Weekend Workbench
Weekend WorkbenchWoodsmithHere's a bench that will fill a lot of needs. It's very sturdy, has a large work surface, and doesn't cost a lot. And, you can build it in a weekend.

The base of the bench is made from fir 2x4s. The top is a solid core door (lumber yards and home centers often have slightly damaged ones that they sell at a substantial discount). Or, you can make the top out of two layers of 3/4"-thick plywood.

This WoodNet Project Plan includes an Exploded View (WKBNCHXV.GIF), a materials list (WKBNCHM.GIF), a supplies list (WKBNCHS.GIF), and a cutting diagram (WKBNCHC.GIF).

NOTE: All plan illustrations may be accessed by clicking their filenames in the text where noted. This will take you to a new browser window with a full page illustration that you may save to your hard drive. There is also a clickable list of all plan illustrations at the end of this article.

END FRAMES
Step 1: Cut two legs (A) 32-1/2" long, see WKBNCH1.GIF, Fig. 1.
NOTE: This leg length will make the height of the bench 34-1/4" when the top is installed. You can adjust the bench height to fit your height by cutting the legs longer or shorter.

Step 2: Cut two side braces (B) 23" long, see WKBNCH1.GIF, Fig. 1.

Step 3: Lay two legs (A) next to each other. Then position the side braces (B) on the legs. To do that, place one side brace 4-1/2" up from the bottom, see WKBNCH1.GIF, Fig. 1. Place the other side brace flush with the top.

Step 4: Mark the location for the screw holes, see GIF 1, Fig. 2. Then drill 3/16" countersunk shank holes in both side braces, see WKBNCH1.GIF, Fig 2a.

Step 5: Glue and screw the side braces to the legs. Use No. 8 x 2-1/2" wood screws, see WKBNCH1.GIF, Fig. 2a. NOTE: Check that the braces are square to the legs before the glue sets.

Step 6: Add filler strips to strengthen the end frame. To do that, cut upper (C) and lower leg fillers (D), and two side brace fillers (E) to fit, see WKBNCH2.GIF, Fig. 3. Then glue and screw them in place. Use No. 8 x 2-1/2" woodscrews.

Step 7: Drill the four holes for the bolts that connect the end frames to the rails. To do that, mark the hole locations for both the upper and lower rails, see WKBNCH2.GIF, Fig. 4. Then drill a 1" counterbore 3/4" deep on the outside face of the end frame, see WKBNCH2.GIF, Fig. 4a. Finally, drill a 7/16" shank hole centered on the counterbore, see WKBNCH2.GIF, Fig. 4a.

Step 8: Now make the second end frame by repeating the same steps as above.

RAILS
The four rails that support the top and the shelf are made up of two 2x4s that are glued together to form a 3" x 3-1/2" thick blank, see WKBNCH3.GIF, Fig. 5.

Step 9: Cut two 2x4s to a rough length of 50".

Step 10: Glue and screw them together to form a rail blank, see WKBNCH3.GIF, Fig. 5. Use #8 x 2 1/2" screws.

NOTE: To avoid splitting the wood, drill countersunk shank holes before installing the screws.

Step 11: Cut the rail (F) to finished length, see WKBNCH3.GIF, Fig. 5. Note: The finished length can be adjusted to fit any length that you may need.

Step 12: Now make the other rail blanks by following the same steps.

RAIL CONNECTORS
To connect the four rails (F) to the end frames, a draw-bolt system is used.

Step 13: Drill pocket holes in the ends of the rails (F). To do that, mark the location for the holes on the rails, see Fig. 6 and 6a.

Step 14: Drill a 1"-dia. hole 2" deep on the face located toward the center of the bench, see WKBNCH4.GIF, Figs. 6 and 7.

Step 15: Square up the edge of the hole nearest the end of the rail (F), see WKBNCH4.GIF, Fig. 6. This edge provides a flat surface for a nut and washer to draw against.

Step 16: Drill a 7/16"-dia. hole centered on the end of the rail (F) and centered on the flat surface in the hole, see WKBNCH4.GIF, Fig. 6a.

Step 17: Connect the rails (F) and end frames together. To do that, install a 3/8" x 4" bolt and washer through the end frame and into the hole on one end of a rail (F), see WKBNCH4.GIF, Fig. 7.

Step 18: Then install a washer and nut in the pocket hole and tighten, see WKBNCH4.GIF, Fig 7.

Step 19: Repeat the above steps for attaching the other rails to the end frames.

TOP AND SHELF
The top of the workbench can be made from two pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together or you may want to use a solid core door. A solid core door will give you a thicker top of 1-3/4". The shelf is made from 3/4" plywood and sits loose on the bench.

Step 20: Attach the top (G) to the bench frame. To do that, turn the frame upside down and center it on the top (G), see WKBNCH5.GIF, Fig 8.

Step 21: Mark and drill the mounting holes in the frame and top, see WKBNCH5.GIF, Figs. 8 and 8a. To do that, drill a 1" dia. counterbore 3/4" deep in the rails (F). Then drill a 7/16" shank hole centered in the counterbore.

NOTE: Drill a 3/16" pilot hole in the bench top to help the lag screws start easier.

Step 22: Attach the top to the frame with 3/8" x 4" lag screws and washers.

Step 23: Cut the shelf (H) to fit between the bottom rails (F), and rest on cleats (I and J), see WKBNCH5.GIF, Fig. 9.

Step 24: Cut and install side cleats (I) and front and back cleats (J), see WKBNCH5.GIF, Figs. 9 and 9a. Use #8 x 1-1/2" wood screws. NOTE: Don't cover the pocket holes when installing the cleats.

DRAWER GUIDES
Three drawers are mounted to the workbench for storage. To hold the drawers under the bench, drawer guides (K) are attached to the bottom of the bench.

Step 25: Cut the drawer guides to finished size, see WKBNCH6.GIF, Fig. 10. NOTE: The two center guides are double thickness (two drawer guides glued together). An easy way to make the center guides so that they are aligned perfectly is to glue two pieces of rough dimension stock together and then trim them to the finished size

Step 26: Cut the 13/16"-wide grooves in the drawer guides (K) for the drawer runners, see WKBNCH6.GIF, Fig. 10.

Step 27: Drill 3/16" countersunk shank holes in the drawer guides (K), see WKBNCH6.GIF, Fig. 10.

Step 28: Install the drawer guides on the workbench. To do that, first position the side guides so they are flush with the top front rail (F) and screw them in place, see WKBNCH6.GIF, Fig. 11. Use No. 8 x 1-1/4" screws.

Step 29: Then position the two center guides (K) so that the three drawer openings are equal, see WKBNCH6.GIF, Fig. 11. Then screw the center guides in place to the top rails (F) with No. 8 x 4" screws, see WKBNCH7.GIF, Fig 12.

Step 30: To keep the drawers from sliding out the back of the workbench, drawer stops (L) are added between drawer guides (K) at the back of the drawer, see WKBNCH7.GIF, Fig. 13. To do that, cut the drawer stop (L) length to fit snug between the guides (K).

NOTE: Adjust the location of the stops so that the back of the drawer hits the drawer stop before the false front hits the drawer guides on front of the drawer.

DRAWERS
The drawers for the workbench can be made with several different joints. For carrying a lot of weight, you may want to use dovetail joints. An alternate joint that is easier to make is the locking rabbet joint.

Step 31: To make the drawers using the Woodsmith Dovetail Jig (and most jigs that cut half-blind dovetails shown in the drawings), first cut drawer front/back (M) to a finished size of 4-3/8" x 14-1/2", see WKBNCH8.GIF, Fig. 14.

Step 32: Cut the drawer sides (N) to a finished size of 4-3/8" x 20-1/4", see WKBNCH8.GIF, Fig 14.

Step 33: Next, rout the dovetail joints on the ends of the pieces.

Step 34: Then cut a 1/4" groove on the front/back (M) and sides (N) for the plywood bottom (O), see WKBNCH9.GIF, Fig. 15.

Step 35: To add more storage to the drawers, a tray can be added to one or more of the drawers. To do that, cut 1/4" grooves only in the drawer sides (N), see WKBNCH9.GIF, Fig. 15.

Step 36: Cut the drawer bottoms (O) to size.

Step 37: Apply glue to the joints and assemble the drawers.

Step 38: To support the tray in the drawer, cut a spline (R) to finished size and glue it in the groove on both sides (N), see WKBNCH8.GIF, Fig. 14.

Step 39: Cut false fronts (P) to finished size.

Step 40: To attach the false front (P) to the drawer, first drill four 3/16" countersunk shank holes in the drawer front (M).

Step 41: Then use #8 x 1-1/4" woodscrews to mount the false front (P), see WKBNCH9.GIF, Fig. 16.

NOTE: Position the false front (P) so that it is flush to the bottom of the drawer and centered on the width.

Step 42: Cut drawer runners (Q) to finished size. Drill two 3/16" countersunk shank holes in each drawer runner, see WKBNCH9.GIF, Fig. 16. Attach drawer runners (Q) to drawer sides (N) with two #8 x 1" woodscrews, see WKBNCH9.GIF, Fig. 16. NOTE: Position the drawer runners on the drawer sides so that they slide easily in drawer guides (K).

TRAY
The joints for making the tray can be several different types. But for best appearance they should match the type of joint used for your drawers.
Step 43: Cut the tray sides (S) to finished dimensions of 1-3/4" x 9-3/4", see WKBNCH10.GIF, Fig. 17.

Step 44: Cut the tray front/back (T) so that it is 1/8" smaller than inside dimension of the drawer assembly.

Step 45: Rout the dovetails on the ends of the pieces.

Step 46: Cut a 1/4" groove on the front/back (T) and sides (S) for the plywood bottom (U), see WKBNCH10.GIF, Fig. 19.

Step 47: Apply glue to the joints and assemble the tray.

List of Illustrations:

WKBNCHC.GIF
WKBNCHM.GIF
WKBNCHS.GIF
WKBNCHXV.GIF
WKBNCH1.GIF
WKBNCH2.GIF
WKBNCH3.GIF
WKBNCH4.GIF
WKBNCH5.GIF
WKBNCH6.GIF
WKBNCH7.GIF
WKBNCH8.GIF
WKBNCH9.GIF
WKBNCH10.GIF

Provided by Woodsmith Magazine
August Home Publishing Co.
Reprinted with permission, HouseNet, Inc.

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