Paulk Smart Workbench: The Best Bench For Beginners? 

Finally! the first build video of this Pauk bench Ive seen where the guy doesn't already have an equivalent mft bench to build on and $10,000 in festool

Nice Job with the bench and the video. Keep up the great work Robbie.

Thank you so much for this, this is the first time that I've seen someone with a "beginners" setup make one of these, rather than someone with thousands of dollars of tools and an existing workshop. Very helpful!

“I don’t own___, I also don’t own____....” Humble beginnings dude. We all started there in some capacity- just getting it done with what we had and what we knew. Awesome vid, I really enjoyed the calm voiceover. Keep it up.

Brother, that was the cleanest build I’ve ever seen!

After more than 35 years as a professional woodworker I can tell you the quality of how you fix your mistakes is often the measure of how good you are. I’d say you’re off to a good start. Well done young man. Welcome to the craft.

As a finish carpenter by profession. I watched this video out of curiosity. Long story short it was enjoyable, I like your attention to details along with your ability to problem solve. Well done my fellow woodworker.

So many people use excuses as to why they don’t do something. I love your can-do attitude and push through and for that I’m now a subscriber. Great job!

Great video! I'm going to build this bench. A tip that was passed to me is when you need to drill a hole pattern like the pattern for the holes for the dogs, lay pegboard down and use the holes for a guide.

Honestly the production quality on this vid is amazing. I thought this was like one of the popular woodworkers like Crafted Workshop, ILTMS or Make Something, but then I looked at your sub count and I was amazed at how low it was. Keep up the good work. Just Subbed

Great work, great video. So nice seeing people doing the work with what they have!! I typically drool on the festool catalog once a month then my wife snaps me back to reality!!! Lol!! Back in the shop with my old tools!!!

Worth watching the whole vid just for that one tip about doing your pocket holes before the cut-outs! Nice build.

You are without a doubt the cleanest beginner woodworker I've ever seen or heard of. Excellent job my brother.

Tip for you.... 👆 if you do this with your right hand and thumb and finger are touching material you router in the direction of the finger... blade spin you go anticlockwise

Outstanding job with the build, AND telling & showing the story! Having built my 1st Paulk bench some 7 years ago, I 100% agree with all of your tips and suggestions. The one change I made was to do the holes across only a little more than 1/2 of the top. For the rest of the perimeter, I drilled just 2 rows. Every now and then I find I could use a hole where there isn't one, so I grab the drill and put one in lol My bench is the heart of my 1 man cabinet building operation, from drawing to assembly, every step happens right there. Well done and I look forward to your future productions

Nice job. You should be very proud. I also have bought Ron’s plans. I have a pile of plywood waiting to be cut and assembled. Maybe you lit a fire for my effort. Respect to anyone who uses the term “MacGyvering”

Excellent video. You are much more advanced than I am, but you sold me on buying these bench plans!

Dude, just in awe of your commitment and creativity in order to see this project through using what you've got as a starter... and openly, honestly learning along the way. Keep it up, just subbed, and looking forward to more of your vids!

I have the same sawhorses and find them extremely useful. The workbench is next on my list. Thank-you for the candid step-by-step narrating.

Nice! This is how I imagine myself putting out a video. Just be yourself!

Good job man! Don't be so hard on yourself. You're getting it done and it looks good.

Nice build, and, as others have said, great production value on the video. Comfortable to watch, nice style on the editing and narrating etc. Also love your MacGyvering as needed!

right on man! I've watched hundreds of woodworking videos... yours are among the best in many ways.

Excellent job! I can relate to constantly cleaning up the wood dust.

Great work! Nice trick with the drill guide!

Great job

Great video! Well done and to the point. I'm going build one of these soon under similar conditions. Thanks!

Great job ! Looks amazing ! I like how you demonstrated that it is possible to get great results with basic tools thanks

Great job! Im starting my Paulk bench build next weekend but the smaller 6'x3' version. Got some nice tips viewing your build. Look forward to more videos from you.

Liked the video and there's no wrong way to build it if you get it done. I did the sides and spreaders by marking them out then using the 3/4 forstner bit to make holes in the corners and then with a straight edge & a 3/4 plunge bit in my router to connect them. My cheat for the bench dog holes was a 3/8 router bit adapter for my plunge router and a 3/8 shanked 3/4 forstner bit. Worked like a odd little drill press. I just took my time and cut them from the top side sitting on a foam insulation panel. One pass and they look clean on the back side. The hand hole in the bottom is a must , nice call.

Brilliant build and video. Bench looks great

Thanks for the video. Nice job. Keep them coming.

Great video, well thought out. Thanks 🇬🇧

Hey ..... first time with a router, you took on a big cut. Those things can be scary at first but you nailed it. Great work. Nice video.

just ordered the plans, great vid thanks for sharing!

Well done mate. When you make a mistake, you learn. When I did my old one, I managed to grab some 1/2 mdo plywood on sale at 84 lumber. Because I was using 1/2" (for the weight savings) I glued and stapled my bench together. When doing the sides and the spacers., I went and bough a huge cheap hole saw to do the radiuses and then connected the dots with a upside down jig saw. The hole top drilling thing can go one of two ways. I you can be fairly accurate and just use the hole for clamping, or you're using this as Ron does as an oversized mft bench. If you can accurately layout the holes and drill them then avenues open up to you. I think it was about 4 years ago that a fellow Brit named Peter Parfitt came up with the parf guide system. I'ts been improved since my mark one version and you see Ron Paulk use it regularly.

Rich Thomas, and all: YES! Nicely done, Robbie, you indeed are off to a good start. You'll end up using this for most everything. My woodworking teacher taught me that a really good woodworker is one who knows how to hide his/ her mistakes.

Great bench and video. Thank You for sharing

Nice work, man! I really like the handle cutout that you put into the bottom of the bench. I’m planning a similar build soon, and this was really helpful to see.

The one advantage with the 20 mm hole is you open up to more accessories. Then you can get a reducer adapter sleeve that drops in. Now you can use 3/4" in 20mm holes

Good vid.The drill guide you made is a really good idea.Well done.

Saw Ron Paulk's channel, You have sold his table better than he has, Robbie.

Really nice job! You're definitely going places! 👍

Bro, I think you nailed it. The only thing I did differently on mine was I cut out the top holes big enough to fit my Erwin clamps without having to disassemble them. I’ve been using the work table this way now for about five years and it works great. Thanks for the wonderful video

Good stuff, ill be making one myself as soon as I've finished my shepherds hut workshop.

Wow, great idea! And good job. 🙂

Great video man. Keep it going.

Great video I enjoyed it beginning to end. Well done mate!!!

Nice build! I hope you post some more

Nicely done !

Great job! You’re very talented.

Nice job. I downloaded the same plans and will be building that same bench. Good voice over and video done well. That porter cable router you have is a great tool I have one too.

Good job! I found your video helpful and enjoyable.

I also brought the plans from Ron. I'm scaling my first one down to 2' x 4'. Slowly getting it together after a year.

Great video man!!!

Very well done young man. Maybe off topic a wee bit but if I may make a suggestion. You commented about using your shop vacuum for dust collection which in itself is common practice. Most shop vacs come with a paper filter that can clog after not much use. By what ever means needed, get some panty hose, cut out a portion of the leg and place over the paper filter and attach with a large enough rubber band or similar device. Makes cleaning the filter much easier, does a better job of it, is replaceable and certainly prolongs the life of those costly paper filters. keep up the good work as your presentation was better than most I watch.

Great Job! Keep at it.

Great video; about to tackle this same workbench myself.

Nice job! I'm building my own paulk bench very soon. Mine will be a stationary hybrid style desk.

Strong work!

Glad to see another new woodworker! I need to build another, better workbench & have been wanting to use the Paulk style. You did an awesome job & am subbing ya, sir! Love the choice in music too 😉

Cracking little video!

Very nice work indeed!

Great job and great description of the process. I have drilled out dog holes before and if you clamp or weigh down the plywood to a backer board and drill, it will prevent the blowouts and eliminate the extra drilling on the backside. Also if you round over or chamfer the holes, the dogs go in easier and the holes are less likely to get damaged. I’m about to do another one tomorrow, just wanted to pass it on like you have. Yours came out great.

I made one at the beginning of the pandemic very therapeutic, my neighbors thought I was a some kind of Norm Abrams…little d they know I make more saw dust than anything 😊Next time I will use 3/4” vs 20mm dog holes easier to find this accessories locally.

That drill guide jig is pretty cool

Really good job.

Nice work!

Nice work with what you have. Great attention to detail. I built a Paulk workbench. If you want some quick to use clamps for the holes get some of the harbor freight black squeeze clamps and remove the jaw on the end and use a torch to heat a bent the metal rail 90 degrees about 6 inches from the end. You can hook the clamp in from the top now.

Great video bud! Nice work on the table as well! If you ever decide to build yourself another one here are 2 time saving tips that helped me (if you want them).. if you clamp your side sections together and use a circular saw with your rip fence for the straight sections of the cut outs it will go faster with a straighter and cleaner cut then use the jig saw for the corners. Just keep them clamped together and both side will match perfectly (same idea for the inside braces). Second tip is to use your router with a small round over bit and go over the inner and outer sides of the cut out holes... this way you won’t have to sand anything and it takes that sharp edge of so you don’t nick yourself grabbing tools. Good job! Keep it up!

Nice workNice work

Oh yeh, more info than you can poke a stick at.... well done!

Nice Job 👊🏼

That's a great video Robbie, well done. I'm with you on the fun with the router, they are cool. We all make mistakes, so don't sweat the small stuff. I also think it's a good idea to get your kids involved at an early age, lol. Maybe start with vacuuming up behind you. Anyway, keep it up.

Great job, Robbie Bolog! Nice work! Excellent problem solving. When I decided to get back into woodworking, I didn't have many tools. I referred to it as my #DoWithWhatYouGotShop ;-) Thanks for a great video, Robbie! All the very best to you in your endeavors!

Awesome!

Great job. A real woodworker figures out how to get it done with the tools he has, instead of complaining that someone else is only able to do it because of fancy tools. Also, don't worry about work flow and efficiency. That is for the pros. The rest of us do it in our free time cuz its fun.

Thanks for the vid. Good job on the bench top and the video production. I am getting ready to build one myself. How to you come up with the spacing for your internal supports and for the holes on the top. Thank you.

I'm at a similar stage in my woodworking as yourself, with just a circular saw and trim router. Really enjoyed the video, nice build 👍. I've built a track out of mdf for the circular saw with hinges one end and attached it to the mft bench. Still got to mark all the wholes about with the 4,5,6 method and test the cuts for square. I've attached an mft board to my kreg horses. Yours looks lot more professional. Just shows you what you can build with few tools 🔧

BTW, use your router again and do the hand hole you made. Your hand will thank you every time you pick that monster up. That roundover bit you used on the outside edge is a great choice.

Awesome! I too am a beginner and am about to build a bench. Considering the Paulk bench, but I'm not super excited about the saw horse legs he has. So I'm looking for how others did it. Looks like you just set yours up on store bought saw horses. That's not a bad idea, but I'm still thinking about building a different type of base. Well, anyway, thanks for your video. I learned a valuable tip here. Drill the pocket holes before you cut out the openings. Excellent tip.

Awsome job, Ive been looking at these tiny plans like WTF......Your video demystifies some of the plans on Ron's workbench 2 plans for a beginning woodworker.

Adding some t-track on the side of the bench allows for clamping material to the side for planing, edge banding, etc... I use t-track that will accept the festool lever and screw type clamps.

Great video!! I’m just starting out as well. What did you space the dogs at? I’m considering adding them to my built bench.

Good job bud

well done

Had my router drop low the other day even after tightening and did a little wood burning also. Fun times.

PC makes a plunge base for that router. Picked up mine as a complete kit years ago off Craigslist for $40. Obviously I'm thinking about building one of these - I'd want to do the drop insert for router, but haven't thought of a good way to make a modular fence yet.

good job

Nice torsion box. Norm did those long ago.

26 subscribers? Got to give you a boost. I’m on my as well. Happy woodworking. Look forward to future projects.

Thanks for video, I will definitely order plans. Question how do you like the Bora horses I was looking at getting a set of those wasn’t sure it was worth the money, thanks.

Good one, I'm at about the same point on the woodworking journey, I'm building something Ron Paulk inspired, but with a lip for clamping, and a base and drawers underneath. I think building a fairly simple bench like this is a great introduction, and allows you to make a few mistakes that hopefully won't happen again, and it's a bench, so who cares if they do. (I also have a center cross brace that I mucked up). When you cut the end off your cross braces did you not destroy the pockets for the pocket hole screws?

Awesome video! Thanks for showing and embracing the mistakes. Any plan to attach permanent legs instead of keeping it on the saw horses?

great video bro! I admire your honesty, one thing I'd like to point out is to wear PPE. ear muffs and respirator.. home depot sells those 3M like $30. That should protect your ears and lungs :)

Great work. I'm like you and hate dust and wood chips and have the Kreg jig with the vacuum attachment and there is not pocket hole shavings at all. Virtually none as they get vacuumed up. HOWEVER I would far better prefer to just jigsaw out all of the torsion box cutouts as opposed to using the router. WAY to much dust with a router in my humble opinion compared to a jigsaw and with a metal guide you can jigsaw some pretty nice cutouts. I use the same drill attachment drum sanders like you. Enjoyed your video. Thanks.

One thing I would recommend is the side oblong cutouts leave a bit more meat. Kinda defeats the purpose of a torsion box if you dont have sufficient support. The short sides you almost cutout entire plywood, might have left a center line.

I would opt to make a slotted track for the length of the table to sit on (on edge) on a set of casters. That would allow for easy entry through a standard doorway along with very low footprint while not in use.

6:45... the first time router cut may be rough, but that 1 liner to b roll was smooth!

Nice work and brilliant first effort from you. Did you check it for square !? Is it ?