Workshop Projects. Jeff Jacobson
Splined Endcaps
As woodworkers well know, wood has an annoying habit of shrinking and swelling across the grain. To cope with this tendency in a large assembly such as the worktop, the endcaps (pieces 8) are splined and attached with lag screws driven through oversize, slotted holes (see the elevations on page 10 for marking the slotted hole locations).
Chuck the rabbeting bit (the one you used earlier to create grooves in the worktop ends) in your portable router, and with the workpieces held securely, create a stopped groove in each endcap. Then, mark the locations of the lag screw holes in each groove.
Trim splines (pieces 9) to fit around the lag screws, and then move to the drill press to bore the two-step elongated and round lag screw holes, as shown in Figure 3. Note that the endcaps are not identical but are mirror images of one another. Use the drilled endcaps to locate pilot holes in the worktop, drill these holes, insert the splines, and attach the endcaps with lag screws and washers (pieces 10 and 11). Don’t glue the splines in; otherwise, the worktop will buckle or crack if it’s not allowed to move.
Material List
| T x W x L | ||
| 31 | Feet (4) | ¾" x 3½" x 3½" |
| 32 | Stile Center Laminations (4) | 1" x 3¾" x 33¼" |
| 33 | Stile Outer Laminations (8) | 1" x 3¾" x 24½" |
| 34 | Top Rail Outer Laminations (4) | 1" x 4⅝" x 20" |
| 35 | Bottom Rail Outer Laminations (4) | 1" x 4⅝" x 23¼" |
| 36 | Rail Center Laminations (4) | 1" x 4⅝" x 10" |
| 37 | Foot Inserts (4) | 1" x 4⅝" x 2⅞" |
| 38 | Top Inserts (4) | 1" x 4⅝" x 2⅞" |
Brace-Up for Some Brackets
Turn the benchtop upside down, and mark locations for the leg cleats (pieces 12), using the dimensions in the section view on page 10. You’ll use these locations as a reference as you build up a support structure for the large end vise (piece 13). Begin by screwing and gluing a vise support cleat (piece 14) to the endcap, located ¾" up from the bottom (see the elevation and detail drawings on page 10). Drill pilot holes, and screw a second cleat (piece 15) to the vise support (piece 16) at the location shown on the elevation drawings. Then, dry fit the vise support to the endcap cleat, and finish drilling your pilot holes. When all the screw holes have been established, remove the screws until the legs and the laminated jaw (piece 17) are installed. At that time, you’ll also address the bench dogs (pieces 18 through 20).
The Toolbox
Stability is perhaps the number-one requirement in a workbench, so the storage area on this bench is designed to add weight and lateral stability to the legs, while also providing three drawers, a cupboard, and a large shelf for tool storage.
The toolbox top, bottom, sides, divider, and back (pieces 21 through 24) are cut from one sheet of ¾" hardwood-veneered plywood (see the Material List on page 13). I used birch ply, a good color and grain match for the maple in the rest of the bench and far easier to find as a stock lumberyard item than maple ply. Use the elevation drawings to lay out rabbets on the appropriate edges of these pieces, and then mill them with a ¾" straight bit chucked in your router table. For clean and safe cuts, make several passes to mill each rabbet.
Material List
| T x W x L | ||
| 39 | Drawer Slides (6) | ¾" x ¾" x 15¼" |
| 40 | Top Drawer Sides (2) | ¾" x 3" x 15½" |
| 41 | Top Drawer Front and Back (2) | ¾" x 3" x 22" |
| 42 | Lower Drawer Sides (4) | ¾" x 5⅛" x 15½" |
| 43 | Lower Drawer Fronts and Backs (4) | ¾" x 5⅛" x 22" |
| 44 | Drawer Bottoms (3) | ¼" x 147/16" x 217/16" |
| 45 | Drawer Trim (1) | ¼" x ¾" x 228" |
| 46 | Top Drawer Face (1) | ¾" x 3⅝" x 23½" |
| 47 | Lower Drawer Faces (2) | ¾" x 53/8" x 23½" |