Build a REAL workbench for $30 

Rex, you get it. You actually get what it means to not have money for tools. I see articles and videos about getting started in woodworking, and the authors have no idea. Steve Ramsey touts his list of tools to outfit a beginner's shop for under $1000. If I had done that as a beginner my kids would have starved and my wife would have left me! Great job with this one.

As a former Hope Depot employee in the lumber and building materials department, thank you for restacking your rejects

"I've been involved in drug deals that were less sketchy than getting this thing" instant subscription!

I’m experienced and at 76 I learned a couple of things that I wish I’d known 50 years ago. I subbed right up after this first look. Good original tips I haven’t seen before. Economical too! Thanks kid!

"yo man,you got any.." *Whispers* "Bench Vice's"

Rex, I built this bench about two years ago using only hand tools and Irish stubbornness. It is the most versatile, portable, and user-friendly piece I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for showing all of us budget-based workers a straightforward solution to that first vital fixture.

Very good speaking style: clear, concise, great diction and delivery. No unnecessarily long or obscure words, no jargon or bafflegab and no talking down to the viewer. Great for beginners and the less experienced but experts could learn something too.

As an amateur with woodworker, i typically feel overpowered with the entire arrangement ru-vid.comUgkxrYREG3-7f1Aqk9ams3ZESRNzGnfdUtyQ . Be that as it may, this arrangements drove me through with much clarity and effortlessness woodplans. Works i now work like a genius. That is great!

There are tons of beginner woodworking courses in RU-vid. This one seems to be the most practical

One thing I'll add as a suggestions is to drill holes along your bench to pass a rope through. Romans used rope for everything. If you have a rope going through your bench, where the holes are the width of the piece of wood you are working on you have a perfect hold down clamp where you can either stand on a board that is passed through the rope underneath the bench, or just step on the rope, you could also tourniquet the rope and clamp it in place for additional downward force. Lots of options, the majority of roman work benches were made extremely crudely by felling a tree, and sawing it in half and drilling holes in it this is a much easier way to build a good bench than carrying one while on military campaign. This is what I am going to do for my backyard benches around my fire pit, got the trees in my shed drying right now, so far it's been 1 year since they were felled so it shouldn't be long and I can do it. An old saying from Rome "Rope is dope!" lol

First video I've seen where the host/Craftsman does not try to make a bench that's a museum quality piece that becomes a major costly project that takes up the entire shop and budget. Thank you. Building mine from free wood I get piece by piece. Straight, dense, and very flat. Thx!😊👍

I worked at Lowes for 11 years, if you restack your reject lumber, your basically a saint in mybook.

I built myself a workbench top using 2x4's for a heavy welded steel frame a friend made me years ago, was inspired by this. I spent a little money on the fir 2x4's at around $5 each since they were a high grade, straight and generally square stock, and my workbench was WIDE and LONG (84 inches long and 40 inches wide) so it ran me about $125 for the wood and $25 for a gallon of glue. The issue I ran into was that I only had 4 pipe clamps wide enough, none of my bar clamps were 48 inches, and for a 9 foot long glue up, that wouldn't do. So I used ratchet straps with carboard under the glue seams and little 2x4 off cuts at each point where the strap goes around, with offcuts under the straps to prevent them from digging in. And holy crap did it WORK. Going to flatten it with my garbage $20 amazon stanley scrub plane in a couple days, get it as flat as I can, and then start drilling 3/4 dog holes. I also built your chisel rabbet plane from a scrap 2x4 cutoff and a 1/2 inch stanley chisel so I could make a deep rabbet for the benchtop to pass over the lip of the angle iron that makes the benchtop Got a lot of inspiration from your videos!

And this is probably why a workbench is called a bench instead of table.

As a beginner woodworker (hand tools) I find the channel to be one of the best. Again, thanks!

That idea of how to get the legs level is Outstanding. I've always had a hard time getting the legs of anything level, now I'll remember this forever. THANKS

What a great idea for the levelling of the bottom legs --- the half-cut pencil glued to another flat piece of wood, simple but something the normal person wouldn't have thought of ---- only one word for it ... nice.

Thank You for this video, I had great fun making this bench, I actually made it a bit shorter (4ft as I live in a really small place with no shed) I made the top really flat (with my newly refurbished plane, thanks to your video series ) I now use it for all my wood working and crafts, as a coffee table, as extra seating when friends come over and somewhere for my bag of tools to live under :-) sorted

Rex Krueger, please read: I just got finished building this bench, and I think it will be a great addition to my woodworking tools! I only made mine 5' 6" long due to storage and weight constraints (I have back problems, and had difficulty carrying it at 7' long). I used "premium" whitewood 2x4s from my local big box store, as there are no other options near me. I made a couple other changes that I think bear importance: 1. Rather than drill from the bottom, I decided to drill from the top, because I wanted to ensure the holes were the same distance. I simply measured to 10" from ends, and 4.5" from the sides (one inch offset from your measurements). This was more of a visual detail, but it would have driven me nuts to have them not match. I also helps with breakout issues. 2. You mentioned cleaning up the legs to make them appealing, but something you didn't discuss is easing the bottoms of the legs to help prevent breakout due to moving of the bench. Again, more of a visual, but also deals somewhat with structure. Again, I really appreciate all you've contributed to the woodworking world.

I really like your continued emphasis on affordability. Thanks!

Camera angles and narration style...... everything about this is Blue's Clues

Love your videos. I've built several different benches/tables similar to this with construction lumber like you did. But something I always do that makes things easier on putting the 2x4 benchtop together is I drill holes all the way through the boards. I then get some 1/2" all thread and put them through the boards. On a bench of about 6 feet long yours I use 4 pieces. It makes it easier to glue up all the boards at once. Cap the holes on the end and you never notice. Just keep in mind where they are for when you put on the accessories it drill dog holes.

36 years ago as a apprentice, a old master cabinet maker showed me pictures of these benches and yes they are mainly for sitting on as you work but were made long so two people could work. Back then I thought, thank god times have moved on, here in the UK I can not imagine working that way, but it's nice watching youtube video's showing woodworking roots

The minute you showed that book, I paused the video and went looking for it. $125! so I did a little searching and the minute I found one new for $37, I bought it. Now, on to the rest of the video. thnx for the tip.

I've just been building this workbench the last few days, and it coming on very well, really liking it! One thing I struggled with was the hatchet approach to making the tenons, my wood had quite a few knots and so very tricky to stop it splitting in all different directions. After couple of attempts I gave up on the hatchet, but then had better success with cutting down to octagon shape with saw, then using chisel to get to round(ish!). Hope this help someone else who has knotty wood!

Rex: "So, we're going to build a bench out of this book." Me: "Wow, he can do anything!"

After watching this video earlier this year I made a bench like this. Instead of 2x4 lumber I used a 9” spruce log cut in half length-ways for the top. I bought 1.25” pine wood dowels for the legs, which werent expensive. Same design otherwise.

Hey Rex, I just finished my $30 work bench and wanted to thank you. My bench rocks and your channel is awesome!!! :)

Really wish I watched this before I laminated up the first half of the top for my mini workbench out of 12 3/4” thick boards that began their life as bed slats. They had some hella cupping and twisting and I definitely planed away half of the wood that was there in the first place. But seeing how you clamped them and used the boards themselves to find gaps and identify twist and bowing… that would’ve been much easier than referencing them against the “flat-ish” grimy workbench built into my basement and then essentially planing madly until they rocked “only a little”

This is really refreshing, I've been watching literally 100s of woodworking videos and everybody seems to have a full industrial work shop with more tools I can handle and this channel, here's a guy using an axe to make round wedges lol, love it! - subscribed

this is the best video to teach, you don't need to have $20000 tools to make a $50 table ! good job.

I'm not going to put legs on mine. In fact, I'm going to add a pair of handles and just use saw horses for a standard height bench and buckets for the "Roman Bench" height. I live in a travel trailer, which makes portability an absolute necessity.

I’m a carpenter. I’m also a photographer and videographer. I just wanted to let you know you’re focused on the wall behind you in almost all of your shots. Besides that keep up the good work!

I'll be building one of these, and probably helping two of my friends build their own. this thing will be a big help - I'm getting too old to beat hell out of my knees and back using the floor and blocks or sawhorses. as an aside: your presentations are admirably concise, clear, and complete.

Hey, Rex, just wanted to say I finally got around to building this little puppy. I should say I've never had a work bench to call my own. I've worked on top of table saws router tables, even lathe beds. Frequently, the kitchen table (my wife deserves a medal) and seasonally, the picnic table. I built it over the weekend, and tonight, I sanded it down, and cut a few pieces of scrap wood with a lousy saw. Then I practiced dove tails with dull chisels. Despite my shop tool limitations, this was SO much better than what I've been doing. I can't think you enough for the encouragement to try and do these things. I love your videos. I'll be joining the ranks of the Patreon peeps soon. (I have an agreement w/my wife to not spend extra money while work is threatened by the virus, and I'm going to honor that.) This is just wonderful. Also, I didn't exactly follow your directions. (My mother says this has been an issue for the better part of 50 years.) Being on the shorter side (5'7") I went for "thinner." I had some scrap 4x4 (pressure treated) leftover from another project, so I'm using that for the legs as well. You had suggested an odd number of 2x4s to have a middle board. The 3 4x4 segments offer me the equivalent of 6 2x4s, but, still afford me the option of holes down the middle. I cropped both ends of each leg at 15* and splayed the legs approx. the 32* you suggested. Right now, the legs are only glued-and-screwed. I'm going to drill a 3/4" hole through the top and as deep into the leg as I can. I'm going to pound in a hardwood dowel. I think I have that sitting around. If I have that or bigger, I'll use it. Smaller, and I'll put in a couple per leg to strengthen the joint. All in all I'm pickled tink with this bench. Thank you, my friend! And, thanks is not enough. All the best,

I've finally made one!! I love it!! I made mine a bit shorter and made it so the legs come out because I have far less space than Rex does and because I tripped on the legs one afternoon, but it ROCKS!! Can't wait to put a vice on it! Thanks Mr. Krueger! 👍

That pencil trick, with it planed in half and glued to a small block to level the bottom of the legs is amazing, thank you for that.

This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for for weeks online and on RU-vid. Thank you Rex!

Loving your videos Rex. I’m halfway through building my bench. I do rigging on traditional sailing ships and I love old fashioned hand tools and benches. I built a traditional riggers horse last year to help with the special work holding needs of rigging, holding lines under tension with space to work all the way around for splicing, serving etc.. the design is one used for hundreds of years. So naturally I was attracted to the simple historical style of the Roman bench. Cheers. Ryan

I got some free scrap wood from a friend and I was able to make a crappier version of this bench, but still totally functional. I don't do a lot of wood working, but every time I need it I appreciate having made it. it stores and takes up hardly any space and I will use it to bootstrap me to a better bigger workbench whenever I finally settle down. Thank you so much for this video!

Tip for the poor woodworkers: the bottom support members of many kinds of pallets are rough-sawn oak which, with a little extra work can be used on tons of projects where you want a decent hardwood.

Sit down workbench makes so much sense. I had never seen this before and it is a great idea. Thanks for the video.

Barely over a minute into this video he mentions the city I was born in and gives me a perfectly sculpted idea of what it’s like to hunt down quality tools that have stood the test of time. Liked and subscribed lmao

i know nothing about woodworking or craftsmanship and i’m a young 20yr old girl so i’m not sure how i ended up watching this video, but i really enjoyed it lmao, wish i could go out and make one myself!

Dude! The trick for the square mortise!! I already have made 3 workbenches on the cheap, that trick is having me consider making this bench! Great idea

When I went to the store to get my lumber for this my only two options were white wood 2x4 or 2x8 SYP so I’ve spent the entire day ripping them into 2x4s and got my first set glued up, this build is turning out to be a bigger project than I thought

Just wanted to thank you for the inspiration and all the tips! Several months ago I was searching for different workbenches when I found your $30 workbench. Really liked it, went to read a Chris Schwarz book you mentioned, then several more from him and decided to build his anarchist's workbench. Then I realized that it could be too much to start with, so I scaled down to his Nicholson bench, but in the end got back to your video again, haha. Yes, it's no longer $30 but I still went for a laminated top opposed to your updated version of just planks and battens. Just for the record, I ended up using four 45x70mm (almost 2x4 which would be 38x89mm) 3m balks of douglas fir and it costed me EUR54 in Apr'22 in the Netherlands. Not $30 but still affordable!

wooo fresno represent! one thousand percent accurate description of any craigslist deal done around here

just finished my bench. it has 8 legs incase any of them are weak it isn't to big of an issue. The one improvement I came up with is to use a 2x6 as the outside board. this way it works like a mini apron for a crochet and you can drill holes in it for holdfasts.

Rex, I have really enjoyed your channel. I've been carefully scrounging for what I need and I'm finally ready to make my own work bench. But I have a few questions. I watch your videos every week, usually a few times. I watch which wood holding accessories you use from the bench in your videos and which ones you don't. Now that you have had the bench for some time if you did it all over again what would you do different? What accessories did you add that wound up collecting dust? Do you ever use the palm hold. Does the crochet get in the way? After you added the vice what was superfluous? I would love to see a video with the 30 dollar bench 2.0. lessons learned. For those of us who are still way behind.

That zen/Chinese like riddle you said about the bench in the beginning is true, when I was way younger I used to do some wood working with my father, a few months ago I did a small home project and after the first 5 minutes into it I was like, fuck, I really need a workbench. It's so complicated to do some work without a bench, still I managed to do it with some upside down buckets like you mentioned but it was a pain in the ass.

My Bar exam is coming up and I just discovered this chanel. If I fail, it will be on Mr. Rex Krueger!!!

3 seconds before drilling my legs, I just realized I haven't turned the bench upside down. Gonna be a long build.

17:55 Rex wearing hearing protection while drilling with his brace...Easy there bud! Thanks for your instructing, payment shortly.

Now here is a guy whose blogs are great AND I can hear and understand what he is saying. Thank you

Yoy're not wrong Rex . There is not much you cannot build with this little fella. Well done .I dont want to hear anybody say ,"I cant build anything cos I can't afford a bench " . Sure you can . look at this.I like this guy ,because he keeps things at a reasonable level for not so well off people ,who are keen but have limited funds.

Rex - thanks for this video/series and for the tip sheet. I've just finished the bench as a first real woodworking project. A great learning project - especially for those without a bench. Mine's far from beautiful but is certainly solid and way more functional than a pair of crappy sawhorses and plywood. I'd give myself the following grades on the components... wood selection B, bench top glue up B-, leg mortises B+, leg tenons C-, wedges D-. Overall, I'm really happy with the results. I learned a lot and now have a solid bench that I can use for decades! Thanks Again!

you even don't have to split the pencil: - just drill a hole in a woodblock so the pencil fits in not to tight and not to loose. - don't go through the block, so it can sit in - saves the glue too and the pencil can used "as intended" afterwards.

I hand-ground a large telescope mirror on a bench like this years ago. It's a very good arrangement for certain types of motions, all your weight is working for you, both in holding things down and applying force to your tool. It's a comfortable way to do some operations.

Very nice, im a welder....ironworker and machinist, i never really did any wood work outside of basic home repairs, but this i gotta build..it's the anvil of woodworking ,right down to the hardy hole. Thanks so much for sharing. Subscribed

This video got recommend to me for some reason and as I’m watching you say you’ve been to Fresno where I’m watching this. Wild

A great video, but I would like to add a couple of things. First, having a similar - but wider - work bench can be a great workspace for assembly. Imagine assembling a cabinet or similar item on a regular height workbench, and you will see it could mean standing on crates of whatever to do the job. The alternative would be crawling around on the floor for much of the task. A low, stable bench would be ideal for such jobs. My second point deals with the glue-up of the top. When gluing parts together, whether edge joining or just gluing doweled parts together and so on, I learned over the years that after the parts have been clamped, some of the glue is absorbed into wood pores and, in some cases, the clamps are really not all the snug any longer. While you might be doing this, it might be helpful to point this out to beginning woodworkers. After clamping, allow the parts to set for a few minutes, then tighten the clamps again. Sometimes no change is noted, but now and then you'll find the clamps can but easily turn 3/4 of a turn or so. Just good to check. Love your videos, Rex, and believe they are helpful for nearly any beginner, and the seasoned woodworker can always pick up a useful tip or two as well.

Seriously, who down votes this video, or more importantly, why? I mean it is exactly what is purports to be, has clear and easy to follow instructions, the cost estimate is based on his location, and he usually gives good alternatives to specialty tools (it doesn't say it is a tool free build). Just wondering what people are finding objectionable. I mean if you didn't find it useful or insightful, just move on, why be negative? If you have a problem with the video, I would like to know what it was so I can evaluate that concern for myself, don't want to be taking in bad info if there is something wrong.

I like how you went about getting your vice fix ;) I'm glad I held on to mine! For maximum strength, I would probably use an untapered 2x4” and just cut 2x4 angled slots to hold them in. I have everything to make the bench, but space to put it.

So glad I found this this channel. Love your vibe, man.

I love these vids, learning a lot. My back wouldn’t survive the low version for 5 mins but easy fix

Build you own bench is the way to go. I used birch plywood for the top because it look great. I have 1/4 " plywood the same size as the top for when I'm doing "work" on it.

Hey Rex, Thank you for taking the time to put out all these great videos. I'm finding that the lack of power tools definitely has a soothing effect. I think I should have made this one instead of the one made from 2x6. The 2x6 bench I feel is too light for my needs and limited due to the fact that it's definitely not an easy task to mount some sort of vise. I'll be heading back to home depot to get the lumber for this build and will be adding a moxon vise. I will say that this little bench definitely has some advantages over a traditional bench for some tasks.

Thanks for your time making this series. You could also turn this into an outdoor shavehorse if you have no room for another work bench indoors.

Remember when you reviewed that wooden Chinese plane? I commented that it was designed to use at a knee height bench so you can add leverage with your body. This would be the perfect chance to show off that plane now with this bench.

As a manual wheelchair user I'll be making this as my starter bench since it's going to work way better for me than a traditional workbench, at least until I can find a design by a wheelchair user or modified by one.

Made this over the weekend Washington state (9) 2x4x8 cost over $50, will flatten and add holdings next. Thanks for vid

Thanks for the info on the book by Chris Schwarz , you made an amazing bench.

Damn. That is kind of an awesome little bench. It's perfect for sitting and working. I might have to build one for myself.

The Roman benches are in Germany, the frescoes are in Italy (Herculaneum & Pompeii). Interestingly they don't seem to have found any work benches in Roman sites in Italy (that have been published).

I bought a pull saw and a hatchet from harbor freight and made this low Roman bench. The change in my work output is an order of magnitude greater. I had been struggling to make your jointers mallet while I was making the bench. I got a low point with it when I noticed I would have to remake the mallet handle completely. Then I finished the bench and redid the handle blank in thirty minutes when the first blank had taken at least three hours

Thanks for this... I was as impressed with the clarity and completeness of your descriptions I was with the simplicity and effectiveness of your project...

This is a great bench. But can kick it up a notch. instead of getting the eight foot 2x4's go to the 16 foot 2x4 and have them cut it in half . And why you ask what the reason for doing it. The 16 foot 2x4's come from an older tree and the wood is much harder than the 8 foot ones. All of my work benches start with 16 foot material and well worth the extra for the longer material. Check out the difference between the woods.

I will be starting the bench when a winter coat is not required. The Rockford Kiwanis I was told built the first rotary pancake maker for a fund raising. The standard part in every event that I have been to of theirs in two decades is taking a folding table and raising it up to counter top height. And put everything under the sun on them. Stable as a rock and cheep and easy to do. My collapsible folding table has leg extensions that fit nicely in the folded table. I think these leg extension will make your bench just that much more useful. Try it out. They take PVC plastic pipe that fits over the leg, and it can be very loose fit. I had some 1.5 sitting around. Saw four to the same length. I made them long so I could take a second shot at getting the high correct. Slide them over the existing legs until the hit something and stop. Your case would be the top but for folding tables it is a bend in the leg. Your done. You may want to put caps on the pipe if your putting the bench on dirt and for sure if it could be muddy. Buggy cord could be stapled to the bottom to hold the extension pipe legs.

Since my joints got bad, I'm having to do most of my woodworking sitting down now & it's so much easier for most things & really adds to the stability. I even work at the lathe sitting down; the extra leverage you can get by standing doesn't seem to be necessary at all (at least on things up to about 8" diameter).

See! I actually have a folding aluminum one that some crazy person put out on the curb. I have used it for years. Now I want to take it to the scrap yard and make this one... Dang you Rex! LMAO! Very cool simple build. I can hardly wait to see your ideas for improving it.

Awesome How to build a 30 dollar workbench Rex. Thanks for the knowledge Sir

Rex, i just finished my (shorter) version of your bench. Thank you so much for the 30$workbench video series, it was exactly what i was looking for. I have looked at the chris schwartz book, but was hesitant to buy it. Your videos gave me the neccesary insights and confidence to just go ahead and get started. Again, thank you so much, love your approach and content!

Hi Rex Thank you for your videos. I like this build. I have made some mallets using SYP and it works great. And thanks for the info on the source for some of the big box lumber. We have a local company that, although it has had its challenges, has come back strong, even with three major brand stores nearby. I have been buying product from them for at least 40 years. It's nice to know the people from whom I'm buying product. I built a couple mallets that I leave there on the contractor counter - they get a lot of interest - one of SYP and one using 200 year old apple wood. Woodworking is great. Too bad HS no longer teach drafting and wood shop. Please stay healthy. Blessings to you and yours.

yay, fresno gets a mention. good ol' city in the heart of central valley

Honestly these videos are so god damn helpful I finally have tools with which i can fuel my gaming addiction

I started my Bench this past weekend. Lowe's only had 2x4's in White Wood. Thanks for telling us to avoid that material. They did have KD DF 4x4's so I went with that. I also had a reclaimed DF 2x4 on hand so I was still able to have the 2x2 peg hole in the middle of the bench. Still have to put the legs on it. Total cost for me was $50 as the 4x4's were about $10 each and I picked up a $10 bottle of glue.

Great video buddy. At last a knowledgeable woodworker who speaks in layman terms. Well done sir and thank you.

This is a really good series. I’m so glad our RU-vid overlords suggested this channel on my feed. It’s almost like the Romans knew what they were doing.

Nine 2x4's for $30, yeah that was a long time ago.

I find his voice and way of explaining things weirdly soothing. You could just let this play in the background when you're trying to fall asleep, and you'd be sleeping in no time.

I like the way you cover all the potential problem with clamps etc.. Your teaching is well organized also 🙂

And then there’s me, who took two really weird stands I found in my garage, and fixed a plywood sheet to it with 4 clamps

When you use your handsaw, I noticed you are only using the middle third of the saw. Try taking longer cuts using the whole length of the saw and you will find it cuts better with less effort.

After a couple of small woodworking projects done on the floor of my living room, I realized I really need a work bench. This is by far the most practical project that fits my tight space and also includes skills I need to practice! Thank you!!

I think I'd make this out of a piece of 2 x 12 and use pipe flanges to attach the legs. A 45 degree elbow in each leg would let me spread the legs. It could be knocked down between uses. As it is, in my cheap shop I put a piece of 1/2 inch plywood on a kitchen table I have in the basement. Add a few clamps and I'm good to go.

Wish I had thought of shaping the fir before glue-up when I made my bench!

This is supposed to be a series for beginning woodworkers just starting out without many tools, but you're making this in your big fancy shop with all kinds of things you take for granted. You started out making the bench on a table, I saw you use the corner of some stairs, I'm pretty sure you were standing on a nice floor almost the whole time with gravity keeping everything from floating away. Not to mention the fact that 2x4s don't grow on trees--well they kind of do--but you know what I mean. If you want to make it really useful for someone on my budget, it should be about basic woodworking using only dirt and yard debris while floating with no tools in the vacuum of space.

1:08 bruh I love how honest that came across. Definitely assured me that not only were you telling the truth, but also seems like you had a few too many hoops to jump through just to get it

I actually made a workbench (standing one) from 2x4s and plywood. Pretty easy, and you realistically only need a saw and a driver for screws. From out a rectangle (I like a space of 6x2 feet at least). Then make legs and supports for between them. Plywood comes in 8 x 4 sheets. So if you get one, and have the store cut them for you, you can use two sheets of plywood for the top. It wont have the neat little things the one you made have, but buying a vise is a good investment for any kind of shop. You could also drill holes for holdings as well. But dang this bench you made is neat. I love "old school" things like these. Amazing what medieval people could do without power tools.