I like how you understand that a lot of people watching don’t have $40,000 worth of machinery in their garage and you provide alternative suggestions. Appreciate that.
I just built this bench. I used only a circular saw, square, drill, pocket knife, (cleaning out the laps) and a #4 style hand plane (leveling the top). I did it on the floor of my garage. It cost just over $100. (I bought a gallon of glue as I had none) It came out really nice and the project is totally do-able in a weekend by a novice. You don't need $4000 in tools. You just can't be lazy. The hand plane was a workout. One note: You can save on time, and increase accuracy if you clamp the legs together in sets when making the lap joint cuts with a circular saw. Way better than anything I could buy at that price. Thanks Modern Builds!
For future reference: If you go to a regular lumber yard, instead of big box stores, you can buy a better grade 2" x 4" for pennies difference in cost, AND, they will run them through their plane for free. They have actual "board sizers", that plane all 4 sides at once. you can tell them, "I want the finish 5/4" thick, x 3-1/4" wide, and they dial it in. Then you can glue the entire table all at once.
Bet it's a great bench! I'm also in the process of making a workbench, but only have hand tools: saws, chisels, mallet, hand drill and a jack plane. I live in an apartment above my landlord, who is a lovely old lady, so I want to make sure I'm quiet. I'm in no rush tho, so it's all good. I do things one little step at a time. Since I don't have perfectly flat floors and the 2x4s I could find were all very slightly warped (don't have a car, so I have to walk back and forth to the hardware store), I quickly built a guide using the narrow side of the 2x4s as a straight-ish line. That guide will be used to laminate the tabletop as straight as I can. Then the next step will be to use the jack plane to flatten the tabletop. I expect this to take a long time and a lot of effort, because I'll probably have to remove close to 1/4" off the tabletop. Fortunately, the bench I'm making is apartment-sized, and will measure 30"x46", so I think my jack plane will be appropriate for the surface. Can't wait to have it completed. Enjoy your workshop!
Hey, Mike. This is a great video (and the Sketchup video to go along with it). I'm a technical trainer and you have a natural knack for working with adult learners by breaking down a large task into manageable bites, while giving the "whys" of what you are doing. You've introduced traditional joinery in a nonchalant way that isn't intimidating at all. I was thinking it might have been awesome to throw in a mortise and tenon to attach the top, but you were probably right with the restraint there and keeping it accessible. I have only gotten into woodworking in the last few years and still watch a TON of videos to learn. I really enjoy yours and the thoroughness without over explaining everything. Sometimes that is intimidating in itself. Nice work, bub.
Thank you so much for the handheld circular saw bit! So many videos are all about the table saw and neglect the little guy who can't afford fancy tools I had to make my first workbench (now used as a table of sorts in my room cause I need storage a ton) and Lord is it crazy looking and was a crazy build trying to cut all of it by hand due to lack of table saw
I love this wood working book *TopFineWoodworking. Com* . A few of the topics talked about in the book include wood working strategies, explanation on the development cycles of trees, and various lumber characteristics that craftsmen favor. I also provided my father another copy.
A beautiful but utilitarian bench. Nice job. If you want an easier and less expensive way to attach the top try this next build. Make cleats about 3/4" x 3/4" or even 1" x 1" and glue and finish nail (optional) those to your long and end stretchers. You can cut those on the tablesaw of course. Then drill slightly oversized holes in those for the attachment screws which could be as short as "standard" 1 5/8" drywall screws. This will allow for movement. I did this on my one sheet of plywood workbench. And a lot of tables I have built. Thanks for the video.
Let's keep in mind you could cut those lap joints nearly as quickly with a handsaw and a chisel. One cut at each end, then blow the middle out with the chisel. It's easy. Make chips, not dust.
Dude! This is the most creative use of left joints I’ve seen! One of your best tutorials to date. And quite honestly I’ve built flatpack shop furniture before, and I never once took it down to move it around. It being completely permanent is a good thing! Nice work brother
The fact that you used mostly Ryobi tools impressed me enough for a sub. I’m just starting up into woodworking and my fishing habit is expensive on its own but I need another hobby to occupy my time. Great video.
if you dont have the tools to get your worktop compleatly flat, you could always screw a sheet of 18mm 0r 12mm ply to the top. also by doing this you can fix jigs to it and when it gets battered replace it with a new one.
Plywood flexes, and doesn't guarantee flatness, only smoothness. But for most of us, that's fine. If you want to see a true flatness maniac, go see this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pe-EjnrZJrg.html
It's an easy snipe but this is one of the few videos on this subject with advice not just on using other tools for the setup but also how to do the glue-up on the table top without using a massive planing machine afterwards. I appreciated that.
For dust collection I have used a small 1.5 gallon Shop Vac. I bought a longer hose, it easily follows you around the shop due to its small size and weight. I use it on my Dewalt table saw and the Dewalt sliding compound miter saw along with sanders. Makes clean up easier, and it was a cheap alternative at the time I was building out my garage.
Love this book! ru-vid.comUgkxpCNxqmAkyjN6NPx1fyB7QiEFWyO5mUWL it is simply one-of-a-kind! I really love it, because karah explained all tools required to have the job done, not mentioning the fabulous diy pallets ideas. I'm pretty sure this will be a fresh start in my new endeavour. Amazon was great, they delivered on time. Thank you!
Mike, I like the way your dust mask magically jumped up and covered the lower part of your face while you were sawing that lap joint. That's a smart dust mask you have there.
I just used a 3/4 inch plywood for the top of my workbench. And made the legs removable so I can store it away. Front and back legs of each side are connected with a stretcher for stability. It does sway a little side-to-side, but it's fine for what I need it for.
I'm an older fella. I admit that I had a prejudice, when I saw his hairdo. However, that's a good, simple bench, and it's a well made, straight-to-the point video. He won me over.
I know this is a million years old now, but let me recommend a Fein Turbo I for your sanding dust. I don't have dust collection but I use the Fein shop vac to attach to tools that have ports and to clean up. The key thing is that the Fein is amazingly quiet compared to a Ridgid or ShopVac. They are pricier but I've been 100% happy with the Fein.
This table is really cool. I was in Wood Shop in high school for 4 years. Id really like to get back into it when i get myself a house in a few years. Seeing all them cuts look confusing and would take me a minute to get the gist of how to make them, but i love building stuff from wood and the satisfaction of building stuff for cheaper and probably better quality.
As a carpenter of some 25+ years I have had to build many benches similar to yours. I do prefer gluing the legs together leaving pre sized pockets for the stretchers as it is faster. You still have some notches to cut but far fewer. Nice job! And good presentation.
Great work man. Looks to be a very well built and sturdy workbench. Keep up the good work. BUT PLEASE. Turn off your table saw when you've completed your cut. A few times when showing the lap joint relief cuts you flipped the workpiece to show the camera while it was still running. 1:18 - You also did a dry fit to make sure you removed enough material while the saw was still running. 1:50 - For your safety just shut down the saw, show the camera the workpiece/make your dry fit check and if you need to make another pass just spin the saw back up. Nice video otherwise!
I wanted to stop in and say I built a modified version of this bench at half the width side to side for a router table. I also added wheels to it so I could move it into my trailer easily. I also made the lap joints the same height at the bottom so I could add a drawer for storage and a shelf. It worked out great. Thanks. I may make the full size with 2x4 top at some point but I work out of my garage and I only have half since my wife uses the other side for her stuff.
Thanks! I build this as well but I didn't put my stretchers at different heights. I but them all the same and added 1x4s across them for a shelf. I also added caster wheels so I can move it easily. I cut a recess out in the table and hid a surge protector in there so I can easily plug in different tools.
Built mine without planing the top. Only sanded it a bits I like the little divets in the top to keep things like screws from rolling off the top. Love the video
All I have is a circular saw and a drill and a few odd tools. Like the idea from below of getting the lumber yard to plane the 2x4's. Did one of these years ago with just dowels. Will try again in a few weeks. Thank you for the detailed video
Thank you to Mike for always making sure when have a visual tutorial for an alternate way to produce something even when it is a big pain in the but to do...😋
It can aslo be hard to find dry 4x4s without having to buy cvg fir, crazy expensive. KD 2x4s are not always dry enough to some people for furniture, but for shop projects, they totally are.
Modern Builds yup, usually all wonky. Caul boards for the win. Good glue up and tips. Ive used a dowel jig to throw 4 dowls down the length of each joint. Keeps it super flat in the end too. Better than biscuits for my taste
This is by far the best woodworking book I have ever read, *TopFineWoodworking. Com* . My woodworking teacher endorses it to all of his students. I am impressed how authors managed to write very detailed topics. I`m surprised by the material and didn`t have a tough time following the lessons..
Thanks for the tutorial. I did a lot of misstakes during the build. Glueing a piece that big, was hard. Love my new workbench! Good project for beginners.
@@kadendaugherty With all due respect, you must have missed the point. It's a misleading title to say build a workbench for $100 when you need to have thousands of dollars in equipment to do it in the first place. Does that make sense to you?
@@bbpearl8120 The workbench only cost $100 to build. Tools are not included in the price. Just like if you say it took you 3 hours to read a book (learning the ability to read is not included in the time).
Zart That’s a poor analogy on multiple levels. For your analogy to apply here, the appropriate title should be “Build a work bench In a few hours.” But it’s ok, we can agree to disagree.
I built a benchtop like that from dimensional lumber using handplanes only. Took a whole weekend to glue up and flatten it, but it is possible to do it that way. I went through the whole stack of lumber at the big box store to get the straightest pieces I could find.
llamuh x buy a large hand planer. You can find on Craigslist etc cheap. I cut my bench top from a pine tree with a chainsaw and flattened it with a friend's jointer plane by hand. Great way to make a fast project take forever, get exercise and save money.
llamuh x If you can get 400 volts run to your home insteads of just 230 that will help a lot. Often cheap and if under 52 amps no higher network charge. You can then buy used pro equipment most home users will never touch and no company will buy because no service contract. And I can tell you a bigass 400 volt miter saw will cut through anything like butter with the oversized blades.
It might sound excessive, but I'd definitely let those 2x4's acclimate to your shop for a couple weeks before gluing up the top. I made a top like that last summer and a week after glue-up the top had a good 1" twist in it. Framing lumber is frequently pretty wet. Maybe not as bad in the winter. Nice build.
Awesome! I actually get very excited to see good woodworkers making really simple stuff that are easier for a regular dude to make! The reason why I started my channel just recently.
Appreciate you posting this one. Simple and fairly easy to follow. Pretty straight forward and easy to modify/tailor to how you want to use it. Locking casters, table saw to the side so it could be used as a run out, etc..
HOOOOOO-O-O-O-O-O YEAH. Thanks for the tips, im waitin on my planer to arrive in the mail, so i can finish my 2x4 laminated top. had no idea there was so many ways for wood to get infected and gran altered. I had some spalted wood from a dead tree in my backyard, meaning it died of some kinda fungal Infection that made some wonky grain patterns, made some coasters with em.
TIP: alll wood has a crown. when making the table top you should mark the crown of all the 2x4 and then make them all the same way. it would help with the glue up and expansion/contraction over time
You can cut some of your laps in a miter saw as well. At least on mine you can. There is an adjustable hard stop on the saw that you can set for your depth. I’m going to try this build. I’m long overdue for a new bench
Simple and very easy to follow, thanks.. I saw another video suggesting that the legs should be alined with the table that way you can use it and attatch thing to the sides
I have been wanting to build a woodworker's bench like this, but all the build I see are upwards of $250+ so I needed one much more affordable, this video is exactly what I've been looking for. You have a new subscriber, I really loved this video.
Only thing I would change about this is running one side of the 2x4 through a jointer first to get a flat side before running it through the planer. If your lumber is cupped at all the planer isn't gonna fix that. Great Build though!
Awesome Build! / ModernBuilds For my reference: I’m a 32 year old girl who is trying Her best to get into a carpentry apprenticeship, but it’s not going very well. If anyone has any suggestions that might help me land a job/Apprenticeship; PLEASE do not hesitate to comment. Thanks!
Im trying to get into it too. My biggest tip would be to measure twice, cut once. Also having the right tools makes it exponentially easier. Always have 3 plans when building something.
I couldn´t agree more. I was working on my first project yesterday and towards the end I felt confident, I started cutting some doors, I measured, I made the cut and after that I noticed one of the doors for the cabinet were too short. I measured alright but I didn´t stop to think if it made sense.
Depends what country you are in. If it's for a livelihood it's a different game. But otherwise, then you might find my channel somewhat interesting. I am 31 now, no previous experience of carpentry yet i built my kitchen including the worktop on my own with somewhat basic tools.
What form of Carpentry? All the tips vary. Like for construction, find a small company with someone who will take you under their wing. shop carp find woodworking groups through local colleges/ community centres. Reno’s learn construction carpentry first then quit once you know the basics, and find a new company. Careful for construction, no matter where you go there’s nasty comments.
Bit of advice I just came up with while doing this in my garage tonight.. forget call boards.. get some 1-1/2”x1-1/2” alum angle from local box store and use those as your calls. The glue doesn’t stick and they will always be true.. I had some laying around and while looking for a call board and not wanting to tape etc.. I found these and after thinking about it realized it was the best of both worlds for a call.. Always make a router sled.. if you’re building a work bench you are doing something on it that at some point you’ll need that table top to be perfectly flat and level.. the only way to do this is with a router sled.. you can have all the best jigs, jointers and planes in the world.. you’ll still have to use a router sled if you want the top perfect..
LOL funny you mentioned this. I just drew plans for a portable/folding workbench every bit as sturdy as this one. I plan to make it with nothing but chisels, hand saws, and hand planes. All told, it should be only $92 dollars to complete. I may make a video on it.
I have a suggestion: If you need to drag that heavy table because you don't have a friend to help you lift it, the 2X4 end that drags against the floor will shear and slivers will break off from the bottom. The solution is very simple. Every pair of 2x4 tips that contact the floor need to be beveled. You can even do it with the belt sander. Just work each edge at a 45-degree angle and bevel or round the sharp edges that contact the floor. Great table, by the way. It looks like you only coated the top. I would coat the whole thing, or even stain the lower components a darker wood color before the polyurethane.
Lol I have to say funny video. Primarily for the fact that due to my colorblindness I can't tell the difference between the bench and the wall. Just looks like your torso is cut in half as you stand behind the workbench.
I was fixing a grammar mistake. I am grammar police and you have forgotten to capitalise your "I" and your period at the end of your sentence. I edited once more due to spelling sentence wrong so there.
Hand picking the best lumber isn't going to accomplish much to eliminate the rounded edges and therefore the table top will have "grooves" and not be completely flat.
When I saw the title of the video I though well that's quite a lot of money for a DIY bench. But then I saw the huge amount of wood the bench had and I understood :) That's a very sturdy table.
I sometimes buy blue pine from my local sawmill. I was told its from the sap reacting with water before its kiln dried. the only boards that turn blue are at the top of the stack. Its beautiful when its freshly planed, but if not protected it turns dark gray and looks like mildew.
If you have a sliding mitre saw with a cut depth stop adjustment, then making those lap joints is pretty easy. Just set the stop to be the thicknesses of a single 2x4 above the saw base. Line up your leg piece on the saw fence, and make the first cut while sliding the blade across the piece. Nudge the leg piece over just a little bit, make another cut, then repeat until the whole joint is cut (kind of like demonstrated on the table saw). Much, much easier than fiddling with a circular saw...
*Records video on extremely simple, affordable workbench for absolute woodworking beginners* "Now step one is to run your wood through your $380 wood planer!" Uhm, I've got used miter, some screws and a driver...
