Workshop Projects. Jeff Jacobson
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Before even sharpening a pencil for this project, make sure you have your vise and bench dogs on hand. Open the vise fully, measure the opening, and then subtract the thickness of the jaw (see the Material List below). This is the maximum spacing that you can allow between the dog holes in the bench top, but you may want to downsize that spacing a little; traditional bench builders have discovered that a space of 6" or 7" works best for most projects.
A Butcher-Block Top
While designing this bench, I recalled something from my days in the kitchen cabinet business: One of the most common kitchen renovations is countertop replacement, and more and more homeowners are discarding their gorgeous old solid-maple butcher-block tops. I got lucky on my third phone call and found a shop in the city’s historical district that sold me an 8'-long section of 1½"-thick butcher block for just $10.
It took only a few minutes of trimming to make the butcher-block worktop (piece 1). I rough cut the blank a bit oversize with a circular saw, after first scoring with a utility knife to avoid tearout. Then, I clamped on a straightedge and trimmed the top to final dimensions with a straight bit chucked in my router. During this process, I cut across the grain first and then with the grain—which virtually eliminates blowout on the corners.
If you prefer to build a top from scratch, make sure the quarter-sawn (tight) grain is visible, and the more open, wavy plain-sawn grain becomes the gluing surface. Glue and clamp three or four overly long pieces of ripped and jointed stock together at a time. When they’re dry, glue and clamp these subassemblies together to form the completed piece. Biscuits help to line up all these edges as you clamp. After the glue dries, take the entire piece to a cabinet shop, and ask them to run it through their wide drum sander to reduce it to final thickness. Another option is to order your top glued-up and made to order at a local home center. This is a little more expensive but often results in a more secure and stable top.
Figure 1: The spline grooves on the endcap are stopped, while those on the ends of the top are through cuts. After routing the grooves in the top, a 3"-wide strip is ripped off. This piece sits outside the liners and spacers.
Figure 2: Dry fit the bench dogs and spacers, leaving gaps that are the size recommended by the dogs’ manufacturer. When everything fits, trim the final spacer to length.
The Bench Dog Holes
After trimming the top to size, chuck a ½" rabbeting bit in your portable router to cut the spline groove in each end of the worktop (see the exploded view on page 10 and Figure 1).
Rip a 3"-wide strip off one side of the top, and set it aside. Then, biscuit, glue, and clamp the inside liners (pieces 2) in place. Place the worktop on a couple of saw horses while attaching these liners, so your clamps have room to operate.
The liners need to be flush with the top of the butcher block when it’s finished, so it’s a good idea to set them in place a hair proud of the top rather than shy of it.
Getting Started
You should have the vise and bench dogs on hand before construction begins, in case you have to adjust the plan to fit the hardware. Beech and hard maple are the traditional species of choice for the frame and top, and walnut makes an excellent accent. During the course of construction, you’ll use a table saw, a biscuit joiner, a band saw, a drill press, portable and table-mounted routers, and a belt sander.
The bench dog holes are formed when a series of spacers (pieces 3 through 5) are attached to the liners. The business edges of these spacers are cut at a 2° angle (verify this angle by reading the bench dog manufacturer’s instructions), and they’re notched to allow the bench dogs to be stored below the worktop surface. All of these dimensions are shown in the elevation drawings, and the cuts can be made on a band saw. Dry fit and mark the spacer locations on the inside liners, verifying each placement with a bench dog (see Figure 2 on page 11). Score a shallow line about a ¼" in from the edge on both sides of each spacer—use a sharp knife or a rotary tool—to create a glue well; this will limit excessive squeeze-out.
Figure 3: Use your drill press to bore two-step slotted holes in the endcaps. These will allow the benchtop to adjust to various levels of moisture in the workshop.
Attach the spacers to the inside liners with glue and clamps. When they’re dry, you can glue and clamp the outside liners (pieces 6) in place. Use biscuits and glue to attach the remaining 3"-wide butcher-block strip to one of the outside liners (see the exploded view on page 10 for its location). Then, glue and clamp the worktop sides (pieces 7) in place.
Material List
| T x W x L | ||
| 21 | Toolbox Top and Bottom (2) | ¾" x 15¾" x 35½" |
| 22 | Toolbox Sides (2) | ¾" x 15¾" x 16" |
| 23 | Toolbox Divider (1) | ¾" x 15" x 15" |
| 24 | Toolbox Back (1) | ¾" x 16" x 36" |
| 25 | Toolbox Trim (1) | ¼" x ¾" x 120" |
| 26 | Door (1) | ¾" x 113/8" x 14¾" |
| 27 | Door Stiffeners (3) | ½" x ¾" x 14¾" |
| 28 |
Hinges (2)
|