Building a Traditional Workbench Part 1

[@107retired]

Great start! Ya gotta respect a guy who shows his imperfections and puts his best side up!! Looking forward to the rest of the project!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Keith Rayeski Thank you for the kind words. I hope you enjoy the other 5 shows in the series. It really was a fun build and I had a great time with it.

[@richardmugg2132]

Excellent. I never miss your videos because they are of very high quality. This one is no exception. Thanks.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks for your dedication to the show Richard Mugg. It is seriously appreciated. It's people like yourself, that keep me making these videos. Thanks for tuning in.

[@WigWagWorkshop]

Perfect timing, I been wanting to build a workbench like this for some time! Wishing the best to you and yours. -Steven

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

WigWagWorkshop Thanks Steven. I hope this video series will help you out then. At least then, I will know that one person is watching.

[@robertbrunston5406]

Watching the work bench build again !

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Robert Brunston Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Sometimes, it's better in ru-runs. Thanks for tuning in the second time.

[@hardnox6655]

Good video as always, and I enjoy your humor. Just by coincidence over this last winter I built a new bench. Mine is made from reclaimed barn wood. All of it is Southern Yellow Pine at least 100 years old.and hard as a rock. Lots and lots of milling and laminating as you might imagine. I'd recommend that you consider some adjustable shelves in your build (before you put it together) using simple shelf pins. I use mine for shorter wood pieces and the shelves are extremely handy.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Hardnox Adjustable shelves are a great idea. I'm trying to keep this bench as simple as I possibly can. I think the most that I will go on this bench will be some storage bins suspended across the stretchers of the legs. Thanks for the suggestion though, it is a great one and I'm sure that someone is going to benefit from it.

[@hardnox6655]

My pleasure. You know how large flat surfaces ALWAYS collect stuff underneath. It's a natural migration... PLUS we always buy more tools. :)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

That's what I'm afraid of. ;)

[@mhaz49]

You will be very happy with your new bench when finished. To save some dry glue scraping, use a damp cloth to wipe away the squeeze out after you get the clamps on. This saves a LOT of grunt work to remove the hard glue.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Mark Hazlewood Good advice Mark. Thanks for tuning in.

[@MAGAMAN]

Actually, if you wipe it off while it's wet, you are embedding the glue in the wood all over the area around the joint, which will require a lot of sanding to get rid of. If you don't get rid of it all, you will have blemishes in any finishes you put over the area that has glue in it. What I see a lot of people recommending now is to wait until your glue is set up (not completely dry, but not wet either) and scrape it off then. This way it comes off easier, but doesn't smear all over the boards.

[@107retired]

Oh, by the way...love the snippets of humor here and there also!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Keith Rayeski The humour is unintentional, I think. I'm just kind of a goofy guy that way and I have a lot of fun in the shop. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@stevehannon6376]

love your approach to woodworking thanks Kenny got kicked out of subscribing to your show had to do another search and now I am back anyone else have that problem?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Steve Hannon Haven't heard of anyone else having this problem Steve. I hope that it was just an isolated incident.

[@charles-michael-blakechute2969]

I'd love to work under someone as an apprentice. My father used to build pine furniture but he never really taught us anything. Starting my own woodshop now and going along with all my mistakes and triumphs to see where it takes me. Plan on selling nick, nacks until I can figure thing out and make things percise​ and better. Right now working on my first table saw bench using 4x4s, 2x4s, and 1x4s using lap joints.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Good to hear Charles. I'm glad that you are getting into the hobby as, in my opinion, it's the best hobby out there. Take your time and be patient and if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask. I'd be more than happy to help you out. If you need an immediate answer, you can usually get a much quicker response from my Facebook page by sending me a PM there. You can find my Facebook page here facebook.com/kennyearrings1/ I also post picture of projects that don't make the show on that page so if you are interested, it might be worth it for you. Thanks for tuning in and for taking the time to leave me a comment. I appreciate it.

[@MAGAMAN]

The best thing for precision is to make sure all your tools are set up correctly. If your table saw is off, all your cuts will be off. I'm just finishing up my first wood working project since high school wood class and I gotta say, Pine can be a beautiful wood. I just finished up a small work bench for my garage as a starting project using mostly 2x4s. I used mortise and tenon joints for everything and after finishing it with Arm-R-seal Urethane, it looks beautiful. I would be proud to have this inside my house, despite the small imperfections it has. Too bad it's going to get beat up in my garage, but I'm sure there will be many more, and better, projects in the future.

[@barryroberts6470]

Great detailed video Kenny, I'm looking forward to the rest of the build. It's a good job you have done a more detailed plan to look at, that Veritas plan doesn't seem good value for money to me. It's people like you who do these videos to help us novice people try and build stuff, when the plans are awkward to read like that Veritas one. Thanks. Barry from England.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Barry Roberts Thanks for the kind words Barry. The Veritas plan is just fine but it can be a bit confusing. I'm hoping that this video series will help anyone who wants to build this bench but gets confused and is having problems. I certainly don't expect people to sit through all of these videos. If they do, that's great but it is more of a reference material for them.

[@runekaspersen9709]

Nice bench good work

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thank you very much. Thanks for watching my show.

[@GradyWerner]

What's the measuring tool you use to mark your wood? That thing is fantastic

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Grady Werner The device that I use to do my layout marking is called a T-rule and they are made by INCRA inc. They are pretty awesome and I use mine constantly in the shop. You can get them at most woodworking stores including Lee Valley Tools but if you don't have a woodworking near you, you can get them direct from INCRA. Here's the link. www.incra.com/measuring_marking-trules.html Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@GradyWerner]

Thanks! Can't wait

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Oh, one more thing......you need to use a 0.5mm pencil with this t-rule but not to worry, it comes with one as far as I'm aware.

[@MAGAMAN]

Incra is awesome. I wish I had the room for their tablesaw fence, but that thing takes up a ton of room. It that miter Jig the 3000, or the 5000 with the sled part removed (basically a 3000)? I have the 5000 and absolutely love it.

[@stevehannon6376]

My buddy and I have talked about doing a bench like this for a long time

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Steve Hannon Don't talk about it Steve........DO IT. It's a blast for sure.

[@likotube]

Hello Kenny. I'm ready to mount a work bench. I'm looking for tutorials to help me, for I am beginner. His videos are imprecionantes and didactic. Were the ones that found compatible with me. My initial doubts is what type of wood should I use. I am in Brazil and I do not remember seeing this type of pine that you guys use in your country. Congratulations on your dedication. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Big hug. (sorry about my English)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Julio Santos This bench is made 100% out of maple. Maple is a hard wood that is heavy and can withstand the punishment that a workbench is subjected to. Any hardwood at all will work just fine for a bench. As long as it is a tight grain and hard, it will be fine. I'm not exactly sure what kind of wood you have available to you in Brazil, but if you are going to build a workbench, make sure it's made from hard wood. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[@tnekkc]

I used the $20 Lee Valley plans for the modern workbench in 1984. I found ~ a dozen errors in the plans. Rock hard Maple cost me $2 per board foot then. That bench is still with me, and getting heavier.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I wish hard maple was still $2 a BF Clark. That's one of the great things about making your own bench...if you do it right, it will last a lifetime and then some. Thanks for tuning in to the show.

[@stevehannon6376]

My garage seems bigger but yours is way more organized do you have a video on shop layout ?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Steve Hannon I don't have a video on shop layout Steve, but there is a shop tour video planned for the near future. Shop organization is a very personal thing and my shop is always evolving. I am in no way, shape or form in a position to tell someone how to organize their shop to suit their needs.

[@solobassoon]

Do you know whether the plans come in a metric version? Here in Europe we are not that used to inches.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Hans Henrik Larsen I don't believe they do make them available in metric. I find this rather odd actually considering that the plans are made from a Canadian company and Canada is consider to metric. The construction trades still work a lot in imperial measurements but for the rest of the country, we are metric. Maybe an email to Veritas Canada will bring you a better answer as to the metric versions of these plans.

[@solobassoon]

+kennyearrings1 I will write to Veritas and ask them for a metric version. Thank you for your reply.

[@nalayoun9933]

Thank You

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Nala Youn You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@fkuyt9781]

nice

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Karl Palan Thanks Karl. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[@stevehannon6376]

I am going to send him this link Kenny I am curious what are the dimensions of your shop? The camera may just make it look small I have a 2 car garage that I use. seems bigger

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Steve Hannon My shop is quite small and can be a challenge sometimes. The dimensions are 12'X24'. It is the biggest that the city would allow me to build on my property and I have to rely on organization in order to keep that space useable. A 2 car garage should suit you perfectly.

[@mikeribelin7822]

I to have two daughters, one son-in-law has interests in woodworking so there maybe someone to appreciate my collection of tools.

[@107retired]

+Mike Ribelin Hey Mike!! I'll appreciate your tools!!! Let me leave you my shipping address!! ;>)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Keith Rayeski Good luck with that. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

[@MAGAMAN]

My dad keeps trying to give me a bunch of his old tools. While I appreciate the sentiment, his favorite shop is Harbor Freight. So, I have a bunch of crappy tools littering my garage that I will never use and have zero resale value, but I can't throw them away because I don't want to hurt his feelings.

[@wesingtogether]

why do people who glue boards together insist on doing hard work, and dont wipe off the glue squeeze out before it is dry ? I take a lint free wipe and wipe most of it off, then i dont need to work so hard to get whatever was left off

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Normally, I would definitely clean up the squeeze out on a glue up but in this case, there were just too many clamps hindering the clean up so it was a case of it being easier to scrape it off afterwards. The other issue with cleaning up the squeeze out on a glue up this size is that by the time you start cleaning up the glue, it has already started to gel which makes for a messy clean up and ends up smearing the glue over the surface of the wood. This makes an even bigger and more time consuming mess to clean up later. I do agree with you though that in most cases, it is best to clean up the squeeze out immediately after it is clamps to prevent yourself having issues down the road. Thanks for tuning in and for taking the time to leave your comment.

[@mitchellkasdin1899]

The plans aren’t good? They should label what the views are? It’s an orthographic drawing so it should be labeled so you can easily decipher it. The drawing isn’t fully dimensionalized and it doesn’t look to scale? They probably shouldn’t have stuffed it onto a single sheet of paper?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Having worked with construction blueprints for many years Mitchell, I didn't have any issue with these plans. The pertinent measurement were there and what wasn't on one drawing, would be listed on a detail. There isn't much to the "views" of the drawing as they aren't listed as "front view", "back view" etc but rather, the drawing is labelled as "detail A", "detail B" etc and those detail areas are labelled on the main drawing. I guess they could have placed this on more than one sheet of paper but I don't think it would have changed anything. Hopefully, between your set of plans and this video, you will be able to make your own bench. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance but I thank you for tuning in to the show.

[@Bogie3855]

Beginners will have to learn to read prints anyways. One step at a time.....

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Exactly. I hope you enjoyed the show Paul. Thanks for tuning in.

[@Bogie3855]

@@acutabove_woodworkings I have about 45 board feet of Western maple in 8/4 stock on the floor of my shop. I will FINALLY get my own bench. Got all the toys already so the bench needs to be there. Got a set of Veritas planes and a bench vise waiting to use it already. Sadly it would be really hand to have the bench to make the bench...

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

@@Bogie3855 Isn't that always the case. Hard to make a bench without a bench to make it with but you have not bench so it's harder to make the bench. Somehow, I understand that. LOL. Good luck on your build Paul. You're going to love it.

[@Bogie3855]

@@acutabove_woodworkings And you know, NONE of this wood is light. Its a workout.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

@@Bogie3855 I feel for ya.

[@moejunior]

Nice joke on workbench. A lot of laughter here.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+moejunior I'm glad that you liked it. Thanks for watching my show.

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Walter Rider You're very welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.