So I guess I built my dream workbench 

No sawstop, no woodpeckers, just a talented woodworker, great job.

I like old school woodworking

Men, your work and the quality out of it leave me breathless everytime. And speechless :) All the best and keep on having fun and creation 🍀

Bravo! That is both a functional workbench as well as a beautiful piece of "furniture".

Tsa beauty! Just finished the top of my bastardised Moravian today and so shall take a few cues from you for the bottom half. Many thanks.

good job man, I totally agree with not building a bench right away, I haven't really set up my shop yet either. I have been working for about a year to see what I need and where it is best for the space, build it once hopefully . Thaks for tsking the time out to make this

I think it's not a torture to watch your video until the end, you did a lot of work for this bench and also do make the video 🎉 I'm glad to see your skills growing up 💪

Great looking bench , and the hold downs look like a great upgrade from the last bench

@GillisBjork thanks for the lesson. I suggest you try adding locking casters to make your bench easier to move around when necessary.

First time viewer in Sweden. I will take your advice and build a bench I can use. If I reach your skill level I may need another. Very impressive.

In a far away land with no electricity lived a man with very sharp tools. Great work.

Well done, very well done and thank you.

Beautiful! We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

Very nice work. You got me at: There is a whole forest in this bench. ;-)

Nicely done, thanks.

Wow, what a work ethic top notch results.

Nice job I’ve been wanting to add a wagon vice to my bench. But after watching you maybe I need to build a new bench.

Thanks for the workbench build, it was enjoyable and relaxing to watch. It's a beautiful bench. Cheers

Great work ethic and keeping the old technique’s alive.Fabulous bench.

You, young man, are a very talented woodworker. I was totally impressed with your skills. This is the first video of yours that I have seen, and I believe I’ll be busy for the next month watching your other videos and projects. I really enjoyed watching you work, thank you. Texas

If future videos are as good as this one is, don't worry about length. Excellent workbench build and really appreciate the logic behind the decisions.

Absolutely beautiful. Glad I came across your channel

Excellent and thank you. I think I will make your design this year.

Thanks Gillis, fantastic build and great explanation of why and how!

Thats a fantastic bench which will serve you well for many years to come.

Congrats on the holdfast add! They really are amazing, and so is the bench.

Try nice job kid. It looks great. Wish you many happy and prosperous years of use.

Lovely project, and a nice video. My only criticism is that there is some sapwood left in the oak.

A fascinating viewing experience. Thanks Gillis 👍

Thanks for sharing

Nice work.

The other day I was thinking "i wonder if Gillis is making anything, he hasn't posted in a while." I checked your instagram to see this. Nice work

Great job

Amazing build Gil, I actually enjoy the long form videos

Excelente su trabajo joven ,muy motivante y didactico ,mis sinceras felicitaciones usted es un maestro

great work

Great, as allways 👍

I inherited my father's shop equipment. He had two, one in in the city house, which he built, and one at the family “Semester-Hus”. There were two of most of the machines along with many hand tool, including an almost complete set of metal planes, missing the #1 and #2 and a few specialty planes. So I have two bandsaws, two drill presses, two wood lathes (gave one away), two jigsaws, and multiple routers. All of them in or approaching the antique category. Three sets of carving chisels and a large variety of hand chisels most need sharpening, which brings me to a question…what methods do you use for sharpening? Recently just finished having my shop building insulated so the tools won’t be too hot or cold! Since repositioning equipment and benches I will be building a new base for one of my workbenches your excellent video will definitely be a rewatched video and the bench will incorporate some of your bench features. Will be looking forward to watching more of your videos.

Just great stuff. A great job well done and really motivating. Well done, and thank you.

Some commenters seem to think this work can be done with fancy, high-priced tools without the skills required to do the Job manually. I think that shows that they do No woodworking.

Thank you

It was great to see a new video, especially one as challenging as this bench. I'm always amazed at your willingness to do all of the complicated and exacting milling and joinery procedures by hand, especially when so many craftsmen are resorting to CNC machines. It's rare that we get to see how furniture was traditionally constructed, and can still be, with hand tools, patience, and attention to detail.

Fellow “cat person” (27:45) here, loved the video! Workbench aside, a veritable masterclass on woodworking techniques, coupled with some not-so-basic tips, such as the rationale for the slightly angled dog hole (18:10) or the “bridges” for the router plane (21:10) - both a first for me. (Minor quibble: given the assortment of solid wood species, I hated the plywood at 29:30-30:00.)

More Gillis please.

top !

Excellent, first viewer from Athens

I built my bench without toe clearance, and I do find myself kicking it regularly.

May I ask where you got the skew plane from? I would really like one as well.

👍

41:38

hi, how are u? how do I contact u? I did see any contact information

You are an awesome craftsman and artist. I enjoy watching you work on your creations and they are a wonder to behold. Many thanks for sharing them.

Ripping those slabs by hand. You're a beast.👍

Great project and execution. Love the commentary as well.

Such a good job. I do like the mix of wood species and how cleverly they're used.

What an awesome build! I've been looking for ideas for my next bench and you gave me some great ideas. As always, your thoughtful execution and skills are simply amazing.

Your videos bring back great memories when I was an apprentice and worked with my father. We used mostly hand powered tools, rip, cross cut and coping saws, planes, chisels, brace and bits, miter box..ect that l would slowly acquire over time. l still have and use a sharpening stone that my Dad used when he was an apprentice, thanks for your great videos and memories.

That was a pleasure you watch.

I was worried you had quit RU-vid and was still thinking about you last week. Even better to see such an inspiring longer video. You could have made it 90 minutes 😜 I would have watched it anyway. In any case, the workbench turned out great! Solid, big and with enough possibilities to clamp the workpieces. I'm sure your workflow will improve significantly. I wish you a lot of fun with your new bench 👍

Pure enjoyment watching you hand build the bench. Amazing skill and work!

With my large delta table saw and an outfeed table and a small secondhand work bench, all in a very small room off the house, I realize I have to adjust my priorities and make some changes. I think the saw needs to go, and I need to make a larger bench as the center point of my work area. I have access to full cabinet shop tools if I ever need to do a massive amount of stock prep, but my small sanctuary should be rearranged to focus on my projects and not my stock prep.

Very nice job. I like the choices you made in the design.

Fantastic video! Completely inspirational. How long have you been woodworking for?

Good job Gillis. Very inspiring. This is the type iof build i am planning. Thank you.

Well done. Thanks for making that video!

Hand tool woodworking is not for everyone, but for those that enjoy the quiet, the satisfaction of achievement, the desire to create (with traditional methods), can you reveal how many hours were dedicated to this work? PS: Nice work, beautiful creation.

Good

It's too nice ~ I need something I can drill into, saw into, scratch, gouge, and perforate profusely! In short, something I can ABUSE.

Beech is a super-duper choice for the face. That stuff is hard!

Really great bench! Just throw some shims under the legs and it will be sturdy as can be!

I watched the whole video in one sitting. It was wonderful. I am going to be building a work bench for myself, it will probably be my last as I’m 70 and retired. I will be using some of your ideas and techniques. I am especially encouraged in using mostly non electric hand tools. I have the top which is 100 year old solid hard maple 30” x 72” x 3” which used to be a butchers cutting table. I’m getting a Sjoberg bench vise for the front, and already have my grandfathers tail vise. I would like to make the base out of yellow pine, and will be using your technique of joining it to the top. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.

Great job and super helpful! thanks

Fantastic job Gillis. Well worth the wait. I love the way you work… very honest with no ego. A true craftsman who does not depend on power tools to create fine work.

I built a bench out of 2x4s, 2x6s, and 4x4s, figuring it would be temporary but 40 years later, I was still using it. It was more than adequate. The tail vice used a threaded rod for a screw and a coupling nut but it was hidden inside the wooden parts. You could do that. See Frank Klausz' workbench in Fine Woodworking magazine. Braise the long nut to a big washer and the thread rod never failed. You're doing a great job.

Great video 👏👏👏 As a professional woodworker for 40+ years and now on RU-vid. I commend you on your build. I wasn't entirely sure about your build but you did great. Onle one thing that I would have tried to talk you out of... Beech. I'm not a fan of it on larger pieces of work. It is the most unstable of timbers and is known for movement if the moisture/humidity levels change. Alf Martensson in his book The Woodworkers Bible, has it on a chart as the worst timber for movement. And due to it being right next to your dogs I hope it doesn't play you up too much. Keep it well sealed. I've subscribed too. 👍 Cheers. Jamie

Weldone

Great video and fascinating watch! I'm a beginner woodworker living in Sweden and I'm having trouble sourcing wood other than pine... do you have any recommendations for sourcing hardwoods, especially of a size needed for benchtops etc? I have the same concern about the softwood and holdfast combo...

I really enjoyed the video and appreciated the discussion in the beginning about the size. I'd have been interested to listen to your choices with regard to joinery, particularly roubo versus something like a Sellers/english bench given that you've gone for a board for hold fasts along the apron? Another question, is the red handled chisel a Nooitgedacht?

Please consider manufacturing your fine workbench 4 people who are less talented and of advanced age, 82.

I clicked on the video because i like that plane till design in the thumbnail and want to steal it and it's not in the video :(. Excellent bench though! I'm curious how the non-sliding dead man holds up. Pine and holdfasts for me has been hit or miss

Beautiful build…. You will be ready for a second career in MMA after all that planning. 😅😅😂😂☺️☺️

Isn't it amazing what a pair of healhty hands are capable of when there isn't a "smartphone" glued into them? ;-)

Daaaaang! 😮 This is an impressive build! Congrats.

I hand stitched some leather boots onto my gramercy hold fasts. It brings them to a whole new level of work holding.

Getting better with each video friend, well done

Very nice. I hope to see some nice projects build on this bench.

Brilliant. I love your videos. But how do you keep your chisels so gorgeously sharp?

Super cool

This is awesome mate, given me some very good points and pointers for me current bench and new one. Very impressed with the drawings, fine work

Thanks Gillis , you've come along way. This bench should last as long as it is used and then some.

loved this video. very cool to see the little things you do (like using a clamp to precision fit the long stretchers during assembly) that could help me

Perfect Work!...

Incredible

Excellent result! How did you figure out that the height of the top must be 83 cm ? I'm designing workbench for myself and see that lot of people choose 87...95 cm workbench tall. Can you give advice how to chose appropriate height?

I didn't realize that 40+ minutes had already passed. Could you make the next video a little longer? 😊I'll watch this another time. Very fine bench you did.

Using masking tape for your bow ties is a great idea.

Great Job (As usual!). I noticed you had a MHG chisel with the very bulbous handle. I was wondering how you found that handle compared with a more traditional handle? When looking at their site, I noticed a slinder handle option that I went with, but if I hadn't noticed them, I would have went with Narex Richter. Just really curious how you found that handle shape in use and storage.

Congratulations on your new bench! The video was well done, and it was a pleasure to watch!

Very nice brother... Keep up the talent....

prairie dogs? jump up from the ground?