When I first started woodworking, I purchased a cheap little, portable, table saw. Money was tight so I tried to make that saw do as much as possible. I remember a few times I even used the aluminum table as a work surface. I was sawing on it, chiseling on it, I was even clamping pieces to it. I quickly realized that I needed a workbench.
Now, this was first time needing any kind of solid work surface so I didn’t really know what I needed. I didn’t even really know what kind of work I’d be doing except the current project I was on at the time. I searched the internet and discovered a plethora of workbench designs and sizes. I wasn’t doing any fine woodworking at this point so I picked a design that was simple and cheap and went for it.
It was made from a couple hardware store 2×4’s and a 2’x4′ piece of plywood. I hastily put this together in an hour with nothing but drywall screws. When I was done, I was very pleased with myself. I took a step back and admired my newest creation having no sense of the abomination I had created.
To be fair, there was really nothing wrong with the workbench.
It’s just that the bench was woefully inadequate for the type of work I would start to do, but for the time being it was what I had. Little did I realize I had just started down a path that, I think, many of us woodworkers travel.
It took a couple months, but I finally realized that workbench was not going to cut it. I moved onto a small, laminated workbench that was bigger and heavier, but it didn’t have room for a good vise. From there, I had upgraded to a proper table saw so I built a torsion box workbench that doubled as an outfeed table, but the hollow nature of the top caused hand tool work to be incredibly loud. Now, I have an English inspired laminate workbench with a proper vise, tool well, plenty of room, and heavy enough for hand tool work.
Will I ever build a new workbench? I don’t know. I’m still discovering my style of working. My current workbench sits pretty high and still shifts a little. I find that it is difficult to plane faces of anything that doesn’t fit in the vise. I’m also starting to lean towards early colonial American methods of working so it’s hard to say what I will do next.
Your first workbench will probably be a quick hour job much like mine. There’s no shame in this and I would encourage you to go for it. This will not be your best nor will it be your last. I would argue that you need to work for awhile before you realize what you need. Then, you can alter your design and try again. Each workbench will likely get bigger and more intricate based on your needs, but you’ll eventually find the sweet spot.
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