Get a bunch of woodworkers together to talk about benches and the discussion will be long, rich and as passionate as talk of religion or politics. I’m not an expert and it’s easy enough to find many articles, books and videos on workbenches. What I’d like to suggest here is that folks who are new to woodworking use the simplest ‘bench’ they can to begin with. Grab a couple of sawhorses. Throw a sheet of ¾ inch plywood on top or use a workmate and then modify that as you need to. When you get to a point of wishing you had a this or a that, have a look for benches that incorporate what you’re thinking of. A world-class luthier I know does most of his work on an old, melamine-covered, kitchen table. He’s never found the need to go to anything else.

I have two workbenches and I built the first one with the intention of doing most of my work with hand tools. I’m not a very tall person and I built my first bench at a good height for hand-planing stock. While I use a lot of hand tools, I don’t dimension stock by hand on a daily basis. I spend more time working on projects where I need to be close enough to see fine detail. I found myself bending over a lot and that was uncomfortable. I ended up adding leg extensions of four inches to the bench. I don’t have to bend over; I can see what I’m doing; and even though the height isn’t ideal for stock prep with hand tools, I can manage. My second bench is a good height for using hand planes so I can do the big jobs there.

When I built my second bench as part of a course, I’d been struggling with a vintage Stanley vise on the front of the bench. I had difficulty planing boards on edge and was convinced that a wagon vise would solve that problem. I also thought that with the wagon vise, I’d do all my work on the new bench. I don’t use it nearly as often as I thought I would. In fact, the jury is out on whether I would opt for a wagon vise or whether I would simply clamp longer boards in a bar clamp and the put the clamp in the face vise were I to do it again.

It’s not only the height that leads me to use the original bench for most of my work. It is made of plywood and hardboard and is nothing special to look at. My second bench is hard maple and is quite a bit more beautiful. I don’t need to be as careful with my original bench. When the hardboard gets too chewed up, I’ll take it off and put on another sheet. I understand that benches can serve to demonstrate a person’s craftsmanship. I understand that a bench can be thought of as mainly a tool, and I understand that those two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

I guess the whole thing I’m getting at here is take time to find out what kind of work you like to do and how you like to do it. As things about the sawhorses and plywood drive you crazy, look for alternatives. Don’t spend a lot of money to start with. Use simple materials, then when you know what you want and how you work, you can invest the time and money in building your perfect bench. If your ideas change in the next five or 10 years, take that bench apart and build another one. The possibilities are endless.

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