Workshop Bench Build

The Need

Needed a proper workbench for the shop — heavy enough to stay put during hand planing, flat enough for assembly work, with storage underneath.

Design Decisions

• Top: Laminated 2x4 construction (cheap, heavy, replaceable)
• Base: 4x4 legs with tusk tenon stretchers (knockdown for moving)
• Vise: Face vise on the left, wagon vise on the right
• Finish: BLO and wax — nothing fancy

Build Notes

The top alone weighs about 150 lbs. Getting it flat required a lot of winding stick work and hand plane time. Worth it.

Tusk tenons were new for me. Satisfying joinery — and now I can disassemble the whole bench if I need to move it.

What Worked

The mass. This thing does not move. Hand planing is actually pleasant now.

What I’d Change

Would add a tool tray. Keeps reaching behind me for things.