| Project by Brent Livingwell | posted 59 days ago | 1239 views | 7 times favorited | 31 comments |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Hello all,
When I first found out about Lumberjocks (via a recommendation from a conversation via craigslist) I was interested in finding a person in the Boston area with a thickness planner to help mill some lumber for a dresser I am making. I still have not found this person and as a result I looked for other ways to mill the lumber I needed. As I looked and learned, I stumbled onto a website hosting free woodworking videos (http://www.woodworkingonline.com/category/podcast/page/2/ ) and watched a pod cast about essential hand tools, and one point really stood out: the most important hand tool is a good workbench!
The next day, I went into my workshop and my makeshift office table/workbench collapsed as I planned a board and I almost broke my finger. So you know what happened next, I had to have a decent workbench.
Many of the early posts I received when I joined lumberjocks, suggested that as a jock I should be open to scrounging for wood anywhere I can find it, and to be cheap when ever possible. So my next step was to find some free workbench plans. My search turned up 2 plans, http://www.jeffgreefwoodworking.com/pnc/ShopProj/TradBnch/index.html, and http://pages.friendlycity.net/~krucker/Bench/index.htm. When I first saw these benches, I thought, oh yeah that would be nice, but it will never happen, either too much money or too much effort. But as I continued to ponder a solution, I drove past a very large door lying in a trash pile. I grabbed it. I figured that since it was a large solid core door, that I could just throw some legs under it, attach a vice and have a bench. So I started to plane the door flat and noticed that I would never really get it flat. Now what I wondered? The next day, while trying to score something wood for free on cragslist, I “won” a solid maple kitchen table. So now I had, free plans, a large, semi flat-semi planned door, and a free rock maple kitchen table (and a very bruised finger). Now all I needed was some time and motivation. The next week, my wife surprised me with a class with woodworking master Phil Lowe to learn proper technique in cutting miters, mortise and tenon, and dovetail joints. Now my mission was clear, practice the skills I just learned, create my dream bench, and do it all on the cheap.
What you see here is the product of chance, patience and desire. If you look at the second set of plans it calls for 2.5-inch thick slabs as the center of the bench. When I planned, ripped and laminated the door (which turned out to be solid poplar) the result was a 2-inch thick slab that still bowed if I sat on it. Then I tried gluing another board (French Cedar) on top of that. Still not rock solid. So then the idea came to me to rip it in strips and laminate that together. And there you have it, a stripped traditional workbench.
Now I had to include all three joint types. So the left end cap is joined with a hand cut-pinned mortis and tenon, the tail vice has half-blind and through-dovetails, and is capped with a hand cut miter joint. Since I am new to dovetail making, and have no bandsaw, the end vice was a bear. It totaled about 25 hours. 
All in all the bench was pretty easy, but lots of heavy lifting and hand planning for hours, since I still have no planner, and I chose to level the lamination with hand planes.
Then best part about this project was its connection to Lumberjocks, I truly enjoy and learn from all the projects and people on this site, and often thought of my fellow lumber jocks as I planned the night way. So thank you all for sharing you love for wood and work, and if you do not yet have one, build that bench you always wanted.
Last but not least:
1.Total cost of the bench was about $350 (base, hardware, vices, tiger maple back board, glue, walnut, ext)
2. It took three months of total obsession to complete (naps, nights, weekends)
3. It sure would be easier to build a workbench if you already had a workbench…
If you read all of this, thanks; I hope it was worth it.
Thank you to my wife and daughter for the support and patience.
-- Things of the greatest worth are from the Earth. Ben Harper
Your Online Shop - Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated - Your Woodworking Showcase - 3 Ways To Help, Financially - Your Woodworking Community
31 comments so far
WoodJack49
home | projects | blog
189 posts in 215 days
posted 59 days ago
Great looking workbench. Especially since, as you said, you built it without the benefit of having a workbench.
-- Jack - Mission Viejo, Calif
Scotach
home | projects | blog
67 posts in 71 days
posted 59 days ago
Holy Smokes!! That is a beautiful bench and a fantastic project. Thanks for posting it up here, you have inspired me to get to work. Score on the Poplar door! LumberJock -1 / Trashman -0
-- Brian S. --- "If you’ve worked on the building of a boat, it belongs to you the rest of your life." -Bob Prothero
thetimberkid
home | projects | blog
1515 posts in 155 days
posted 59 days ago
Nice work bench!
Thanks for the post
Callum
-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/
Russel
home | projects | blog
1214 posts in 391 days
posted 59 days ago
That’s one very nice bench. And, with all the work you’ve put into it, it’s an extension of you. You two should work well together.
-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.
trifern
home | projects | blog
3435 posts in 219 days
posted 59 days ago
Awesome bench and really nice story. Thank you for sharing.
-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.
Richard David Merrill
home | projects | blog
2 posts in 75 days
posted 59 days ago
Beautiful bench, very inspiring!!!
CharlieM1958
home | projects | blog
3993 posts in 671 days
posted 59 days ago
One of the best looking benches I’ve seen. Congratulations!
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
SPalm
home | projects | blog
702 posts in 334 days
posted 59 days ago
Sweet. Good for you. Excellent job and execution. Very inspirational story also.
Steve
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Bigbuck
home | projects | blog
820 posts in 115 days
posted 59 days ago
Very nice, sounds like you had a great adventure making it.
-- Glenn, New Mexico
Jon3
home | projects | blog
251 posts in 557 days
posted 59 days ago
That is gorgeous. I love the euro style benches.
Woodhacker
home | projects | blog
450 posts in 175 days
posted 58 days ago
Beautiful job Brent. I’m sure it will be very satisfying working on that bench for many years to come.
-- Martin, Kansas
Grumpy
home | projects | blog
4924 posts in 303 days
posted 58 days ago
Great looking bench Brent.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
James Early
home | projects | blog
40 posts in 100 days
posted 58 days ago
Excellent, Brett! I really like the tail vise. I know those are difficult to do. A three month investment that will pay a lifetime (and, problem more) of dividends—sounds like a great deal.
-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!
DustDawg
home | projects | blog
6 posts in 66 days
posted 58 days ago
That’s a one beautiful bench Brent – along with a very inspirational story. Nice work!
BobR
home | projects | blog
132 posts in 437 days
posted 58 days ago
Great looking bench. I am just planning on building a new bench. You have given me encouragement.
-- Bob
Richforever
home | projects | blog
89 posts in 172 days
posted 58 days ago
Thanks for completing such a gorgeous bench! It gives us all inspiration.
-- Rich, Seattle, WA
Betsy
home | projects | blog
1760 posts in 348 days
posted 58 days ago
One thing is sure, no one else will ever have a bench quite like this one. It’s really a cool looking bench.
-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!
SteveKorz
home | projects | blog
1196 posts in 166 days
posted 58 days ago
Wow! Very nice! A good workbench is on my projects list too… thanks for the post!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
arw01
home | projects | blog
10 posts in 66 days
posted 58 days ago
Great looking job there! You should be very proud of your effort.
Scrounging is pretty fun, and knowing you did it on the “cheap” certainly gives you a good feeling.
Next project is the drawers underneath for all those hand tools right?
Alan
-- No good deed goes unpunished!
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8414 posts in 440 days
posted 58 days ago
That is one great looking bench, and the price was right!
Very nice job!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
ChicoWoodnut
home | projects | blog
601 posts in 268 days
posted 58 days ago
That bench rocks! I guess I’m still waiting for the right boards to fall into my lap LOL.
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
grovemadman
home | projects | blog
541 posts in 224 days
posted 58 days ago
Fine bench! It will see some use fir sure. Sorry about the cheesy pun…
-- --Chuck
Brent Livingwell
home | projects | blog
26 posts in 210 days
posted 58 days ago
Thanks for all the feedback. yes, a tool chest is next. I have already scored a large walnut table off of the free list on Craigslist, that will work nicely. I love free wood. No comments on the free plans or podcasts?
-- Things of the greatest worth are from the Earth. Ben Harper
Bradford
home | projects | blog
628 posts in 275 days
posted 58 days ago
You were right on with the “you need a bench to build one” it’s hard to have a level place to work when you need to make something flat and level. Congrats on the final result. It’s a beauty.
-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.
sIKE
home | projects | blog
474 posts in 206 days
posted 58 days ago
Man that looks nice. You are going to enjoy working on that puppy.
-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"
Lee A. Jesberger
home | projects | blog
2613 posts in 432 days
posted 58 days ago
No wonder your last name is Livingwell!
A class with Phil Lowe, a surprise from your wife, a free maple top?
Are you making this stuff up? lol
Is that your real last name, because if it is I think that’s cheating!
You did a fantastic job with this bench.
It’s beautiful!
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
ChicoWoodnut
home | projects | blog
601 posts in 268 days
posted 58 days ago
Hi Brent. I have had Keith Rucker’s PDF plan for about three years now. I plan to use it as a baseline (Some Day) I have read it over and over. I think it is rather complete. He put a lot of effort into documenting the process.
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
Chris
home | projects | blog
1169 posts in 443 days
posted 57 days ago
Great work there Brent and thanks for the links!
-- Chris
jeanmarc
home | projects | blog
1693 posts in 168 days
posted 44 days ago
Great looking workbench.Nice work!
-- jeanmarc manosque france
JerryS
home | projects | blog
23 posts in 62 days
posted 23 days ago
Great looking bench , I like the hand joints , those dovetails set off the bench . Thanks for links they will come in handie when I start my new bench .
Budgie
home | projects | blog
80 posts in 390 days
posted 22 days ago
Nice bench. Sure will keep it and the links in my as I start my new bench this week.
-- Bud, NY, http://tpww.libsyn.com/