Red Oak Woodworking Bench

Beautiful bench, and shop, and tools, and cabinetry, congratulations, look forward to seeing more of your work.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

nice bench…darn on the leg shortening…but it will probably be real nice to have them the same height…

WELCOME TO LJ’s…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

Sweet. I need a bench. Maybe one of these days.

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

Nice looking bench and shop. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

Great looking bench. I cant wait to see some of your other projects.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

Beautiful workbench….........Sure would like to have it in my shop !!!!!
Thanks for sharing and Welcome to LJ’s

Looking forward to more of your projects !

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

It’s about time you completed my workbench. It also looks like you have delivered it to my new shop…..way to go.
A BIG WELCOME TO LJ’S

-- ericandcandi, Louisiana- Home of the "LSU Tigers"

Great job on the bench. Your shop looks like a nice place to work from, very well organized. Thanks for the post

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

Nice Bench, Adjusting the leg height will help, I am in need to do it to my bench as well.

-- Whether You Think You Can or You Think You Can't, YOU ARE RIGHT!!!

It might be because I’m 6’4” and therefore biased but I would raise the table saw. I would bolt some wood between the legs and roller base. BTW, do you mind if I ask how big your shop is? If not, how big is your shop? I’m trying to decide on the size of shop I’m going to build. I don’t want it to big and take up too much of my back yard but I want to be able to work.

-- I always have tomorrow to stop procrastinating. WoodyWoodWrecker

Hey TheQueTip,
Now that is one nice bench and workshop…...with some great toy’s also…....well done.

-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.

Thanks for all the nice comments from everyone. In response;

WoodyWoodWrecker: Raising the TS is an option. I am not as tall as you (5’ 10”) so the 1.5” reduction would not be a big reduction for me, but something I should consider before making the cuts (think twice, cut once or not at all :-) ) The shop is approx 32’ x 13’ 5”. If I could do it over, probably would extend with width to 20’, but very functional as is.

EricAndCandi: I wish you would keep it a little cleaner….... and I need to talk to you about replacing that joiner :-)

-- TheQueTip, Round Rock Texas - All tools I've purchased from Harbor Freight eventually become a hammer.

Hey Q
That’s a killer of a bench great shop too. fantastic work

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

looks great QT. nice touch on the apron’s shaping.

are you using it mostly for powertools? thats when you usually want the bench to be a little high, but if you plan on doing more handtool work (hand planing for most) than working on a lower bench (top at ~34” from the floor) would make your back and arms thank you in the long run.

If I were you and was going to use the bench for outfeed table, I’d cut off those extra 1.5” inches.

cheers:)

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

Wow. What a great bench…
As a thought to getting them the same height, raise the TS first… If you don’t like it you can always remove the blocks under the TS and then lower the bench. Doing it the other way around is harder… :-)

-- David, Portland Oregon

nice looking bench and shop. the only problem i see is that it’s too darn clean! nice job.

-- Talent on Loan from God - Rush Limbaugh ----------www.genesiswoodworks.com----------

That is a beautiful bench that you have added to your shop. This is a tool that is almost a necessity in any shop.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Great bench and your shop looks great and organised not like my little work place looking foward to see your projects.

-- Rautenbach,South Africa

I agree with Sandman seems a shame to spoil what is otherwise a lovely bench.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

I really like that bench, elegant but simple. I like the simplicity of the Masonite top. Is it of your own design or is this from plans?

Beautiful bench. Beautiful shop. WoodyWoodWrecker beat me to it; @ 6’-2” my saw also sports a lift kit…

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

looks great, i love it. Did you use any particular plan?

-- RKWoods

Great bench. The only problem I have is your shop is waaaaaaaay too clean and organized
(Actually, I’m jealous)

Nice job, and welcome

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

Nice bench. It has a, sort-of, craftsman style that I like. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the kind words.

The Sandman, ScotsMan, jm82435 – I think rasing the TS up 1.5” initially is the right choice. Easy to takes blocks out, more difficult if I don’t like it after the legs are shortened.

DHG, Kent Shepherd – Don’t let the cleaniness fool you. This photo was taken after an entertainment center project. I always clean it up after the project. But during a project…...... not so much.

SticklyStyle, RKW – This came from a ShotNotes project (Volume 11, Issue 65, September 2002) There is also an storage addition project that is coupled with this bench in the next issue (Volume 11, Issue 66, November 2002).

-- TheQueTip, Round Rock Texas - All tools I've purchased from Harbor Freight eventually become a hammer.

I concur with all that has been said. Beautiful job! You do very fine work. My only hesitation in having such a beautiful workbench is that I would not want to work on it for fear of damaging the top surface. From your pictures it seems as if you have already planned on replacing the top once it becomes worn out.

Again, tremendous job!!

Beautiful bench.

Shame to trim the legs,

I’d vote to raise the table saw.

Q

-- I don't make sawdust...I produce vast quantities of "Micro Mulch."

cool bench you post pictures of your shop in the workshop section of your account

-- kosta brownsville brooklyn my home

In any case you deserve a round of applause for the lovely bench.well done again Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

By popular vote [ :-) ], I will be raising the TS instead of shortinging the legs. Thanks for the collective feedback from everyone on this subject.

OldWoodMan – You are correct, the benchtop is made of 3 sandwiched sheets of 3/4” masonite. Not a big deal to replace the top. As long as it stays flat and true, I am OK with a ‘well used look’.

Kosta – When I made the post, I was promoting a project. I guess the workshop section might have been a better location (what do you expect from a LJ newbie :-).

-- TheQueTip, Round Rock Texas - All tools I've purchased from Harbor Freight eventually become a hammer.

Wonderful bench. Wish a gallery would do an exhibition of workbenches. Talk about the ideal wedding of form and function!

very nice … you could market that one … I bet they would be hard to keep in stock

-- Never teach a pig to sing ... It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

Yes I am currently without a bench ,and am a bit overcrowded as I lost my wood storage to my wife as she wanted an extra office. So I need to build a woodshop then make a bench. I love all the woodbenches I see.I have numerous books on workbenches too.this as said is a beauty Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Is the top 3 sandwiched sheets of MDF like the plans call for in Shopnots and then did you use a piece of Masonite for the top. Or do they actually make 3/4 thick tempered Masonite??? I have never seen this even at the lumber yard.
Jason

Thats a nice workbench.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

All the above sentiments from me also. I’m particularly interested in your dust collection system. I bought an Oneida, and have yet to hook it up. Did you use snap lock pipe? Did you have Oneida do your layout design?

-- Paul, Bristol,Rhode Island

Jason434 - The top is three 3/4” sheets of MDF sandwiched together. No Masonite on the top of mine (could be wrong, but don’t remember a masonite topper in the plan). The MDF is not tempered but I have not seen an issue with warpage or easiness to ding. A key to building theh top is having a flat furface when building the layers of the top, and not accidently using a screw in an area where a hole will be drilled.

Harley - I did use snap lock pipe for all my connections. Oneida did provide me some drawings for my shop, but they built their layout around dimensions that was not even close to my shop. I re-did the layout with Visio and some tool templates that found on the web. I kept with the general rule of thumb of leaving the heavy workload tools (jointers, planers, TS’s) close to the large pipe (closer to the Oneida)

-- TheQueTip, Round Rock Texas - All tools I've purchased from Harbor Freight eventually become a hammer.

Q -

great looking bench! how is the mdf top holding up?

Cotfessi,

So far so good. It is made up of 3 sheets of 5/8” MDF, so it has some beef behind it. It does have a few cut marks, but that is pretty normal.

Chris

-- TheQueTip, Round Rock Texas - All tools I've purchased from Harbor Freight eventually become a hammer.

Raise! the saw

-- "But I'm much better now!"