Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 08, 2008 02:27am | #1

   Plans through the magazine have never been available but I believe that few people have drawn up plans. If you use the search function for this site you will find a lot of information on the bench and probably a source for the plans.

   Once I get a new shop set up this winter I will probably build a second version of the bench and make a set of plans available, but I don't want to promise when that will happen, I still have an extension to build on my house before I can get to work on the shop.

   John W.

1. 
   davideg | Mar 14, 2009 02:25am | #2

   Mr. White,

   Greetings.  Like a lot of other people who have posted questions to you, I, too, am new to woodworking.  I am writing to ask whether you have been able to draw up any plans for your "new-fangled" (yes, I know you don't care for the name but I don't know what else to call it) workbench?

   I appreciate your time, sir.

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 15, 2009 03:44am | #3

   I never got around to drawing up plans but I believe that a number of other people have taken the trouble. You can try looking up the bench here on Knots using the search function, you'll get a lot of hits for sure. You could also go over to the regular Knots site and just post a question about finding plans, I'm sure that someone will help you out.John White

2. 
   cmregalado | Jun 12, 2009 07:42am | #7

   Hi John,I am looking to build a workbench similar to the one you built out of Douglas Fir. Now, I was wondering if I were to use Spruce if there would be any issues that came from using this wood. E.g. is it too light?, too soft?, will screws and bolts hold together? I would like to do use spruce because it is readily available at Home Depot and much much cheaper than Fir (which I'd have to get from the lumber yard, rough sawn and need to mill).I hope to hear from you soon. Oh and also, if spruce is not good enough for the workbench might you be able to suggest any other, less expensive wood?Thanks and take care,Chris RegaladoPS Im a beginner woodworker and would appreciate any other tips about my first workbench you could throw my way.

   Edited 6/12/2009 1:06 am ET by cmregalado

1. 
   JohnWW | Jun 14, 2009 10:56pm | #8

   Chris,Any dense softwood or hardwood will work well for the bench. I would be surprised if the greater widths of 2X stock available in lumber yards and the box stores isn't Douglas fir. I'd ask someone who really knows wood for assistance, the clerks probably haven't a clue.If you do a search here in the Knots site for the "new fangled work bench" you will find a lot of earlier postings on the subject.John White

3. 
   DavidFromGuilford | Jun 22, 2009 06:02pm | #9

   Hi John,I feel comfortable that I can build an acceptable version of the NFWB from the information in the article. I appreciate the steps that you have taken to allow for wood movement so that the bench remains rigid and does not self-destruct.It is not clear to me, from the article, how the top is fastened to the leg assemblies. Can you give me a clue? Am I missing something?I am eager to build this bench. I think that I can complete it for less cost than to buy two proper woodworking vises.I was strictly a power tool guy and I am using hand tools more and more to good effect. Now I need a proper bench. BTW, I use Doug Fir a lot in the shop. Once the bones are taken out of a 2x12 there are some nice filets.Thank you.David

   Edited 6/22/2009 11:03 am ET by DavidFromGuilford

1. 
   JohnWW | Jun 23, 2009 06:20am | #10

   Dave,If memory serves, there is a top piece on the legs, more or less a 2x4 and a similar piece mounted on the underside of the bench top near either end. They simply sit one on top of the other with a half dozen sheet rock screws driven through the leg piece up into the top piece. If this doesn't make sense I'll have to go back to the article and see if I can recollect what I did. The bench is in another state at the moment so I can't take a quick look at it.Hope this helps, John

1. 
   BenchBrush | Jun 30, 2009 03:07am | #11

   Hello John,

   I have a bench too long in the construction, and it's time to complete it.  It has a relatively massive base.  The top is roughly 3' x 8' four sheets of 3/4" MDF vacuum laminated together to form staggered 3/4" tongue and groove on the sides and ends.  The aprons are 2 X 10 Maple with mating grooves.  the aprons attach to the top with barrel bolts and have unglued finger joints at the ends. 

   My original idea was for a thin sacrificial top of something like masonite.  That seems really tacky now, and I had decided to use Bamboo T&G flooring until I worked with some of it.  It splinters easily.  I think the bench dogs would cause splintering of the surface from the force applied there.

   I'm designing an outfeed table based on your FWW project for a sliding table saw, and had considered using the phenolic plywood as a workbench top material also.  After much Internet searching for that material, and the associated comments, I don't think the surface phenolic plywood would withstand workbench impact well.

   Having started thinking about using flooring, I searched for the hardest I could find, and it seems that is Brazilian Walnut, with which I am unfamiliar is the hardest.  I got the expansion coefficient from a supplier, and believe with a 1/32" expansion-gap between pieces, that buckling will not be a problem.  I plan to glue individual planks to the MDF substrate.  I would appreciate any feedback from you and others, especially negative feedback, on flooring as the material for the top idea.  Alternative ideas are also welcome.

1. 
   JohnWW | Jul 01, 2009 04:15pm | #12

   Hardness and slickness aren't the things to be looking for in a bench top. A really hard wood, like some of the tropical flooring now available, can be so hard that it feels like you are working on a granite counter top, any tool dropped or placed down carelessly clangs and workpieces are easily dented and scratched when placed on a very hard surface. A moderately hard wood like maple or beech or dense Douglas fir, which is almost as hard, work just fine and they have a bit of give to them. Also, unless you are being careless, the top won't be wearing out or splintering from normal bench work.You also don't want a slick bench surface, otherwise you'll be chasing your workpiece all over the benchtop as you try to work on it. Again a common hardwood, or fir, with little or no finish applied has the right amount of grab to keep things from sliding around.Properly used, bench dogs don't have all that much pressure applied to them, I have never seen the holes in a maple or beech bench splintered or crushed.Although you didn't ask, I feel that a bench should be made from a light colored wood, I don't see that a lot of contrast helps with bench work and it is easier to see what you are doing with the extra light that reflects off a lighter colored surface.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007

2. 
   Sandtazam | Mar 20, 2009 11:33pm | #4

   Hi John. I recently aquired 10 sheets of burl Oak but it has veneer tape all over it. When I remove the tape there's an outline of the tape and the wood under it is lighter. I tried sanding, dying, staining and putting it in the sun for days. This wood is beautiful and I'd hate to see it go to waste. Any idea what I can do? Here's a pic of the wood with the tape on it.

   Bill Wyko,

   [IMG]http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2109/11908737/21638258/356527470.jpg%5B/IMG]

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 21, 2009 05:17pm | #5

   Bill,I'm probably not the person to answer your question, veneering isn't one of my skills. That said, the discoloration on your oak is probably do to oxidation of some of the chemicals in the wood and I would have expected that some one of the attempts that you made would have had some effect. You might try cleaning the wood off by sanding and scraping and then allowing it to sit exposed to the air for a few months to see if that might even out the color.You might ask this question on the regular Knots forum, there may be someone there who has a better solution.John White

1. 
   Sandtazam | Mar 21, 2009 06:39pm | #6

   Thanks. I don't have plans for it any time soon so I'll give it a try.