The first thing to decide when building a workbench is how high the top should be. The usual rule of thumb is to drop your arm to your side, and with your fingers extended forward measure from your palm to the floor. Although I am tall, my arms are long, and this would result in a bench which is 35" high. This seemed a little low to me, so I raised the top to 36 1/2" and I have been happy with that decision. If you plan to do mostly hand tool operations, especially planing, you should lower the top a little. Adjust the height of the bench to your liking.
Top View Front View End View I built the top of my bench from 3/4" oak flooring strips laminated to an exterior solid core door which is 1 3/4" thick, resulting in a total thickness of 2 1/2". I used construction mastic to glue the strips to the door. The two end caps and the front apron are 8/4 (pronounced eight quarter) oak which is approximately 1 3/4" thick. The back of the bench top and tool well sides are made of 4/4 oak which is approximately 3/4" thick. The tail vise is made from 8/4 and 4/4 oak glued together, resulting in a total thickness of 2 1/2". The apron, end caps, and back are 5 1/4" wide (in the vertical dimension). I have attached oak leg strips to the base supports which accept bench dogs to support work in progress. These can be seen in the view from the front. All hardwood portions of the bench are finished with natural Watco Danish Oil which I renew once a year or when ever needed.
The base of the workbench is constructed with standard construction lumber. The bottom of the base supports and the posts which support the top are 4x4s (approximately 3 1/2" square). The stretchers which connect the posts from front to back are 2x6s (approximately 1 1/2" by 5 1/2") and are joined with dowels. The center portions of the base supports have been filled in with 3/4" plywood and trimmed with 3/4" quarter round to make them more rigid and provide a finished look. The two base supports are connected left to right at the top with 2x6 stretchers and at the bottom with 2x4 stretchers. These are connected to the base supports with lag bolts and washers. The top is secured to the 2x6 stretchers with lag bolts from below.
My front vise opens to 7" and uses a half nut mechanism to provide quick action. The tail vise opens to 12". I spaced the 3/4" holes on the top 11" apart, but you might wish to space them a little closer.
I have not shown any dimensions or detail relating to the mounting of the front vise or the tail vise. This is totally dependent on the types of vises that you choose. On my bench it was necessary to cut a small strip from the bottom of the front apron to provide clearance for the front vise. It was also necessary to cut a portion of the top stretcher to provide passage for the tail vise rear follower, a piece of 4/4 hardwood which keeps the polished metal rods parallel, and which makes contact with a heavily waxed area on the bottom of the solid core door which forms the bench top. These rods are actually hollow metal tubes with a piece of all-thread inside and nuts and washers to hold everything together. They fit into shallow holes the same size as the outside diameter of the rod which are drilled into the inside face of the vise and also the rear follower.
The drawer unit is simply a plywood carcass which rests on the bottom stretchers and is screwed into the base supports and stretchers from within. It is made from 3/4" plywood, including the three vertical panels which separate and support the drawers. All drawer bottoms are supported by 3/4" hardwood strips which are glued and screwed to the vertical panels. The spacing for these strips is just slightly greater than the depth of the drawer. My drawers are made from select pine and are machine dovetailed. The bottoms are 1/4" plywood, as are the dividers which are used in some of the drawers. A pine face frame is attached to the front of the plywood carcass to give it a finished look. The dimensions of my drawers are 11 3/8" wide, 20 1/2" long, and 4" deep.
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