Workbench 1.1 - My first (kinda) woodworking bench

Not really my FIRST workbench as I was using a couple of stanley foldable sawhorses/workbenches for several years prior, but this is the first one I built myself.

The top I got at a construction salvage warehouse. they referred to it as a “piece of wood” and sold it to me for $25. at first when I saw it I thought it was a laminated piece of maple, which was very exciting – but once I picked it up in one hand, I figured it’s most likely NOT maple. it’s some sort of light softwood. it was 24”x72” and made as a table top for arts and crafts table – not really for woodworking poundings… but it works just as well for that as well – just gets nicked a bit more easily then other materials.

I cut off 12” of it’s length, and ended up with 24”x60” top. the extra 12” strip I cut into 4” wide parts which I used for the vise faces.

originally I had the top mounted on a 2×4 that was mounted on the wall in our old place, which served as a foldable-get-out-of-the-way workbench, I was never able to really test it’s capabilities much as we moved from there shortly after I installed it.

I then read about building workbenches, and saw the video at finewoodworking.com where they showed how to build a basic sturdy bench – I used their general design, but instead of the MDF top they suggested – I used the one I already had, and sized all the parts accordingly. I also did not use their method of connecting all the parts using threaded rods, but instead, I decided to practice and made all the joinery glued Mortise and Tenon. sure, it will not disassemble for moving around -but this thing is damn sturdy I hand planed and chiseled M&T and dovetails on it , and it did not move an inch (I did have a couple of drawer cabinets in it though which added ~70lbs to it).

the legs are 4×4 douglas fir from Homedepot, and the rails and stretchers are pine/whitewood 2×4 scraps that I picked up from a construction remodeling site, as they threw these away with some other 2×10s

in the 2nd picture you can see I routed a slot in the top rails/stretchers. the top has fasteners that fit into those slots to keep the entire table together when moving it about, and when exerting force on the top while working.

I am now within reach of finishing my next workbench, and noticed I never posted this one, and thought this might be useful for someone that wants to build a workbench quickly, cost effectively, and one that is sturdy and can take the stress. this one certainly has, and can.

Thanks for reading,
Peace.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.