#2: I would have made it wider with possibly a tool well. I find that 20” in quite narrow and 24” might be ideal.

#3: The twin screw vise that i had in there originally, I changed out to a quick release cast iron vise which I’m glad I did. I prefer to work on that much better. But my ideal setup I think would be a wide twin screw that utilitizes 1 handle, like the veritas system. I like my cast iron vise a lot, but I’m thinking for wider panels, it’s might suck, but nothing a pipe clamp can’t fix.

#4: The last thing I would change would be to add a covered tool storage on the bottom. Right now it’s just plywood and I set most of most used tools on that rack, but the tools get covered with dust right now.

#5: lastly, I would change the end vise to a wagon vise. Better for planing wider boards because it allows to whole board to set on the bench while working as opposed to the cast iron vise I have no which leaves part of the board hanging off which can cause it bend while planing slightly.

With all that being said, I think a new bench might be a good winter project right after Christmas incorporating these changes.

PS The shop is a mess! I’m going to tear it all apart coming soon to convert the garage into a real wood shop, so I’m going to start getting rid of things and cleaning it all out!

What inspired this blog is I’ve been reading a lot of people debating over sharpening tools and the correct methods. I have to say that to this point, the greatest bit of information I’ve come across is watching Paul Sellers sharpen his tools. It was like a magical woodworking epiphany! Up until that point, my MEASURING side of my brain, which tends to make everything more difficult than it needs to be, kept telling me that I had to use a honing guide and my bevels had to be the perfect angles and I needed a worksharp 3000 or a tormek or whatever. And to those people that have them, don’t be offended because I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t use them, I’m just saying that I’ve found you really don’t need them. Woodworking has been done for 1000’s of years without Tormeks, Worksharps, or fancy honing jigs. I know it seems impossible! How did they know what their bevels were on their tools without a veritas mark II honing jig?? I have a secret for you, they didn’t! I’m sure their tools were hand sharpened to an approx bevel somewhere between 20-30 degrees and they worked fine. Same method I’m finding is so true in sharpening my own tools. No more jigs, no more machines, no more switching discs on the worksharp, no more setting every bevel perfectly. Just hand sharpened on my set of diasharp diamond stones and hit the leather strop with honing compound. 2 minutes of time and sometimes less, I’m back to work without having to drag out the $500 worth of sharpening equipment that I kept telling myself I had to have. I’ve come to peace with the fact that my chisel might have a 32.987387654789 degree bevel instead of the 30 degrees I was hoping for, but when it sharp, it cuts wood perfectly every time!! That fact used to bother me to the point that I had drilled in my head that I have to buy $100 honing jigs and $300 machines to make sure my tools are sharp.

I’m sorry for the long-winded thoughts and hope no one who owns one of those very well made machines and honing jigs gets offended because they do work very well and they make tools very sharp. I just wish someone would have told me this info before I started in woodworking. So with all this being said, there I two things I will leave you with:

1) The less MEASURING you do, the more ACCURATE you will be

and

2) Keep it simple stupid!

I’m still trying to decide whether to attempt the “roubo dovetail joint as chris schwartz shows or to just mortise the legs into the top. Any suggestions?? Also, I have some 4×4’s left over from the top that would be perfect for the stretchers going into the 5×5’s. I was thinking of making that tenon about 1”-1 1/4” thick only because that’s the max size chisel I have. Might take a while, but I’m going to attempt the mortise the Paul Sellers way with a standard bevel edge chisel.

We own a flooring store and we started a job that required us to take up existing 2 1/2” thick oak hardwood, mostly longer boards instead of shorts, which is nice. I had my guys set aside all the boards they pulled up between the 5’+ length and I have about 50-60 boards that length to use. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m not in a rush. I will pull all of the nails, then joint and plane them down, cut the tongue and groove off, and laminate them to between 2 1/2’ – 3’ wide (once again depending on the amount of wood I actually end up with. It should result in roughly a 2” thick x 3’ wide x 5’6” top roughly which isn’t ideal, but for my first bench and the fact that it’s free and recycled oak, I think it will suit me fine for now. So here’s what I’m starting with: