Made with mortice and tenon joinery. No expensive tools or timber required.
Buying expensive hardwood for your first workbench would be a little excessive. Only two sizes of regular pine timber are needed. 70 x 70 mm and 45 x 70 mm bought off the shelf at the local DIY store.
Skills gained once completed.
- Stub Mortise & tenon joinery.
- Flattening a workbench top.
- A Simple biscuit joinery technique.
- Clamping & glue up.
- Applying a wax finish
Buying and selecting the timber
Once I had the timbers back in my garage. I selected each timber for its individual part. With regular pine timber, there will always be knots; “and that’s ok!” I selected the best faces to go at the front of the workbench base and top. All the best-looking timbers should be at the front.
Build the top first
For the top, I’m using straight interior grade 50 x 70 mm kiln-dried timber. Begin by sawing the top timbers overlength; these will get squared and trimmed off later. Use biscuit joinery to keep the top flat when glueing up. It’s not necessary, but if you have a biscuit jointer, “best use it”.
Space the number 20 large biscuits at 200mm centres. Gather as many clamps as you can. Evenly spread a water-based wood glue with a paint roller or brush to one side of each timber; clamp up tight.
Clean up any excess glue using a small wedge and a damp cloth. Leave the top clamped up overnight. Using biscuits will help to keep the timbers aligned and flat. Saves a lot of hand planning later. Check the timbers don’t start bowing as you tighten the clamps. If they do, either alternate the clamps or hit the timbers back down with a large mallet.
Time to build the base
The base is made entirely out of 70 x 70 kiln-dried pine. Apart from two small top-side rails. Begin with the four legs. Choose and label each leg (FR front right, BR back right ext). Mark the pencil lines for the Stub mortises. ( dimensions at the bottom of this article) If you make mistakes laying out or cutting the joints, don’t worry about it, “enjoy the making” (it’s a workbench!)
Drill the mortises with a 20mm Forstner bit using electrical tape as a guide for the depth. Once the mortises are all drilled out. Use a 12mm and 20mm normal bevel-edged bench chisel or a similar size to remove the waste back to the pencil line. I find it easier to do all the mortise joints first, then make the tenons fit the mortises.
Layout all the tenons, then place each tenon on its adjoining mortise. I double-checked all my pencil lines before labelling and sawing each tenon.
TIP: Label each part, so you know which mortise goes with which tenon. ( A -A, B-B, C-C, etc) Labelling parts is a good practice to get into. Makes assembly and glue-up on future furniture projects a lot less stressful.
Assemble the workbench sides first
Drill the holes for the furniture bolts using the same 20 mm Forstner bit. Lay all the parts of one side down on the bench top. Clamp the lower side rail to the legs, pulling the joints tight together. Check that the inside of the mortices has no loose chippings and that the top & lower rails are 90 degrees to the legs. When all is well, tighten up the bolts.
Follow the same procedure for the opposite side and the lower front and back rails. The base is almost done. Before fixing the top, check that the legs are level.
Assembling the bench
Place the top on its base. Using the measurements on the plan at the bottom of this page. Saw the top to its final dimensions. Measure out from each leg to check that the top is parallel to the legs. Fix the top from the underside using 120 mm tech or coach screws.
Now would be a good time to hone your sharpening skills. With the largest hand plane you own, plane the top flat. A number 5 jack plane and my beloved vintage Stanley number 7 jointer in use here
Installing the vice
To keep costs down, I purchased a second-hand record no 52 vice for the front face. These old vices are excellent, easy to install using a pilot drill, socket set and four coach screws. A straightforward, solid beginner’s workbench with no frills or expensive hardware.
workbench plan: Front view
Workbench plan: Side view
Thanks for reading
Best Matt North
How about building an Ash carpenters tool chest to go with your new bench
Cutting list for the workbench
Base
- 4 x Legs 70 x 70 x 800mm
- 2 x Front and back rails 70 x 70 x 840
- 2 x lower side rails 70 x 70 x 410
- 2 x Top side rails 50 x 70 x 410
Top
10 x Top 50 x 70 x 1420
Components
- 12 x Furniture Bolts M10 x 150mm
- 4 x Tech Screws 120mm
