The Minimum Timber Bench // Start woodworking for less!

ever since covid Timber prices have been going crazy all around the world the cost of wood has been breaking records and I keep getting the same comment people say Rex I want to get started in woodworking but I can't afford to build the bench and I hear that and I'm like are you kidding have you seen my English joiners bench it's made from construction Lumber it is dead simple and it's got no extra wood well maybe it's got a little extra wood my jointer's bench has more wood than it absolutely needs I've got double diagonal braces between each leg and that's probably Overkill I've got two braces across the front and that's definitely Overkill the rear apron is big and it's not doing very much I could also put a tool well in the top which would add storage and save some wood but if I made all those changes would it still be the same bench nope it would be a completely new design it would be a workbench stripped to the bone with every stick of wood doing an important job this is the minimum Timber bench you can afford it you can build it the whole bench is made from a handful of boards you'll need a 12 foot 2 by 10 cut into three pieces your lumber yard will probably do that for free after that you just need eight two by fours and that's most of the wood you'll also need a little thin stock to make the floor of the tool well and one piece three-quarter inch material to make this rear stretcher I feel like most Woodworkers probably have scraps they can use for these two pieces and once you have the wood you can start building and because I want this bench to be accessible to the maximum number of people I'm going to build it using power tools what don't worry it'll be okay of course you can build this bench with basic hand tools but lots of power tool Woodworkers want to make the jump into hand work most of them need a better workbench I've designed this bench so you can make it by hand or machine and you'll get the same result for power tools I'm using a jointer a table saw and a bandsaw these are the basic tools that lots of DIY Woodworkers already own lots of people start building their first bench but then they run into trouble trying to cut joints in thick leg stock like this those big posts are also expensive so we're going to make our legs out of laminated two by fours this construction saves money and we're going to make most of our joints just by leaving gaps in the lamination these angled boards in the front legs will fit into these notches and lock our front apron in place keeping the legs steady while we work the rear legs have this 3p East construction and the gaps between the pieces are already the perfect size to fit the lower cross piece and the support for our bench top with a couple of screws and a little glue this kind of joint can last for decades and give you a solid structure for your bench once we connect our legs with cross pieces we'll have a pair of trestles that gives us a foundation for adding the rest of the parts and making a sturdy bench just like my joiners bench the minimum Timber bench is built in the classic English Style with a heavy front apron and vertical cross braces underneath the top this structure is like a torsion box and it gives us a stiff and rigid bench with the bare minimum wood we can even get away with thin planking for the top instead of a heavy expensive slab the clever structure means we don't need a ton of Mass to have a good bench here's another new feature a tool well a tool well saves even more wood and makes the bench top easier to flatten because there's less of it you can keep your tools down out of the way and the rear apron is flush with the bench top so you can put pieces of wood across the tool well and still use the full width of the bench top and if you don't want it tool well you can just get a couple of extra two by fours and carry the planking all the way across the bench top this is a flexible design and you can change it to fit the way you work and once the bench is done you won't need much else to start woodworking an inexpensive face Vice and a simple planing stop will handle most of your work holding and you can use Simple jigs like bench hooks to handle all kinds of different jobs as soon as the bench is done you'll be ready for planing cross cutting ripping chiseling and even the heavy pounding of cutting a mortise every workbench design is a compromise if you build a bench using the minimum wood it's going to be lighter than some other designs less wood means less Mass but I've been using this bench for months and it's stiff and sturdy and the design is flexible and it can grow with you as your projects get bigger and you need a heavier bench that's no problem we've designed this bench with all the lower parts at the same height so adding a shelf is easy and once you've added your shelf throw on a couple of hand planes and a hammer or two and all of a sudden your bench is going to be a lot heavier this is what Craftsmen have been doing for centuries especially the English Britain just doesn't have a lot of trees so English Woodworkers couldn't waste valuable wood on massive workbenches woodworking writers from Peter Nicholson to Charles Hayward show the English bench made from thin planking often without a rear apron there are lots of these benches out in the real world and some of them have survived for a century or more Woodworkers have always been able to make a good bench out of whatever wood was laying around and you can too just this morning I went to The Big Box store to look at wood prices and right now I could get all the wood for one of these benches for 78 dollars and when I actually built this bench I bought all the wood back in February when wood prices were insane and even then I got all the wood the screws and the glue for a hundred and six dollars so even if wood prices are crazy where you live this bench is probably your most affordable option if you'd like to build a new workbench you can get started today pick up the wood from any lumber yard get it back to your shop and let it rest and finish drying for at least two weeks and when you're ready to start building we have a great set of plans to help you our minimum Timber bench plans give you step-by-step instructions on how to build the bench we've covered everything including stock selection laminating the legs building the trestles reinforcing the bench making sure your top is flat and adding the final details our plans are 32 pages long in full color with standard and metric measurements and if you'd like a little more help we've also created a complete digital course to guide you through every step of the build the course has seven chapters of detailed video instruction you can watch me do everything from stacking the wood all the way to screwing down the top along the way I'll show you all the tricks for picking the right boards flattening The crucial surfaces cutting tight joinery and squaring up the assembly I build the bench using common power tools but you can also build it totally by hand the design is the same and we made it to be accessible to every woodworker and when you buy the course you get the plans included for free you told me you needed a less expensive workbench using less wood so I spent the last year designing building and testing this bench and it isn't just an affordable design it's also efficient by the time you're done building it this is all the scrap you'll have left over everything else is in the bench so there's very little waste when you're ready to start building your workbench we've got links to the plans and the course down in the description good luck with your build we think you're going to do great

Channel: Rex Krueger

Views: 191,516

Keywords: rex krueger, woodwork, diy, work bench, woodworking bench, bench, wood working bench diy, rex krueger bench, rex krueger shooting board, diy bench, diy bench vise, wood bench, woodwork bench, diy bench for beginner woodworkers, woodworking bench vise diy, diy woodworking bench vise, woodworking bench vise, diy workbench, diy woodworking, diy bench for beginners, diy wood bench build, diy stool, wooden bench, diy clamps for woodworking, the english woodworker

Id: MYAX7LHNEFA

Length: 8min 30sec (510 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 21 2022