How to Build Your Very Own Woodworking Bench
If you are still using a pair of sawhorses and a sheet of plywood as your woodworking bench, it’s about time that you make one yourself. They are so much sturdier and you can customise and modify your bench, for example by adding extra compartments and shelves to it, to suit your own personal storage needs. This is how to do it:
1 - Gather the Materials
The first thing that you'll need to do is to decide what type of bench you want. A materials list should most definitely be included with a good woodworking plan and I would highly recommend that you do use a plan to make sure you get it right.
When you're shopping for materials, you'll need to consider the dimensions of the bench. For many classic benches the dimensions will be around 36 inches each in height, width, and depth. To build a fairly easy woodworking bench you'll need seven pieces of roughly 2 inches by 4 inches by 8 feet in dimensions; these are to build the bench legs. For the bench top you'll need a 4-foot by 8-foot piece of plywood. You'll also need lag screws, flat washers, drill bits, and drywall screws. The lag screws are for attaching the legs to the frame while the drywall screws are there to attach the shelf and the top of the table to the frame.
2 - Cut the Pieces
The first part is cutting the pieces to size. This will involve using the saw and any other tools that you have to prepare the legs, drawers and shelves, if the plans include any, as well as the top of your new bench. The woodwork plan you're using will be telling you the exact dimensions and process for cutting each of the construction pieces.
3 - Assemble the Frame and Legs
After you cut the pieces down to size you'll need to attach the frames and legs together so that the top can be fitted. This is where the lag screws could come into play, but if your woodworking plans calls for other different hardware or instructions than it is of course important to follow those directions exactly.
4 - The Shelf and Top
Some of the most basic and classic bench plans call for a shelf near the bottom of the bench. Placing this shelf on for storage will come in handy if you're storing scrap pieces of wood or other tools. For the final part of the project you’ll attach the top, which will be used as a working platform, to the base or frame of the bench.
All in all, building a basic woodworking bench should be easy enough for anyone if detailed instructions such as those obtained from a good woodwork plan are used. And by the time you finish building your bench, you’ll have a nice piece of carpentry that you’ll not only be proud of but that will also act as a sturdy work-base so that you’ll be able to work on all future woodworking projects with ease.