Make a rustic bench with THREE TOOLS. 

Yes, things like a tape-measure and a pencil are technically tools. I understand this fact. Don't get cute in the comments!

The first half of the ru-vid.comUgkx3ICSK6nSknaL_45CU2NmFSoXjarGMDiJ book is everything about wood: types, tools, finishes, setting up shop etc. The second half is all about doing projects for inside and outside of the home. The color pictures are helpful. After reading a dozen of these types of books, this is probably the best overall (layout, color photos, plans). Only detraction is that many of the projects use a table saw/router/planer, which are usually expensive and take up space, so the plans are less friendly to newcomers and the budget conscious. But I know I can use a drill, circular saw or a jigsaw to make the projects.

I am glad to see a video where the host doesnt say lets go over to my 10k dollar planar, table saw, jointer, etc and fix this. Please keep making videos that show you do not need a million dollars worth of tools to make cool stuff.

I have a cupped 6 foot 2x12 that’s been riding in my truck bed since my dad helped me load up his old motorcycle for Christmas. Now I know what to do with it to pay him back next holiday season.

"Grab one of your spare legs".... I actually looked down and thought, "do I really need both of these?" lol

never realized you could do so much woodworking with a hatchet. seems like a worthwhile skill to develop.

I love you. So much of RU-vid woodworking is "see what i can do in my giant woodworking workshop with so much expensive equipment and 20 years of experience" instead of "look what you can do". But i don't have much experience, and most of the experience is of the "i tried it and it wasn't great, so i know what not to do but not what to do" variety, and i invariably live in a tiny apartment in the city centre at the top of an apartment house, and i'm usually more or less broke, so the rule for tools, is that they must be cheap, and they must be small or can be stored completely flat. Or if they don't fit those criteria, there must be an exceptional reason for me to own them. I probably even have an inherited hatchet somewhere, so that's fine, or if not, i don't mind getting one... i should have everything else. Cordless drill, crosscutting hand saw, tape and pencils and sandpaper and other small things, all here. Or i don't even necessarily need a hatchet if i have a plane and a saw and some chisels?

I wish something like this series had come around years ago. I've always wanted to learn woodworking, but always thought I had to have the big expensive tools that I never could afford. Well, I'm learning now and I have alot of appreciation for what you're doing for those like me, who either can't afford expensive tools or don't want to use them. Since I'm also a klutz of the first degree, I appreciate your safety tips!

You know Rex I so want to give you crap for using more than three tools, I really do, but I can't, This may be my be my favorite video that you have made. I cannot believe you crammed so many techniques in 20 minutes. Great job.

Fine artist here; who likes to take just a piece of paper and a pencil, sometimes...and 'go native'. No pressure, just fun. Wonderful build and video Rex!

Haha the rump dip then I get a ad for pampers baby wipes the timeing was impeccable. Really couldn't help but chuckle

You are everything right with woodworking on you tube.

Another tool often overlooked is a decent hunting style knife.

I think it's an awesome piece Rex. Whenever I think something I built isn't perfect, I like to remember that, something like this bench, 100-150 years ago, would have lasted a lifetime in the average person's home.

Sometimes i like to go back in time and see how they did things. The best way of doing this to me seems to watch more "primitive" societies work. Of course if you watch them work, you quickly realise that they weren't that primitive after all. There are videos the inuit building kayaks. Surprisingly they've used an interesting type of hand drill to drill holes. Also interesting are videos about native americans and how they've built birchbark canoes or the egyptians and how they worked stone to build pyramids or orther things. So called bushcraft videos can also be quite educational. Watching such videos really expands the mind, i think. It takes us out of this modern box that we crew up in and shows us how to do things much more simply, cheaply and thus often with less enviromental impact. I used to just go out and buy a new tool that i thought i needed for a project. Now inspired by people like you, traditional woodworkers or even primitive societies i know that there's often a way around buying a new tool. And of course it's kind of fun to problem solve. It's like a puzzle. And it literally shows that knowledge and creativity are the most important and powerfull tools one has.

Like the rump dip👍

I find that living with limitations tends to help you find creative answers which improves the end product. I think it's an awesome exercise to do something like this. nice bench

Rex, thank you for this video. I pulled some sycamore from the burn pile, and a short live edge sycamore plank from the pile of stuff I'm "going to do something with, really," and went to work. A cheap camping hatchet, an old hand saw I got from my dad 30+ years ago, and my cordless drill (because I didn't have a 1" auger bit), and I went to work. Took a bit longer than expected because splitting that sycamore was tough. I "cheated" and used my carving knife to cut the tenons, because carving them with the hatchet was near impossible without a good way to hold the leg vertically. I don't have a work bench with a nice vise. The bench looks good, and more importantly is quite useful. This afternoon I sat on it for a few hours while whittling away on my next carving project. I'll be building another one soon, with legs created from some dead limbs I pruned off a juniper tree in the back yard. Not sure what the seat will be, but I have plenty of options. For me, this was a great introduction to simple wood working. I look forward to taking on a few of your other projects like the mallet and the $30 work bench. Thank you again.

This video inspired me who was not into woodworking. Now I am.

just like ancient woodworkers !!! Thank you for showing us these purist techniques very informative and inspiring!!!!!!!!

I love this kind of rustic furniture. I made a stool like this in school 35 years ago. Now i do bushcraft and make a lot of stuff with just a saw and a hatchet.

This kind of thing is very appreciated! Watching someone build something great, without having to use $40,000 worth of tools is inspiring and refreshing!

i have no tools but the hatchet technique is pure gold

Really find your approach refreshing. Speaking as a 'recovering perfectionist' I think I have seen the light - a way to recover the simple, innocent, joy that brought me into making things as a boy.

Ive never done any woodworking in my life but this really makes me want to give this a try. Nice video

It's amazing what you can achieve with these basic simple tools. Nowadays you get the impression that you cannot even start working without spending hundreds of bucks and much space for your tool set. This video is really inspiring and shows that it is possible to replace many expensive tools with the ones which are probably the most important ones: Human brain, experience and some talent. Thank you so much for this series!

Next time I'm at a party I'm going to look for the rump dip!

Thank you so much for this clear video and the free tip sheet!! I wish you could have seen the sparkle in my eyes and the smile grow on my face as I watched, knowing I CAN do this. I just got a slab of maple today, determined to make a stool and I've watched so many videos that were a little helpful but left me lacking confidence. I was hoping I could piece together info from different videos and wing it but this was so clear and answered any questions I may have come up with. Finances are slim for me right now but I'm going to subscribe and will hit that tip jar when I can. :)

So, I've watched your 30 dollar work bench video about 8 times now and am planning on building it next week, but just didn't feel confident for some reason. I've seen the thumb for this video and you even bring it up in the 30 dwb video, but I didn't realize HOW much this video explains and how many questions it answered, as well as the awesome trick to rip a long cut the way you did (would have saved me some arm ache last weekend lol) but so glad I watched this, new patron and loving the content keep it up!

I've always liked hatchets. Now I have a legitimate reason to want one!

This is one of the most educational things I have ever watched

I am surprised. Really. I came to your channel, and have stayed because of your simple approach. When I think Rex K, I think Woodworking for Humans.

I liked keeping your fingers tip with the hatchet. I have this scar on my left hand index finger, yep hatchet.

I did this project. It was super fun!

you are a national treasure.

Now i need a hatchet!

Looks alot like a vintage "plumb" brand, boyscout hatchet. And sharp as a razor too

Dear Rex, I think, that somebody sent youdown to earth to lead us from maze. Really, I really appreciate the way you do things, I am now just beggining in woodworking and I am very glad that I found your channel. In the summer on a boyscout camp I want to make some stools based on this design and hopefully teach some kids some skills, it is amazing how you can just with three tools make things. Also using own weight for stabilize during cutting is game changer for me. Keep this please going on.

The more I watch your videos, the more I love your work. I think the idea of keeping things cheap and simple, just picking a few key tools to spend some money on is really in line with my ethic. I also really like the emphasis on hand tools. Thank you!

From a new subscriber: This philosophy behind this type of project is exactly the way I do things. I'm a retired DIY type guy who can't be bothered with perfectionism and who likes to have fun. I recently built a woodshed and a separate tool shed without any plans save for a few drawings I made on scraps of paper. Both of them turned out fine and will probably last longer than I will, though neither follows the rules of traditional building and craftsmanship. Your video was very well-organized and instructive. I've been searching all over for how to drill leg holes at an angle the way you did. After reviewing the video a few more times I know I'll be able to do it. Likewise with reducing a 2x4 down to a square and making a round tenon with a hatchet. (I also use an old hatchet, which in my case I found in my barn - it must be a hundred years old) Thanks for sharing your experience and keep up the fine work.

You are the Bob Ross of woodworking!

I wonder if the end result would be the same with a nata style axe. I love the simplicity of this and its tribute to simple woodworking

One of your best videos. You really bring out the spirit of learning this craft and also you have given folks a method of woodworking that is more for the craftsperson than for the end user of the piece. This is a very zen like project that almost seems like a treaties on personal growth as a craftsperson than a how to video. Sometimes as craftspeople we just need an easygoing project that focuses more on enjoying the craft than it does on the product of our work. To me it seems like a good way to occasionally pay heed to our own spirit in regards to our craft. As always, well done Rex. I think I've watched this video more than a couple of times. I think it is a good one to revisit from time to time regardless of weather I make this exact piece or not. I do plan on making this one though as I could really use a little bench like this in the shop. Thanks Rex!

Dude, this was a nice build for those that are new and my not have many tools. Just goes to show that if you want something, nothing should stop you even your lack of tools or knowledge.

Thank you very much for this channel. This is the most informative woodworking I've seen since The New Yankee Workshop. I work with hand tools and job site tools in my driveway. I often glare at perfect woodworkers working in their perfect shops with perfect materials. You are correct: these are skills that every woodworker should have!

Just awesome. I just made this project following your instructions exactly. Learned a *lot* and had even more fun. Finally put an old camping axe to work and had good reason to put a good edge on it.

Mind, hand and legs, and the shop, and the table, and... can all be thought about as tools! Great video Rex!

I just bought the pdf version of everyday woodworking, nice simple projects and clear instructions, makes for great therapy on my days off work, thank you very much

Hi, I know this is an old video. I just wanted you to know that cutting those wedges which you seem to be doing so effortlessly, are kicking me in all my unmentionables.

"Co-planar"; fantastic word...! Anyway, I agree that making stuff like this is something we all should be able to do; our not-so-distant predecessors (another good word) knew how to make simple rustic furniture with the minimum of tools, back in the days when every home had basic woodworking hand tools. Great little project but personally, I would have took advantage of the length of the board to make a two seater.

I spent half the day Thanksgiving making this! I learned so much and had so much fun! The 2x4 stool is next! Thanks Rex!

Great low bench, will make a few for camp by the fire pit

Excellent research and presentation. Thank you.

That's really a lot of fun. Thanks, Rex.

This is so cool! I have loads of tools, build things, fix things, I'm an electrician, but I'm a rank amateur when it comes to wood working. I built this over the weekend using the basic tools he used to build it and it was an extremely satisfying experience! I love this series!

If you're looking for bench legs, and you have a house with a yard, or friends who do, I bet you or someone you know has some buckthorn trees that need to be cut down, since it is an invasive species in North America, and the wood is a pretty nice hardwood. That's what I used for the legs of my outdoor workbench, which is just a poplar log, split in half, with buckthorn legs stuck in holes, much like this bench.

Hey Rex, really a great video. But here is a trick for you. When cutting the overlap of your legs, instead of applying the blue tape to the wood and try to cover the surface, put the tape on the side of your saw to lift the saw teeth up from the wood. Maybe not perfect for imperfect surfaces like on this project, but it works great on really flat boards. Best regards from Germany.

Rex. I've wanted to get into woodwork for so long. I started with this video and I did it. I built the stool. Just like yours. Thank you so much!

I just completed my first Rustic Bench today and it was a lot of fun to make. Since I didn't have a hatchet, I used a draw knife and a chisel . Very cool. Very simple. Very rewarding.

As a side note, a good style hatchet to look for at flea markets and antique stores it a carving hatchet. While more often used fb the green woodworker or bodger they also work on seasoned wood. The unique thing about them is that they have one flat side which is the side which is used against the material being carved, The side with the standard hatchet head bevel faces away from the material being worked. They come in right and left hand models. Which side is flat determines if it is for right or left handed use. I have found two of different sizes, the larger one is marked Western Auto which tends to date it a bit. Not a necessary tool to own but a very versatile one when you have one in your tool inventory.

Amazing video and channel, really. I have just started woodworking and my first 2 projects are the low bench and the English bench explained in detail in this channel (this video is for the legs of the low bench).

Hatchet woodworking. Fascinating. I don't know why, but I agree that it seems like a skill worth having. It does seem like there could be a steep learning curve with the hatchet, but I suppose I won't know until I try, and that's the point of this: to just do something. I'm curious what else you could make with a hatchet. I wonder if it can be worked into a regular set of hand tools. It might give a woodworker a signature look!

Thank you for this series of videos. I live in a very small place with no shed and only room for a few tools (they need to fit into 1 bag ... room is really tight)

Great video, I now have the strange desire to buy a small hatchet for my own shop! Lol

Everything about that was great, great video, great project, great work, great etc. etc. lol. Love your videos Rex, always look forward to them. This kind of made me think of Neil Pasks scrap wood challenge videos. I think I’ll have to a go at something like that.

I love the moment, as far as I can see, in which it clicks in your mind about making the series of simple woodworking. I appreciate your content. Keep up the great work and I hope you never loose your enthusiasm for making these videos.

Just started watching your channel and I know you probably hear this alot but your content is really fun and helps you learn different wood working skills👍🏼👍🏼keep up the the good work

Now I have to buy a hatchet, nice little video :)

for people without a heavy table, clamp, or vise, for the axe work you can work on the end of a stump/log or even a bit of scrap lumber on a hard surface. When you get to the part when he says to flip the board sideways in a vise, you can hold the board at an angle with one corner on the stump log, with the part you're working on over the *far side* from you. That way if the axe blows through it's more likely to end up in the stump than your leg. Try to change the angle/position of the board, and keep the axe moving up and down vertically in one place. This is a bit safer, and also easier on your arms (letting gravity do the work.

amazing

Roy Underhill once made a rocking chair using axe/hatchet. This is in the same category. Great piece. Thanks.

I would never have thought of using a hatchet as a plane. Thanks much.

I'm grateful for these videos. I have watched most of them and some of them more than once and I have start woodworking and am loving it :)

Rex, it would be cool if you gave the bench to the friend/neighbor who was throwing out the wood. Never know if it would trigger interest in woodworking, or at least give them thought on recycling.

Excellent job

That. Was. Awesome. I’m finding myself getting too caught up in having all the right tools and the right jigs and the yadda yadda. One of the best pieces I ever made was one of my first, and I didn’t have half the tools I have now. Thanks for taking it back to the basics and reminding me to keep it simple.

You are the John Wick of hatchet play.. Great job and great concept.

Rustic bench, simple tools, but marvel at that gentleman's sawing stance at 19:30; Hand in pocket and all, a true 19th century duelist sawing like it as is simple as sipping tea.

Very Cool bench seat with hand tools Rex. Awesome process on how you made this bench seat Sir.

You can’t buy something likes this, it’s a beauty

I love this project and should totally make it, since I have all the tools. One interesting point, and might be better for a just show-up-and-build-it class - if you made your top more round/square and went with a 3-legged design it would work on all kinds of uneven surfaces! 4 legs wobble, but something about the topography of 3 legs mean any kind of surface you'll always have all 3 legs touching. Sure, it may be at a 45-degree angle, but you'll have all 3 legs touching!

This was worth the watch if only for the tip for getting the legs level at the bottom. Never would have thought of that.

Simple and wonderful!

Nice little bench, and great video.

A bucket of rocks makes an amazing clamp, figured this out when I had to hand plane the first oak counter top i made

Great job in all of your videos. A well thought and spoken path through the projects. I really enjoy this and the abscence of stammering around.

Rex these videos you’re putting together are super approachable and really well done. Keep up the top quality content!

3.42 Japanese saw plus ear defenders - the Zen is strong with this one.

Your videos are great. Thanks for keeping them to simple explanations without condescending!

Think I've learned me from this video than all the other videos I've seen combined.. Absolutely fantastic can't wait to try... Thanks rex

Very charming introduction into simplicity with a cool result. Thanks Rex.

Great video! Thank you for making this. I'm really glad you went back and hit it with sandpaper, definitely worth the deviation from plan. I have always been amazed by the number of folks who don't think about splitting as a quick way to pare down some material (I usually use it more in carpentry projects for rough work vs. furniture making, but really cool to see how it can be more precise)

Love the idea behind these videos. As you say, this is a great way to develop some new skills. I look forward to the next build. Best wishes

I would love to see this be a series you should make a chest of drawers using three tools.

I learnt so much watching your channel, thanks you for your efforts.

This was a great video takes us back to the good old days......oh yeah picked up your lathe book love it so far thanks for everything

Nicely Done

Great resource. Well presented and everything relevant and clearly explained. Pop and pare idea with the hatchet is genius. New subscriber. Looking forward to viewing your other content. Peter (uk)

I love the look you achieved, "rustic" hardly does it justice. I wish you had jumped around on it just to demo the strength.

Outstanding sir