I built my workbench out of 3/4” plywood, 3/16” hardboard and good old pine 2 by 4s. The clamp is a knock off of the record. I based the design off of Ian Kirby’s workbench I found in a workbench book. I still need to add some holes for dog legs. Now I don’t have to use my table saw for a workbench!

This was also my first attempt at hand cut dovetails. Not perfect, but they do the job.

Basically I glued up four layers of plywood, trimmed it in oak and mounted it on the pine base. It is pretty solid, and didn’t cost me several hundred dollars.

The stretcher were secured with double wedged tenons so they will never come apart.

I finished it with Gunstock stain and put a coat of polyurethane to seal the whole thing.

First of all, I did NOT build this table and chairs. However, it was so interesting I really wanted to share it with all of you and I hope that is OK. Waite Phillips (of Phillips Petroleum) donated the Philmont Scout Ranch in 1938 and additional acreage in 1941. He entertained celebrities, politicians and business associates in this fishing lodge. My Boy Scout crew visited this in 2003 and of course, I was most interested in the table and its construction. I don’t have any other information about this, other than it was made out of cedar.

I just thought it had an interesting design and someone might be inspired by this.

I made this desk using the torsion box method. It is hard to tell, but there are no legs. The desk is mounted to a large cleat along the wall on two sides and actually supports my weight! I covered it in Honduran Mahogany plywood. My mistake was to finish it using Spar varnish, which gives a softer surface. I guess I should have moved the chair for the photo.

I determined the dimensions by placing a Monopoly board and the play money so that we could use this to play our games. My wife wanted that tile inlay and a nutmeg colored grout. For some reason, the grout looks pink but it really is a much darker shade and looks very nice in natural light. I used quartersawn white oak and stained it with a basic Minwax polyurethane finish. I like the sturdy feel and used through mortises.