SHOP

PROJECT

A HEAVY-DUTY WORKBENCH
A large, heavy-duty workbench thats easy to build.
Combining traditional joinery and modern materials is the key.

A lthough the size of this bench is

what you first notice (its nearly
eight feet long and three feet wide, not
including the vise), its really the con-
struction that makes it interesting.
Its a blend of old and new technology.
The base is built of heavy, solid
lumber, using traditional mortise
and tenon joinery. But the top is
constructed primarily of MDF
(medium- density fiberboard). So as
well as being flat and stable, it has
the additional benefit of being quick
and easy to make (unlike a top that
is glued up from solid wood).
Another nice feature are the rows
of dog holes along the front and left
side of the bench. Combined with a
few simple accessories (which are
described on page 13), these make it
easy to hold a workpiece while rout-
ing, sanding, or planing.
OPTIONAL STORAGE. As great as this
workbench is to work on, you can
make it even better by adding some
optional storage units underneath
(see inset photo below). With the
bank of drawers, the cupboards at
each end, and the open shelving at
the back, you wont be running out
of space anytime soon. You can
read the story behind these stor-
age units on page 14.

Tired of looking for your tools? >

Theyll always be within reach if
you build this slide-in storage unit.
Turn to page 14 for complete plans.

6 Woodsmith No. 133

 Three layers of MDF are
laminated to create a top that Double row of dog
holes works with dog OVERALL DIMENSIONS:
is flat, stable, and durable Front row of dog holes
holes drilled in vise face 94L x 42#/4D x 35H
designed for use with bench
dogs and other accessories,
see page 13.

Stretchers stabilize
long front & back rails

Heavy-duty cast
iron vise is "mortised" !/4" hardboard splines
into front apron. RIGHT
help align top and aprons APRON
For more on
mounting a vise,
see page 20.

Dowel Plywood shelves

plug rest on cleats

CENTER END
SHELF RAIL
Sturdy bench
legs are glued up
from 1!/2" thick
maple boards
END
SHELF LOWER
FRONT RAIL

NOTE: Corner blocks

NOTE: reinforce joints
Base frame is For three handy storage
constructed of to prevent racking
options, including a large Tenons are pinned
solid maple. Shelves under bench storage unit,
are #/4" plywood turn to page 14 with dowels for
added strength

MATERIALS, SUPPLIES & CUTTING DIAGRAM

A Legs (4) 3 x 3 - 32#/4 L Top Layers (2)* #/4 MDF - 33 x 91 W Top Cleats (2) #/4 MDF - 1!/2 x 26&/16
B Upper End Rails (2) 1!/2 x 3#/4 - 26!/2 M Support Block (1) 1!/2 x 6 - 15 (50) #8 x 1!/4" Fh Woodscrews
C Lower End Rails (2) 1!/2 x 4!/2 - 26!/2 N Top End Pieces (2) #/4 MDF - 15 x 21 (12) #8 x 1!/2" Fh Woodscrews
D Upr. Fr./Bk. Rails (2) 1!/2 x 3#/4 - 68!/2 O Top Frt. Piece (1) #/4 MDF - 6 x 76 (48) #8 x 2!/2" Fh Woodscrews
E Lwr. Fr./Bk. Rails (2) 1!/2 x 4!/2 - 68!/2 P Top Bk. Piece (1) #/4 MDF - 6 x 91 (4) #14 x 2" Fh Woodscrews
F Upper Stretchers (2) 1!/2 x 3#/4 - 27 Q Top Ctr. Pieces (2) #/4 MDF - 6 x 21 (2) %/16" x 4!/2" Hex Head Bolts
G Lower Stretchers (2) 1!/2 x 4!/2 - 27 R Front Apron (1) 1!/2 x 3!/2 - 92!/2 (2) %/16" Lock Nuts
H Corner Blocks (8) 1!/2 x 2!/2 - 7!/2 S Back Apron (1) 1!/2 x 3!/2 - 91 (4) %/16" Flat Washers
I Shelf Cleats (4) 1!/2 x #/4 - 26!/2 T Left Apron (1) 1!/2 x 3!/2 - 34!/4 (1) Woodworking Vise
J Ctr. Shelf (1) #/4 ply. - 26&/16 x 32&/16 U Right Apron (1) 1!/2 x 3!/2 - 35!/2 (1) #/8"-dia. Hardwood Dowel (48" long)
K End Shelves (2) #/4 ply. - 26&/16 x 16&/16 V Face Block (1) 3 x 4!/2 - 18 (1) !/4" Hardboard (1" x 240 ln. in.)
*Note: One top layer starts out oversized.

No. 133 Woodsmith 7

 NOTE:
Leave top
edges of legs
square
Base 1 B
26!/2"

When it comes to building a work- LEG

3#/4" NOTE: A
bench, the base has to meet two Make all
mortises
MORTISE requirements. It needs to be strong. 1%/16"-deep
LAYOUT And it needs to be stable. I decided A
3#/4"
B
1%/16" to use hard maple for the base NOTE: Legs are
glued up from UPPER
because of its strength and the two pieces of END RAIL
added mass it gives the bench. But 1!/2"-thick stock.
32#/4" A Rails are cut from
3!/2" a good, less expensive substitute 1!/2"-thick stock
24"
would be two-by framing lumber. C
(I would suggest Douglas fir.) 24"
4!/2"
!/2" LEGS. The first step in building the NOTE: Round
A
LEG
base of this bench is to make the over edges and
bottom of legs
legs. As you can see in Fig. 1, each #/16" round- C
overs
leg (A) is glued up from two pieces LOWER
of 11/2"-thick stock. I ripped these END RAIL

pieces slightly wider than the fin- a. 5" !/2" chamfer

ished width of the legs. This way, #/16"
roundover A A
1"
you dont have to worry about keep- 3"
1!/2" 1!/2"
3" 3"
1" ing the two pieces exactly aligned NOTE:
when gluing them up. After squar- Legs are 1"
mirrored TOP
ing up each blank, you can cut the pairs to VIEW NOTE: Rout roundovers
A
each other A first, then rout stopped chamfers
legs to final length (323/4").
4"
MORTISES. Large mortise and tenon
joints are used to join the rails of the b. c. 1!/4"
C
bench with the legs. Before making B
!/2"
5!/4" 4!/2"
the mortises, I laid them all out on
NOTE: No 3#/4"
the legs, like the drawing in the left shoulder 3!/2" !/4"
at top of 4" NOTE: !/4"
3" margin shows. The important thing tenon shoulder on
to notice when laying out the mor- !/4" all four sides
!/4" of tenon
tises is that the legs arent identi-
1"
cal. The right-hand legs and left-
hand legs mirror each other. This
way, the jointline wont show from can see in the drawing at the left a 1/2" stopped chamfer is routed on
the front of the bench (Fig. 1a). that the mortises at the top of each the outside corner of each leg.
After the mortises are laid out, leg are open on one end. This way, RAILS. The legs are connected
you can begin drilling out the waste. you wont have to worry about by two sets of rails at the top and
I did this on a drill press, using a blowing out the mortise at the top bottom. I started by making the
Forstner bit. Drilling overlapping of the legs during assembly. end rails. (All the rails are made
holes removes most of the waste, To complete the legs, a 3/16" from 11/2"-thick stock.) Youll need
and what little is left behind can be roundover is routed along the edges two upper end rails (B) and two
quickly removed with a chisel. You of each leg and on the bottom. Then lower end rails (C). After cutting
the rails to size, you can cut tenons
2 on the ends to match the mortises
a. END in the legs, as shown in Figs. 1b
VIEW
Rip fence
1!/4" and 1c. Since each tenon has 1/4"
used as stop shoulders, one set up on the table
B C
!/4" saw is all you need, as shown in Fig.
Dado 2. Note that the tenons on the
blade
upper rails are bare-faced to
B C match the open mortises at the top
b. NOTE: On of each leg. Finally, the two ends of
B upper rail
cut bottom the base can be glued up.
Aux. fence END shoulder only
C
VIEW FRONT/REAR RAILS. Except for their
Dado blade !/4"
length, the rails at the front and rear
Dado of the bench are practically identical
blade to the end rails (Fig. 3). The upper
front/back rails (D) and lower

8 Woodsmith No. 133

 UPPER BACK 27" 3#/4"
F RAIL
front/back rails (E) are cut to size, 3 D UPPER
and tenons are cut on the ends. STRETCHER
F 1"-wide,
These tenons are identical to the !/4"-deep dadoes
ones cut on the end rails. (For a tip 15!/2" 3#/4"

on cutting tenons on long work- 3#/4"

1"
pieces, see page 21.) 1" 15!/2"
Hard-
Before assembling the ends and wood D #/4"
rails, theres one other detail to take dowels UPPER
FRONT RAIL #8 x 2!/2"
care of. To hold some stretchers Fh woodscrews G
4!/2" LOWER
that will be added between the front STRETCHER
and back rails, a couple of shallow G
dadoes are cut on the inside face of E LOWER BACK
each rail, as shown in Fig. 3. Once
RAIL 4!/2"

this is done, the rails and ends of the 66" 1!/4"

bench can all be glued together. NOTE: All tenons
E 68!/2"
STRETCHERS. The stretchers (F, G) are pinned with
dowels after end LOWER
that I just mentioned are cut to size assemblies are FRONT RAIL
glued to rails
from 11/2"-thick stock. Stub tenons
are cut on the ends of the stretch- a. 1!/2" b. SIDE SECTION
c. #/8"-dia. dowel
ers, and then after brushing a little VIEW 1!#/16" long
!/4" !/4"
glue on the tenons, each stretcher is #/4"
#/4"
slipped in between the front and D
B
STRETCHERS D F 2!/4"
back rails. A few screws help to hold !/16"
F G #8 x 2!/2"
the stretchers in place. Fh woodscrew
Once the stretchers are screwed A

in place, the screws can be plugged #/4"

(Fig. 3b). While youre at it, go
ahead and drill holes in the legs and
pin the tenons with 3/8"-dia. dowels
(Fig. 3c). I sanded a slight chamfer
on the exposed ends of the plugs
(and pins), then glued them in place
so they stood slightly proud of the
surface (about 1/16").
CORNER BRACES. Each corner of the
base is reinforced with a couple of
corner blocks (H) (Fig. 4). In addi-
tion to beefing up the corners, the
!/32" #/4"
1" A
chamfer
lower blocks serve an extra pur- are glued and screwed to the lower
pose. They provide support for stretchers (Fig. 4). Once these are
DOWEL PIN
some shelves that are added next. in place, you can cut a center shelf LAYOUT
SHELVES. Shelves are fitted into the (J) and two end shelves (K) from #/4"
bottom of the bench for storing tools 3/ " plywood. The center shelf is
4 #/4"
and equipment. Or if youre going to simply cut to size and dropped in
add the optional storage units, the place. But the two end shelves 2!/4"
shelves provide a flat, solid base. have to be notched in the corners
The shelves rest on cleats (I) that to fit around the legs of the bench.

4 NOTE: Corner blocks

made from 1!/2"-thick stock
7!/2" CORNER
Drill
#/8"- dia.
BLOCK a. #/4" hole,
2!/2" H ply. 1#/4"
deep
Notch
around H
legs E
C
K
16&/16" 26&/16" 1!/2" #8 x 2!/2"
#/4" Fh wood- #/4"
ply. screw

I
CLEAT (1!/2"x #/4"- 26!/2") 3"
b. FRONT SECTION VIEW
32&/16"
26&/16" CENTER 5#/4"
SHELF
END
J
SHELF
K #8 X 1!/2" I I
Fh wood- G
NOTE: Shelves screw
are #/4" plywood

No. 133 Woodsmith 9

 5 NOTE: All pieces (except
support block) are #/4" MDF
FIRST TOP
LAYER
L

Notch for
support block SECOND TOP
TOP END LAYER
PIECE L
N

P TOP BACK
PIECE
Q TOP CENTER
PIECE
NOTE: Support Q
block is cut from
1!/2"-thick solid M
hardwood to
provide something SUPPORT
for screws to "bite" BLOCK
into when mount- O
ing the vise. TOP
FRONT
PIECE

{ Hard maple aprons
wrap around three
layers of MDF to
protect the hard,
flat work surface.
Top
It goes without saying that the top of
a workbench needs to be strong and
sturdy to stand up to all the abuse it
will receive. But it also needs to be
flat. I rely on the top of my workbench
as a reference when assembling a
project or dimensioning stock. So its
important that the top be perfectly
flat and stay that way.
Although solid wood is a more
traditional choice for bench tops, I
decided to use MDF. Its heavy,
tough, and very flat. And unlike
solid wood, you dont have to worry
about MDF twisting or warping out
of shape over time. Plus as an added
benefit, MDF is a whole lot less
expensive than solid wood.
In order to beef up the thick-
ness, I built up the top out of three
separate layers of MDF, as you
can see in Fig. 5 above. This makes
the top plenty thick for mounting a
vise and for holding bench dogs.
To make the top, start by cutting
the first top layer (L) to finished
size (Fig. 6). Then before adding
the second layer, I glued a hard-
wood support block (M) to the cor-
ner where the vise will get mounted.
(This block will give the screws
something to bite into when youre
mounting the vise later.) However,
as you can see in Fig. 6, the top
piece is upside-down when you glue
this block in place. (Thats why the
block is shown in the right corner.)
SECOND LAYER. The second layer (L)
ends up the same size as the first
layer. But trying to keep two large,
identically-sized workpieces aligned
when gluing them together can be
tricky. So I cut the second layer
slightly oversize (1/4" in both length
and width). After its glued to the
first layer, it will be trimmed flush.
In addition to making the second
layer oversized, a notch needs to be
cut in one corner to allow it to fit
around the hardwood block thats
glued to the first layer. This can be
done with a sabre saw or a hand
saw, and you dont need to be too
fussy with the fit. (My notch was 1/8"
larger than the block.)
Once the notch is cut out, the two
layers can be glued and screwed
together. I used yellow woodwork-
ing glue, spreading it on the large
surfaces with a 3" paint roller.
The screws help to hold the MDF
layers together while the glue sets
up. Theres just one thing to be
aware of when youre adding the
screws. Later on, youll be drilling
dog holes in the top of the bench,

6 7 NOTE: Top is shown

a. upside-down
33!/4" 21" 91"
91!/4"
NOTE: Top is shown Flush trim
upside-down N
SECOND bit
P
2!/4" LAYER 6" Q
Trim second layer 15" #8 x 1!/4"
L Fh woodscrew
flush with first
19" 30" Q
6"
1!/4" 9#/4"
6"
#8 x 1!/4"
L Fh wood- 1!/4" 21"
6!/8" O
FIRST screw
91" 15!/8" TOP FRONT PIECE N
LAYER 6" 1!/2" (76"-long) 6"
15"
NOTE: Don't No screws should 30"
place screws in be placed in
shaded areas 33" shaded areas
SUPPORT M
BLOCK

10 Woodsmith No. 133

 Hardboard
spline
LEFT APRON NOTE: Aprons are
and you dont want to accidentally T 1!/2" thick 8
drill into a screw. So I laid out
34!/4"
some no screw zones to 91" BACK APRON
make sure this wouldnt Front left apron S
be a problem (Fig. 6). left square for vise
Once the two layers are
laminated together, you can
trim the second layer flush with FRONT APRON 3!/2"
the first using a router and a flush R

trim bit (Fig. 6a). Hardboard

spline
THIRD LAYER. If you take a look at 92!/2"
Fig. 7, youll see that the third Pocket for
jaw of vise
layer is really made up of six sepa-
rate pieces of MDF. Youll need two
end pieces (N), a front piece (O), a NOTE: Aprons are joined 35!/2"
to top with !/4" hardboard splines
back piece (P), and two center
U
pieces (Q). Once these pieces are RIGHT APRON
cut to exact size, they can be glued
and screwed to the second layer. a. b.
APRONS. To protect and conceal
the edges of the MDF, the top is T U 1!/2"
wrapped with 11/2"-thick hardwood
aprons (R, S, T, U) on all four 1!/2"
TOP VIEW R
sides. If you look closely at Fig. 8, radius
youll see that each apron is a little R S

different. To begin with, the ends

of the right apron and one end of Rout pocket
1!/2" in front apron
the left apron are rounded over !/4" for rear jaw of vise,
(Fig. 8a). (This roundover will also see page 20 { A couple of cleats
be created on the face block that clamped to the top
will be added to the vise.) of the bench allow
Second, a pocket is routed in 9 Hardboard
spline
you to clamp the
the back face of the front apron to Laminated end aprons in place.
bench top
accommodate the back jaw of the
bench vise (Fig. 8b). (The size of
this pocket will depend upon the
vise you are using, see page 20.) Vise
pocket
After routing the pocket, you can SUPPORT NOTE: Cut
rout a groove around the top of the BLOCK spline short
M of vise pocket
bench as well as on the aprons (Fig.
9). These grooves will hold splines Rout !/4"-wide groove
R
that help align the aprons with the in edge of top and in
aprons for splines FRONT APRON
top of the bench. A router and a slot
cutter is all you need to make the
grooves. But note that the grooves
in the aprons are stopped short of 10 NOTE: If end of
apron is exposed,
the exposed ends (Figs. 9 and 10). stop groove short
SPLINES. Once the grooves have
been routed, you can glue the #/4" %/8"
U
aprons to the top using splines cut a.
into strips from a sheet of 1/4" hard-
board. Clamping the front and !/4" %/8"
END
back aprons in place is no prob- SECTION
!/4" VIEW
lem. But clamping across the
length of the bench is a challenge, Scrap !/2"
boards !/4" slot
unless you have some extra long cutter
help support Aprons
clamps. For a simple solution, see aprons while
routing grooves
the margin photo at right.

No. 133 Woodsmith 11

 Top (continued) 11 #/4"-dia. spade bit
With the aprons attached, the 3/4"-dia.
dog holes can be drilled. Theres one Drilling jig
row along the front edge and a dou-
ble row at the end (for the vise). To NOTE: Use jig for
keep the hole spacing consistent on #/4"-dia. holes along
front edge only
the long front edge (as well as to guide
the drill bit), I made the simple index-
ing jig shown in Fig. 11. For the few
holes at the end of the bench, I care- a. b. #/4"
fully laid out each one individually. #/4" dowel spade
bit
With the top just about complete,
I added the vise. Depending on the Drilling jig

size of the vise you plan to install, Bench top

you may need to mount a spacer
block to the underside of the bench CROSS SECTION
beforehand. Then after mounting
the vise, I added a wood face block
(V) to the front jaw. You can read
more about the vise mounting pro- 12
cedure on pages 20 and 21. a.
The last step to complete the top
is to rout a small (1/16") chamfer With vise closed,
!/16" Chamfer
around the top of the bench and rout !/16" chamfer
bit around top of bench
around the inside edge of the dog and dog holes
holes. I wanted to incorporate the
b.
vise into this chamfer detail as well, FACE
V Clean up corners
so before turning on the router, I BLOCK
with chisel
closed the face block against the
front apron. Then I routed the NOTE: To
mount vise,
chamfer around the top and the face see page 20
block, as well as around the inside
of each dog hole (Fig. 12).
The bearing on the chamfer bit ATTACHING THE TOP. The top of this MDF that butt against the upper
doesnt allow you to rout the cham- workbench is heavy enough that it stiles, locking the top in position.
fer all the way into the corners of the will stay put without being attached But before the cleats are attached,
face block or the ends of the bench. to the base. But to keep the top from you should make sure that the top is
So after youre done routing, you shifting or sliding, I added a couple set squarely on the base (Figs. 13a
can clean up these inside corners of cleats to the underside of the top. and 13b). Then the cleats can be
with a chisel (Fig. 12b). These cleats (W) are just strips of screwed in place. W

13 NOTE: Top cleats are #/4" MDF FIRST: Position top on base as
shown in details 'a' & 'b' at right
a. FRONT SECTION VIEW

16!/2"
SECOND: Attach
cleats to bottom Offset position
of top using glue of bench top to
and #8 x 1!/4" Fh allow for vise
woodscrews mechanism
TOP CLEATS
W

b. Bench dog hole SIDE SECTION VIEW

#8 x 1!/4" Fh
woodscrew
TOP CLEAT W

4" NOTE: Position top to

allow clearance for
bench dogs

12 Woodsmith No. 133

 SHOP
PROJECT

WORKBENCH STORAGE
Want to store a shopful of tools at your fingertips? Heres the answer.

H ow do you make a
great bench even
better? The answer is
to add a storage unit to
the base. Actually, the
design we came up with
features two storage
units a front cabinet
with drawers and doors
and an open shelving
unit in back. And if
thats not enough, you
can add an optional peg-
board storage panel to
each end. Build them
all, and youll be able to
put a shopful of tools at
your fingertips.
The reason for dividing the stor- only want to build the cabinet in CENTER SECTION. The center section
age space into two separate units is front. So lets start with that one. of the cabinet is plywood framework
simple. First, it allows you to have that creates the openings for the
accessible storage on both sides of FRONT CABINET drawers. You can begin by cutting
the bench. And second, it keeps the The front cabinet is really just a ply- the top and bottom (A), two vertical
drawers in the front cabinet at a wood box thats sized to fit in the dividers (B), a horizontal divider
manageable depth, so items dont space beneath the top of the work- (C), and a drawer divider (D) to
get lost at the back. bench. Its divided up into compart- size from 3/4" plywood, as shown in
Of course, theres no reason you ments for the drawers and cupboard Fig. 1 on the next page.
have have to build both storage storage areas. The center section is The front edges of all these ply-
units. If youre planning to place the constructed first, and then the sides wood panels need to be covered
bench up against a wall, you may are added later. with strips of 1/4"-thick hardwood

Bank of drawers. Keep your hand tools Shelving Unit. Use every inch of the bench Pegboard End Storage. In just a few
clean and organized in these generously-sized by adding this shallow shelving unit at the minutes, you can have this optional pegboard
drawers. Plus, they open on full-extension back. Its a perfect place for jigs, hardware, storage panel mounted at each end of the
slides so you can fill them from front to back. and other supplies. (Plans start on page 19.) bench. See page 19 to find out how.

14 Woodsmith No. 133

 TOP DRAWER #8 x 1!/2"
A DIVIDER Fh wood-
D screw
1!/4"
edging (E), as shown in Fig. 1. I 1
chose to do this before assembly
because I found it a lot easier to
attach and trim the edging flush VERTICAL
DIVIDER 21!/4"
with each panel lying flat. B
NOTE: All 4!/4" 21!/4"
Once the edging is in place, you parts (except
edging) are
can set up your dado blade to match #/4" plywood 4" 21!/4" NOTE: Cut all
the thickness of the plywood youre plywood panels
21" wide, then
using (Fig. 1a). All the dadoes are 18&/16" add !/4"-thick
edging strips
the same depth and width, so when 16&/8"
#/4" C
the blade is set up, its just a matter HORIZONTAL
BOTTOM 34!/2" DIVIDER
of adjusting your rip fence to posi- A B
tion the dadoes according to Fig. 1.
With all the dadoes cut, now is a EDGING
E
good time to assemble the center
section. I used both glue and screws
to do this, drilling all the pilot and 21"
shank holes beforehand (Fig. 1b). It
makes sense here to work from the NOTE: Glue #/4"
edging in place 64&/8"
inside out, starting by assembling before cutting dadoes
14!!/16"
the horizontal divider between the
two vertical dividers. Then you can
add the short drawer divider and a. b. CROSS SECTION
B
the top and bottom panels. A
SIDES . All you have to do now to
complete the case of the cabinet is !/4"

to add a couple of sides (Fig. 2).

Like the other panels you cut earlier, #8 x 1!/2" NOTE: Drill
the sides (F) are also cut from 3/4" A Fh wood- %/32"-dia.
screw B shank holes
plywood. But these panels are cut and #/32"-dia. SHELF PIN
Thickness pilot holes TEMPLATE
1/ " wider than the other plywood before
4 of #/4" plywood
assembly
panels. Thats because theyll be
rabbeted along the back edges later 2"
to hold a plywood back. 2 NOTE: Plywood panels for sides
are cut !/4" wider than panels SIDE 2"
After cutting the sides to size,
in previous drawing F
hardwood edging is added to the 12"
front edges. Then a rabbet is cut
along the ends of each side to hold 6%/8"
1!/4"
the top and bottom (A) of the cabi-
net (Fig. 2a). Before assembling the 19&/16"
!/4" shelf
sides to the rest of the cabinet, a 1/4"- pin
5"
wide rabbet is cut along the back
edge of each side piece to hold a 1/4" G 20"
SHELF 21!/4"
plywood back that will be added NOTE: All
shelf pin holes
later (Fig. 2b). Then the sides can are #/8" deep 14%/16" E
be glued and screwed in place.
EDGING
SHELVES. With the case of the front
cabinet completed, the next step is a. b. BACK VIEW
to add the shelves (G). These are Thickness Cut !/4" x !/4"
nothing more than a couple of of plywood rabbet in
back edge of
pieces of 3/4" plywood with hard- side for
back A
wood edging attached to the front.
The shelves are supported by SIDE
F
brass shelf pins. To ensure that the F
holes are spaced evenly and line up { A hardboard tem-
accurately, I used a simple drilling !/4" plate allows you to
template that is shown in the draw- accurately drill holes
ing in the margin at right. for the shelf pins.

No. 133 Woodsmith 15

 SMALL
DRAWER
BACK
Drawers & Doors 3 15%/8" H
SMALL
DRAWER
The center section of the cab- SIDE
K
inet is designed to hold five
drawers. These are graduated 3!/2" a. Small/medium
in size to accommodate dif- 19&/16" drawer
M
MEDIUM
ferent types of tools. But the DRAWER 15!/16"
19#/4" MED.
nice thing is that the method SIDE DRAWER
of construction is identical for K BACK
3!/2" K
H I
all of them. So other than a
few dimension changes, the
procedure is the same. 19&/16"
3!/2" H
DRAWER PARTS . I started by SIDE
I VIEW
32&/16" N
cutting the 1/2"-thick drawer
K
fronts and backs (H, I, J)
and drawer sides (K, L) to I
19#/4" b. Large
size (Fig. 3). The fronts and drawer
4#/8"
backs are cut 1" narrower L 33" J
than the cabinet opening so J
CROSS
SECTION
there will be clearance for N
L
the full-extension slides. 4#/8"
Next the half-blind dove- 19#/4"
N
tails that hold the drawer 33"
together can be routed. And NOTE: All drawer
L
J
a groove for the drawer bot- parts shown LARGE !/4"
(except bottoms) LARGE DRAWER Plywood
tom can be cut on the are !/2" thick DRAWER FRONT SIDE
inside face of each drawer
piece. This groove is centered on the back of the drawers with ease, This space is for the drawer false
the bottom pin of the drawer sides. I used full-extension metal drawer fronts that will be added next.
This way, it wont be visible on the slides to mount the drawers (Fig. FALSE FRONTS. The false fronts (O,
ends of the workpieces after the 4). One half of the slide is screwed P, Q) are cut from 3/4"-thick hard-
drawers are assembled. to the side of the drawer, and the wood (Fig. 5). They are simply
DRAWER BOTTOMS. The drawer bot- other half is screwed to the side of screwed to the front of each drawer
toms (M, N) are all cut from 1/4" ply- the cabinet. The important thing is so that there is a 1/16" gap all around
wood. After theyre cut to size, the that when mounting the slide to the front of the drawer. To make it
drawers can be glued up. the cabinet, you allow 3/4" clear- easier to adjust the false fronts, try
DRAWER SLIDES. Because I wanted ance between the slide and the drilling oversize screw holes
to be able to get to items stored at front edge of the cabinet (Fig. 4b). through the 1/2"-thick drawer fronts

4
a. FRONT VIEW

Slide sits
20"drawer on divider
slide

Mount drawer
slides to cabinet
and sides of drawers
9!#/16"
b. CROSS SECTION

4!%/16"
20"
full-extension
slide
#/4"
{ How many tools can you pack into five
20"
drawers? Plenty. With heavy-duty, full- full-extension
slide
extension drawer slides you can make good
use of every inch of each drawer.

16 Woodsmith No. 133

first. Then attach the false fronts 5 NOTE: False fronts MEDIUM DRAWER
using screws and finish washers. are #/4" thick FALSE FRONT a.
The oversize holes in the drawer P CROSS SECTION
SMALL
fronts should provide enough play DRAWER
FALSE
to adjust the false fronts for a perfect FRONT
O
fit. Once the false fronts are in place, O 3%/8"
you can add the metal drawer pulls.
DOORS. To enclose the shelves on P
either side of the drawers, I added
two doors. These are frame and NOTE: 3%/8"
16!/2" False
panel doors, assembled with simple fronts
stub tenon and groove joinery. sized to
have
To make the doors, start by cut- LARGE !/16"
DRAWER gap on
ting the door rails (R) and stiles (S) FALSE FRONT all sides.
33&/8" 4#/4"
to size (Fig. 6). Next, a groove is cut Q
on the inside edge of each piece to Q
hold a plywood frame. When these b. c.
grooves are complete, stub tenons CROSS #6 x 1" SIDE
SECTION Fh woodscrew VIEW
are cut on the ends of the rails to fit Q 4#/4"
in the grooves in the stiles. #6 finish
PANELS. Each door panel is just a washer
Drawer
piece of 1/4" plywood. After cutting pull
#/8"
the door panels (T) to size, the
doors can be assembled.
HINGES. The cabinet doors are
mounted on common butt hinges. I door stile, but screwed it directly to Now that the doors are hung, a
wanted the hinges to match the the side of the cabinet (Fig. 6a). And pull can be added to each. Then to
other hardware, so I spray painted creating the mortises in the door keep each door closed, I installed a
some ordinary steel hinges black. stiles is easy. I simply set the door small magnetic catch (Figs. 6b).
After the spray paint has dried, on edge and ran it across a dado These catches are mounted to the
the hinges can be attached to the blade on my table saw. (A tall auxil- underside of the top of the cabinet,
cabinet. To make this as easy as pos- iary miter gauge fence will help sup- and the strike plates are mounted to
sible, I mortised each hinge into the port the door while you do this.) the back of each door.

6 DOOR DOOR
RAIL
Magnetic
STILE catch
R
S

Strike
plate

17!#/16" DOOR
13#/4" PANEL
T

10!/4" NOTE: Door

rails and stiles
are #/4" solid Door
wood. Door pull NOTE: Butt hinges
2!/2" panels are aligns align with door rails
2!/2" !/4" plywood. with
NOTE: Doors
sized to have 10%/16" bottom of
!/16" gap on all sides. door rail 2" butt
hinge

a. !/8"
b. CROSS SECTION
Through mortise
R cut on table saw TOP
SECTION A
VIEW

S
S
Magnetic
2" butt catch
!/2" Thickness of
!/4" plywood hinge Strike
plate

No. 133 Woodsmith 17

 Back 7 NOTE: Back panels are
!/4" plywood
At this point, the front storage cabi-
net is practically complete. The only
thing thats left to do is add a back. If
you take a look at Fig. 7, you can see
that the back is made up of three sep-
U
arate pieces of 1/4" plywood. There are
15%/16" 19&/16"
two back end panels (U) and a larger
back center panel (V). 34#/4"
When measuring to determine
the sizes of these back panels, keep U
BACK NOTE: Cut plywood back
in mind that they fit in between the END
V
so grain runs up and down
BACK
rabbets cut in the sides of the cabi- PANEL CENTER #16 x 1"
net but completely cover the back PANEL brad
edges of the cabinet top and bottom.
After the panels are cut to size, a. b.
theyre simply glued and nailed to B A
the back of the cabinet with wire #16 x 1" SIDE
brad SECTION Plywood backs
brads (Figs. 7a and 7b). U VIEW
mounted flush
INSTALLING THE CABINET. Installing the top and bottom
cabinet in the bench couldnt be #/16" V C
V
much simpler. It just slides into place
TOP SECTION VIEW
until the front edge is flush with the
lower front rail of the bench.

MATERIALS SUPPLIES
FRONT STORAGE CABINET (48) #8 x 1!/2" Fh Woodscrews
A Top/Bottom (2) #/4 ply. - 21 x 64&/8 (16) !/4" Brass Shelf Pins
B Vertical Dividers (2) #/4 ply. - 21 x 18&/16 (5 pr.) 20" Full-Extension Drawer Slides w/Screws
C Horiz. Divider (1) #/4 ply. - 21 x 34!/2 (26) #6 x 1" Fh Woodscrews
D Drawer Divider (1) #/4 ply. - 21 x 4!/4 (26) #6 Finish Washers
E Edging (1) #/4 x !/4 - 48 lin. ft. (10) 4&/8" Door Pulls w/Screws
F Sides (2) #/4 ply. - 21!/4 x 19&/16 (2 pr.) 2" x 1!/2" Butt Hinges w/Screws
G Shelves (2) #/4 ply. - 20 x 14%/16 (2) Magnetic Catches w/Strikes and Screws
H Sm. Drawer Fr./Bks. (4) !/2 x 3!/2 - 15%/8 (76) #16 x 1" Wire Brads
I Med. Drawer Fr./Bk. (2) !/2 x 3!/2 - 33
J Lg. Drawer Fr./Bks. (4) !/2 x 4#/8 x 33
K Sm./Med. Drawer Sides (6) !/2 x 3!/2 - 19#/4 CUTTING DIAGRAM
L Lg. Drawer Sides (4) !/2 x 4#/8 - 19#/4 #/4" x 5!/2" - 96" Hard Maple (3.7 Bd. Ft.)
M Sm. Drawer Btms. (2) !/4 ply. - 19&/16 x 15!/16 S S S S R R E
N Lg. Drawer Btms.(3) !/4 ply. - 19&/16 x 32&/16
O Sm. Drawer False Fronts (2) #/4 x 3%/8 - 16!/2 #/4" x 9!/4" - 96" Hard Maple (6.2 Bd. Ft.)
P Med. Drawer False Front (1) #/4 x 3%/8 - 33&/8 Q Q R R
Q Lg. Drawer False Fronts (2) #/4 x 4#/4 - 33&/8 O O P
R Door Rails (4) #/4 x 2!/2 - 10%/16
!/2" x 7!/4" - 96" Hard Maple (4.8 Sq. Ft.)
S Door Stiles (4) #/4 x 2!/2 - 17!#/16 H H K K K
T Door Panels (2) !/4 ply. - 10!/4 x 13#/4 H H K K K
U Back End Panels (2) !/4 ply. - 15%/16 x 19&/16 !/2" x 9!/4" - 96" Hard Maple (6.2 Sq. Ft.)
V Back Center Panel (1) !/4 ply. - 34#/4 x 19&/16 J J L
J J L
SHELVING UNIT
!/2" x 9!/4" - 72" Hard Maple (4.6 Sq. Ft.)
W Top/Bottom (2) #/4 ply. - 7!/2 x 64&/8
L I
X Sides (2) #/4 ply. - 7#/4 x 19&/16 I
L
Y Divider (1) #/4 ply. - 7!/2 x 18&/16
Z Back Panels (2) !/4 ply. - 32!!/16 x 19&/16
ALSO NEEDED: Two sheets of #/4" maple plywood
AA Shelves (2) #/4 ply. - 7!/4 x 31!!/16 and two sheets of !/4" maple plywood

18 Woodsmith No. 133

 a.
Shelving Unit 8 #8 x 1!/2" TOP
The front storage cabinet doesnt com- Fh woodscrew W 1"
pletely fill the space under the bench. 2"
SHELF
So I added an open shelving unit at PIN
EDGING TEMPLATE
the back. This unit starts off as a basic E 7#/4" 7!/2" 14"
box and features the same construc-
tion as the front cabinet. But the unit 8" 2"
X
isnt as deep as the front cabinet, and 19&/16" SIDE 18&/16"
Y
there arent any drawers or doors. So X 4%/8"
7#/4" DIVIDER 19&/16"
its quite a bit easier to build.
I started building the shelving BOTTOM
unit by cutting the main pieces to W
size. As you can see in Fig. 8, theres
c. X
a top and bottom (W), two sides
b. Y 64&/8" FRONT !/4"
(X), and a divider (Y). These panels 7#/4" SECTION
are all cut from 3/4" plywood and !/4" VIEW
W
then 1/4" hardwood edging is applied NOTE: All pieces (except
to the front edges of each piece. Thickness edging) are #/4" plywood #8 x 1!/2"
of #/4" plywood Fh woodscrew
Once the edging is in place, you
CROSS SECTION W
can begin on the joinery. Rabbets
are cut on the ends of the sides to
hold the top and bottom panels. A 9 SHELF
(#/4" plywood)
#16 x 1"
brad
rabbet is also cut along the back Z BACK PANEL a.
AA (!/4" plywood) 32!!/16"
edge of each side to hold the back #16 x 1"
Z brad
panels that will be added later. Shelf
The top and bottom panels each pin 19&/16"
Z
receive a dado to hold the divider E
W
panel (Fig. 8b). This dado is cen- 7!/4"
7!/2" SIDE
tered on the length of the panels. SECTION
VIEW
When youve finished cutting all
31!!/16"
the rabbets and dadoes, the shelv-
ing unit can be assembled. Like the
cabinet, these pieces are just glued
and screwed together (Fig. 8c). Once the shelf pin holes have SHELVES. All thats left now is to add
SHELF PIN HOLES. Before adding the been drilled, you can add a back to two shelves (AA). These are pieces
back, some shelf pin holes need to the unit. This time, the back is made of 3/4" plywood with a strip of hard-
be drilled in the cabinet sides. Again up of two identically-sized panels of wood edging glued to each front
I used a simple template to do this. 1/ " plywood, as shown in Fig. 9. edge (Fig. 9). When the shelves are
4
But since the spacing of these holes After cutting these two back panels in place, you can slide the shelving
isnt the same as the front cabinet, (Z) to final size, they can be nailed unit into the bench just like you did
youll need a new template (Fig. 8a). in place with brads (Fig. 9a). with the front cabinet. W

PEGBOARD STORAGE

If youre looking for additional storage,

these pegboard panels provide a con-
venient place to hang a few extra tools at
the ends of the workbench. The best part
is that theres hardly anything to them. Pegboard
All you need to do is nail some cleats panel
to the legs and upper and lower end
rails of the bench. Then place a piece of
pegboard against the cleats and tack a
second set of cleats down to hold the Cleat
Brad
pegboard in place. Add a few hooks,
Cleat
and youre ready to hang some tools.

No. 133 Woodsmith 19

 TIPS FROM
OUR SHOP

Mounting a Vise
Adding a vise to
the workbench on
page 6 isnt difficult. In
fact, its just a three-step
process. First, a pocket is
cut in the front apron to
accept the rear jaw of the
vise. Then the vise is
attached to the bench. And
finally, a wood face block is
added to the front jaw.
But why even go to this
trouble? Why not just bolt
the vise to the front apron
and screw a wood pad to
each jaw? There are a cou-
ple of reasons. By burying
the rear jaw in the apron,
SHOP NOTES
you have a smooth,
padded face the length
of the bench for clamping.
The large face block has
dog holes that align with
the holes in the bench so
you can secure wide work-
pieces. It also spreads
clamping pressure.
To install the vise, youll
need to take it apart first.
This isnt as scary as it
sounds. By removing a
cotter key, I was able to
separate the front jaw of
my vise (along with the
guide rods and threaded
shaft) from the rear jaw.
Installation of the vise
begins before you attach
the front apron. As you
can see in Fig. 1, a pocket
is laid out and routed in
the back face of the apron.
Position this pocket so the
vise will be centered
between the dog holes in
the bench. Its size is 1/16"
wider and taller than the
rear jaw of the vise.
Once the pocket is
done, the apron can be
attached to the bench top
and you can move on to
the second step attach-
ing the vise.
Start by adding a spacer
block under the bench
top. This piece fills the gap
between the support
block (M) and the vise
mounting plate (Fig. 3). I
routed a 3/8" roundover on
one edge so it would fit
snugly behind the jaw.
After the spacer is cut to
size, its glued in place.
Next, a series of holes
needs to be drilled. If you
look at Fig. 2, youll see
two counterbored holes in
the top of the bench.
These accept hex-head
bolts that pass through

1 2
Width of a. CROSS SECTION a. CROSS SECTION
vise plus !/16" 1"
Bench top
!/2"
M 1#/4"
SUPPORT M
BLOCK (/16" 3!/16"
3!/16" Vise
pocket 9" Spacer block
Front apron Lay out
9" vise mounting
Front apron holes from 3!/2"
centerline

3 a.
#/8"
%/16" x 4!/2" round-
Hex-head M hex-head bolt over
bolt SUPPORT BLOCK
M

NOTE: Vise is
centered between CROSS
dog holes in bench Lock nut SECTION
and washer Spacer block
NOTE: Remove front Vise
FIRST: Glue jaw (with rods) before
rails to bench top attaching rear jaw
to bench

Spacer block b.
Access
SECOND: Add 15" (1!/4" thick) hole
spacer block Cotter #14 x 2" Fh
pin 6" woodscrew

Vise Spacer block

THIRD: Lay out
mounting holes in bench
top and front apron CROSS
SECTION

20 Woodsmith No. 133

the vise. And two holes
through the front apron
allow access to screws
that attach the rear jaw to
the bench (Fig. 3b).
To lay out the holes in
the bench top, you want to
work out from the center-
line of the pocket in the
apron and the centerline
of the mounting plate.
The next thing to do is
to drill the access holes
through the front apron
(Fig. 2). These holes need
to be big enough to allow
the screws to pass
through. Here again, lay
out the holes by working
from the centerlines of the
rear jaw and the pocket.
The third step is mak-
ing and mounting the
After gluing the pieces
together, lay out and drill a
couple of dog holes in the
jaw so that they align with
the holes in the bench.
Then to mount the face
block, just use the vise to
clamp the block against
the apron with the top
edges and ends flush
(Figs. 4a and 4b). Two
screws secure it to the jaw.
When you close the
4 Dog
18"
17!/2"
jaws of the vise, youll
notice a small gap
between the apron and
the bottom of the face
block, like you see in the
photo at right. Dont
worry. The vise jaws cant
(tilt) in slightly at the top.
The reason is that as you
clamp a workpiece, it
forces the top of the vise { The top edges of the jaws tilt in slightly
apart. This tilt keeps the to counteract the forces of clamping
jaws parallel. W that tend to drive the top edges apart.
1!/2" hole
a.
FACE
BLOCK
Front
apron
1!/2"
3!/2"
FACE BLOCK
V !/4"
TOP VIEW

wood face block (V). This

consists of two slabs of b.
11/2"-thick maple glued #14 x 2"
together (Fig. 4). Before 4!/2" Fh screw 1"
doing that, a radius needs
to be cut on each end of FACE BLOCK
one block as you can see 1!/2" Use vise to clamp face block
to apron, then drill pilot holes
in Fig. 4a. I did this on the for #14 x 2" Fh woodscrews CROSS SECTION
band saw, then sanded the
curves smooth.

Cutting Tenons on Long Rails

When it was time to cut the
tenons on the rails for the 1
workbench on page 6, I
needed a way to handle the Auxiliary fence
long pieces safely.
Fig. 1 shows the outrig-
ger system I came up
with to support the ends
Rail
that extend past the wing
of the table saw. Just Clamp hold-down
to auxiliary fence to
clamp a board to a saw prevent rail from tipping
horse so that it matches
the height of the wing. NOTE: Position top
edge of outrigger support
An auxiliary fence level with table saw wing
attached to the miter Outrigger
support
gauge helps support the a. END Auxiliary fence
VIEW
piece. And a hold-down Hold-down
clamped to the fence
keeps the rail pressed
Outrigger
firmly to the table. This Table saw
support
lets you use both hands to Sawhorse
push the workpiece Sawhorse

through the cut. W

No. 133 Woodsmith 21

 TOOLS OF
THE TRADE

WORKBENCH
ACCESSORIES
Even the sturdiest bench is nothing
more than a fancy table if you cant
hold your work to it securely. Thats
where all the holes drilled through
the top of the workbench come in.
These holes accept accessories that
keep your work where you want it.
BENCH DOG. The simplest of these
items is a type of bench dog, shown
in the left photo below. Its just a
cylinder with a flat face at one end
and a spring in the side. A single
dog can be used as a stop when
planing or scraping a board. And
since the dog is brass, its less likely
to damage a cutting edge if your
plane or chisel slips. (Rubber face
pads are also available, see the
photo above.) By using dogs in the
face block of the vise and a couple
more dogs in the bench, you can
clamp wide panels easily.
WONDER PUP. Bench dogs alone
wont handle every clamping situa-
tion. What if you want to hold a long
piece from each end? Or need a
board clamped along the front edge
of the bench? Thats where a
Wonder Pup comes in handy (mid-
dle photo). The name might sound
like a kids toy or a super heros pet,
but its actually a small vise that fits
in any 3/4" dog hole. Use it with a
bench dog (or another Wonder { When you need
Pup) to secure a workpiece. And an extra pair of
two holes in the head of the Pup let hands, these bench
you screw a shop-made block to it. accessories help
HOLD-DOWN. Sometimes you just you get a grip on
need to hold a workpiece flat to the your projects.
bench top. In these cases, you need
a hold-down (photo below). The
long shaft allows you to clamp items
up to 8" thick. Turning a threaded
knob gradually adjusts the pressure
the arm places on the workpiece.
Note: These accessories are man-
ufactured by Veritas. See page 35
for mail-order sources. W

Round bench dogs. Put dogs in the Wonder Pup. With its threaded Veritas hold-down. To keep your
bench top and vise, and you can clamp shaft, the Pup serves as an end vise work clamped firmly to the bench,
workpieces in a variety of ways. that can be placed in any dog hole. just tighten the knob on the top.

VISE MOUNTING PLATE

14!/2" 8!/2" When you need to cut metal pieces,

its best to use a machinists vise to
PLATE hold them. The wood faces of the
(#/4" MDF)
#/8"-dia. workbench and vise can be scarred
hole
if you nick them with a hack saw or
#/4"-dia. dowel,
2!/4" 1" long try to clamp down on a threaded rod.
Place vise on base to But since I dont use my machinists
lay out mounting holes
vise ver y often, this plate lets me
Vise mounting bolts must not #/8" x 3!/2" mount it to the bench temporarily, as
extend past bottom of base hexhead shown in the photo.
5!/2" bolt
1#/4" In the bottom of the plate are two
3/ "-dia. dowel pins, spaced to fit a
4
Washer pair of dog holes. A bolt and wing
!/2" nut secure the assembly to the
Wing
Counterbore so T-nut #/8" T-nut nut bench top through a third dog hole.
sits below surface

No.
No. 133
133 Woodsmith
Woodsmith 13
13