? Thanks for the vid.appreciate it.

[@parillaworks]

I believe it’s the basic version from Lee Valley.

[@dennisoshea4906]

What size popular did you use I can't tell from the video ? What was the dimensions that you purchased ? 2x6 2x8 2x10 ?

[@parillaworks]

I had about 100bd/ft of 8/4 poplar. It was rough lumber so it didn't really come in regular dimensions. They were between 6 and 12 inches wide though.

[@luisangelcolon4479]

Love it! That's the bench I want.

[@christopherkouri2317]

Gorgeous build!

[@carlosroa4344]

saludos desde Chile cual es la medida del banco carpintero , me suscribí a tu canal saludos

[@baolong0430]

This is a very nice bench! Do you have any advice to me if I have a limited budget? Can I use 2x4 douglas fir for the top? Thank you.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks BaoLong! If you go with dimensional lumber like douglas fir or pine, I would suggest you use 2x10 or 2x12 material. Those pieces are more stable and have a nicer grain to them. If you don't have the means to rip 2x10 or 2x12s then a top made of 2x4s will be just fine!

[@grandmastermicochero]

nice video and nice bench. If Jay Bates gives it a thumbs up, its got to be good :)

[@seydutz975]

Safty shoes mate!!!

[@amiddled]

Great bench! I've never actually seen many poplar workbench builds. I'm surprised there isn't more, as its probably the cheapest hardwood (other than maybe Beech here in Europe) and it is probably well suited to a bench as it isn't too tough. Maybe its the green tint that puts people off?

[@parillaworks]

I think it's a little too soft for most peoples standards. I don't mind the softness and the price was right. The bench top has some dings but they don't bother me much/

[@aintgonnahappen]

My sister in-law requested that I use poplar in a dresser build I was doing for her and her husband; even to my warnings that she wouldn't like it. The dang thing turned out awesome. I used the greenest boards, with the most appealing grain, as the drawer fronts. Looks really sharp to this day. I made that about 10 years ago. Used oil so it would darken as time passed.

[@VictorHernandez-rp2pe]

Poplar is paint grade. Its very uniform and stable wood for but it doesn't take stain very well. But for applications that get painted like finish carpentry or for practical purposes like work benches, its is a good Choice.

[@CraigMansfield]

Andy Midd I think it's very poplar. :D I'll get my coat

[@benblanco3065]

Great Vid dude, did u use poplar for legs and top? Just curious

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Ben. Yup, poplar for the whole thing. I might swap the jaw face out for a hardwood down the road though.

[@brucewallen593]

did you use poplar

[@angels77100]

Yeah you guys already have all the big tools and a workshop. What about a video using just hammers, drills, handsaws, nails, screws, tape measure etc? This is just showing off what you have!

[@j.l.5144]

Thanks for the video, its helpful to a nube like myself. What were you doing running the router the width of the table?

[@parillaworks]

Jarryd Letona Sorry I never responded to you. At first I was using a router sled to flatten the benchtop. The next thing I did with the smaller router was use a flush trim bit to cleanup spots I couldn't reach with the router sled.

[@wef0711]

Great looking bench! GOOOO GATORS!

[@refrigeration304]

Looks good. Awesome man.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Robert!

[@andrewgonzales3715]

nice build, currently working on mine. great help

[@Woody-777]

Very nice. Well done good sir.

[@guilloteonline]

Muy buen trabajo, felicitaciones, muy prolijo

[@parillaworks]

Gracias!

[@dennisoshea4906]

My last question I promise one end of the bench is longer from the base than the other end what is the long dimension off set and thanks again

[@parillaworks]

I'm not entirely sure why to be honest. Most of the benches I've seen online and in books have that feature. If I had to guess it would be for workholding reasons.

[@Apaulshi]

parillaworks Many times these Roubo style workbenches have what is called a tail or wagon vice in the long overhang. Dogholes corresponding and oft you can place wood right through and hold it in a vertical position. So yes, you are correct. You schooled me on this build. I've a get-R-done Roubo in my shop made with glue and screws 😀