A FIEew,Durr

WonrcrNan
A Imge,h"oW-d"q wail<bench dtat'seasyta buiW.
CombiningnadidcnaljoixleryandmDdemmaterialsis tfu l<ey.

At*,t}"tn*l$1""ff1,;
eightfeetlongandthee feetwide,not
includingtle vise), ifs reallythe con-
struction that makes it interesting.
Ifs ablendof old andnewtechnology
The base is built of healy, solid
lumbel using traditional mortise
and tenon joinery. Bul the top is
constructed primarily of MDF
(medium-densityfiberboard).Soas
well as being flat and stable,it has
the additionalbeneft of being quick
and easyto rnake (udike a top that
is glued up from solidwood).
Anothernicefeatureare the rows
of dogholesalongthe font andleft
side of the bench.Combinedwith a
few simple accessories(which are
describedon page13),thesemakeit
easyto hold a workpiecewhile rout-
ing,sanding,orplaning.
oPTlollAt
SIoRAGI.As great as this
workbench is to work on, you can
makeit evenbetter by addingsome
optional storage units underneath
(see inset photo below). With the
bank of drawers,the cupboardsat
eachend, and the open shelvingat
the back, you won't be running out
of space anltime soon. You can
read the story behind these stor-
age units on page 14.

Tiredol laokingfor lour nols! >

Thel'IL alway bewithinreorhif
1oubdlA.thisslid"e'in
sturageunit.
Tura to page14for compbteplor's.

Woodsmith No. 133

 Threelaversof MDF are
laminatedb (eate a too that
Dauble row of dog
Construction Details OVERALLDIMENSIONS:
hales works with doq
6 flat, stabte.and durab:le holes drilled in vise face Front rcw af dog hales 94"1x 423/a"Dx 35"H
designed for use with ben.h
dogs and other accessorie,
- - s e ep a q e t 5 ,

I Stretchersstabilize
. long front & back rails
, l
Heavycluty"cast
iron viseis mortised" %" hardboard splines
help align top and aprans

rc.t on cleats -

Sturdybench,

LOWER
FRONTRAIL

corner blocks ''

NOTE: NOTE: reinforce joints
For threehandvstaraqe to prevent rcaKtng
oatians.includinaa lirae Tenans are ptnned
solidmaple.shelves Jnder benchstoiageuhil,
turn to page 14

fhATERtAtS, SUPPLIES& CUtflNG DIAORAilI

Top Layers(2)* 3/'rMDF- 33 x 91 W TopCleats(2) 3/aMDF - 11/2x267/ta
A L e g s( 4 ) 3x3-323/'t L
B U p p e rE n dR a i l (s2 ) 1 1 / 2 x 3 3 / 4 - 2 6 1 h M S u p p o rBt o c k( 1 ) 1t/:x6-15 . (50)#8 x T%' FhWoodscrews
C LowerEndRalls(4) 1lb x 41/z- 261/z N Top End Pieces(2) 3/'r^tar - 15 x21 . (T2) #8 x '1/:' FhWoodscrews
D U p r F r l B k R a i l s1 2 ) 1 1 t : x 3 3 / q - 6 8 1 h O T o pF r t P e c e ( 1 ) 3/.aMDF-6x76 . (48)#8 x 21/:'FhWoodscrews
E Lwr Fr/Bk Rajls(2) 11/zx 41/z- 681/z P TopBk Piece(1) 3 / tM D F 6 x 9 1 . (4J#14 x 2 " FhWoodscrews
F U p p e rS t r e t c h e (r 2
s) \1bx33/a 27 Q Top Ctr. Pieces(2) 3/aMDr- 6 x 21 . (2)5/16'x 4tb' HexHeadBolts
c L o w e rS t r e t c h e (r 2
s) 11/2x41b-27 R t p r o n( 1 )
F r o nA 1 t b x 3 1 / z - 9 2 1 / z ' (2)5/s" LockNuts
H CornerBlocks(8) 1t/2x 21/2- 71/2 S B a c kA p r o n( 1 ) 1 1 / : x 3 1 / z - 9 1 ' (4) 5lo" FlatWashers
| she f Cleats(4) 11hx 3/4- 261h T Left Apron (1) 11/zx 31/z 341/'t . ( 1 ) W o o d w o r k i V n gi s e
I C t r .S h e l f( 1 ) 3 / tp l y - 2 6 7 / t a x 3 2 7 h a U RightApron(1) .
1 1 / z x 3 1 / z - 3 5 1 h (1) 7s"-da Hardwood Dowel(48' ong)
' ('l) " x 240" n. ln
('1
K E n dS h e l v e(s2 ) 3 / t p y .- 2 6 7 / r c x 1 6 h a V F a c eB l o c k( 1 ) 3x41/:-18 %' Hardboard )
*Note:Onetop ayeTstartsout oversrzed

11/2"x gla" - 96" Hard Maple (12.3 Bd. Ft.) (9 6 Bd. Ft.)

Boards @ 12.3 Bd. Ft.

ALSONEEDED: Two4xB sheetsof %" MDF

and one 4x8 sheetof 3/a"mapleplwaod

No 133 Woodsnitir
 NOTE:
Leave top
eoges of teqs
square
Brse
When it comesto buildinga work-
NOTE:
bench, the base has to meet two
MORTISE requirements. It needs to be strong. I sh6"-deep
LAYOUT And it needs to be stable.I decided
to use hard maple for the base NOTE:Legs are
because of its strength and the gtueo up from

added mass it gives the bench. But 11/r":thickstock.

31/r" a good, less expensive substitute
would be "two-by" fi-aming lumber.
( would suggest Douglas lir.)
l[GS.The first step in building the
base of this bench is to make the
legs. As you can see in Fig. 1, each
1e9(Al is glued up from two pieces
of l%rlthick stock. I ripped these
pieces slightly wider than the fin-
ished width of the legs. This way,
you don't have to worry about keeF
ing the two pieces exactly aligned
when gluing them up. After squar-
ing up each blank, you can cut the
legs to final length (323l.rr').
I'loRTtSEs.
l2rge mortise and tenon
joints are used to join the rails of the
bench with the legs. Before making
the mortises, I laid them all out on
the legs, like the drawing in the left
margin shows. The important thing
to notice when lalng out the mor-
tises is that the legs aren't identi-
cal. The right-hand legs and lelt-
hand legs mirror each other. This
way, the joinfline won't show from
the front of the bench ig. 1a).
After the mortises are laid out,
you can begin drilling out the waste.
I did this on a drill press, using a
Forstner bit. Drilling overlapping
holes removes most of the waste,
and what little is ieft behind can be
quickly removed with a chisel. You
1l)"-thick stock
@'
NOTE:Round
LEG
bottoiof legs
,'\
LOWER
END RAIL
o.
3/16,, ,/
T
3"
IV
NOTE:
Legsare, 1
pairy to.,
'o"
fJff vrEW NOTE:Rout toundavers
Tlnil fitst, then rout stopped chamfe5
b. -1,/a:
r<-
1.-
NOTE:No
can see in the drawing at the left arl,," stoppedchamferis rouled on
that the mortises at the top oI each the outsidecorner oI each leg.
leg are open on one end. This way, RAlLS.The legs are connected
you won't have to worry about by two sets of rails at the top and
"blowing
out" the mortise at the top bottom. I started by making the
of the legs during assembly. end rails. (All the rails are made
To complete the legs, a %o| from 1yr"-1h1.1stock.) You'Il need
roundoveris routed along the edges f|{o ltppet en.d reiLs (B) and two
of each leg and on the bottom.Then Louer end reits (C). After cutting
the rails to size,you can cut tenons
on the ends to match the mortises
in the legs, as shown in Figs. 1b
and 1c. Since each tenon has %"
shoulders, one set up on the table
saw is all you need,as shown in Fig.
2. Note that the tenons on the
upper rails are bare-faced - to
match the open mortises at the top
o[ each leg. Finally.the two rnds ol
the base can be glued up.
[[0NT/RtAR RAI1S. Except for their
length, the rails at the front and rear T\
of the bench are practically identical
to the end rails (Fig. 3).'I1te ttpper
.fi'ont/buck reiLs (D) and Loner

Woodsmith No. 133

 UPPER BACK
RAIL
.ft'otttlbacl;r ails ft) are cut to size,
and tenons are cut ol1 the ends.
These tcnons are identical to the
ones cut on the end rails. (For a tip
on cutting tenons on long work-
pieces,seepage21.)
Before assemblingthe ends and
rails, there'sone other detail to take
care o[. To hold some stretchers
that will be addedbelveen the front
and back rails, a couple of shallow
dadoesare cut on the inside face of
cach rail, as shown in Fig. 3. Once
this is done,the rails and ends of the
bench car all be glued together
STRTT(HIRs. The stt'etclUs (F. G)
that I just mentioned are cut to size
from 1%rr-thickstock. Stub tenons
are cut on the ends of the stretch- b' srDEsEcroN
ers, and then after brushing a little I V|EW
glue on the tenons,each sfetcher is
slipped in betrveen the front and
back rails. A few screws help to hold
#8x 2Yr"
the stretchersin place. Fhwoodscrew
Once the stretchers are screwed
in place,the screwscan be plugged
(Fig. 3b). \Vhile you're at it, go
aheadand drill holes in the legs and
pin the tenons \Yith %rldia. dowels
(l'ig. 3c). I sandeda slight chamfer lower blocks serve an extra pur- are glued and screwed to the lower
on the exposed ends of the plugs pose. They provide support for stretchers (!-ig.4). Once these are
DOWELPIN
(and pins), then glued them in place some shelves that are added next. in place,you can cul a center slLelf LAYOUT
so they stood slightly proud of the SHtwtS.Shelvesare fitted into the (,/) and two en.d slrclues (K) from
surface (about %err). bottom of the bench for storing tools {rr plywood. The center shelf is
(0RNtR8RAC[5. Each correr of the and equipment.Or ifyou're going to simply cut to size and dropped in
base is reinforced with a couple of add the optional storage units, the place. But the two end shelves
contet' bLocks(H) (Fig. 4). In addi- shelvesprovideaflat,solidbase. have to be notched in the corners
tion to beeling up the corners, the The shelves rest on cleek (I) that to fit around the legs of the bench.

No. 133 Woodsmith

 NOTE:All pieces
suppart btack) a
------_---------

------------------

tA)
"
ToPcENTER
PIECE

@
SUPPORT
BLOCK
@
TOP
FRONT
PIECE

rop
It goes without sayingthat thc top of l l l c t o p p l e n t yr h i . k i o , . r n u n r i n g l .
and width) After it's
r !aurkhenchn-cds tu bc \trong alrl vise and for holding bench dogs.
'lb first layer,it will be h.ir
5 t u | d ] t u s k n d u p t o r l l I h e a b u . ei r rrake the top, start by cutting In addition to makir
will receive.But it aiso neerls to be the first l.)/) lolter (L) to finished
layer ovcrsized,a notc
0at.Trr.l1orrtltc tunof rny,rt,r.kberrcl. size (Fig. 6). Then before adding
cut ln one corner to
t q a r c i e r c n ( . ew l l e n a s : ( . m b l i n R i . the seconcl layer, I glued a harcl- aroutd the hardwoor
pr-ujec{ UI rlinrerr:iurring\tocL.Soit \ wooclnLplxr.t bloc:k1,41)to the cor glued to the first layer
i n r p o l t a n irl r a rt l t e t o p b e p , . r f e t t l ] ner where the visc'willget mounted.
done with a sabre s:
flat (7rd stay that way. (This bloch will give the screws saq and you don't nr
Although solid wood is a more something to bite into when you're
tussy with the fit. (M]'
traditional ciroicc for beuch tops, I mounting the vise later.) However,
larger than the block.)
decided to use Mt)!'. It's hea\.y, as you car see in Fig.6, the
top Oncc the notch is cu
tough, aucl very flat. And unlihc piece is upsidc-clownwhen you glue
layers can be glued
solid wood, you don't have to worr y this block in place. (1l.rat'swhy the
togcther I useclyel1o,
about MDt' twisting ()r warping out block is shown in the right corner)
ing glue, spreaclingit
of shapeover line. Plus as an adclerj 5t(0t{DIAYIR.
The.secowlLruler(L) surlaccswith a 3rrpailr
Hall mapleoprons bcnefit, N,ID!'is a whole lot less encls up the
sane size as the first The screws help to 1
l lrrf arolnrl three cxpensivethan solid wood. layer But trying to keep two large, layers together while
Lrrcrso/r -tFar ln order to beef up the thick- iclcntically-sizecl workpiecesaligned up. There's jusl one
lnllecr lhd hliftl, ress, I built up the top out 0f three when gluing them together can be
"layers" awarc of when you're aclding the
flat uork vcfLtce. separate of ltnF, as you tricky. So I cul the second layer screws.Later on, you'11be drilling
can see irr Fig. 5 above.1'his makes slightly ovelsize (r,/+rr in both length dog holes ir the top of the bench,

.-Afrro,i,n"i,'.
Trim second laver

(76 lon| 6"

Na s.rews should
SUPPORT
G\
ELOCK'J

10 trVoodstnith No 133
and you don't wiurt to accidentally
drill into a screw. So I laid out
some 'no screwzoles" to
make sure this woulcln't
be a problemfig.6). I
Once the two layers are
laminatecltogether, you can
tdnr tlle sccord layer flush with
the first using a router and a flush
trin bit (Fig. 6a).
THIRD LAYtR. If you take a look at
Fig. 7, you'll see that the thircl
"layer"
is really made up of sk sepa-
rate piecesof l,Ilp. You'Il need two
ettd pieces (N), a.fi ottt piece (O), a
back pi.er:e (P), ancl two center
pieces(Q). Once these pieces are
cut to exact size, they can be glued
ard screwedto the secondlayer
APRotlS. To protect and corceal
the edges of the MDF, the top is
wrapped with 1%'Lthick hardwood
cLptotts (R, S, I O on all four
sides. If you look closely at Fig. 8,
you'll see that each apron is a little
different. To begin with, the ends
of the right apron and one end of
the left apron are rounded over far rearjaw af vise,
(Fig. 8a). (fhis roundover will also A coupLeof cleats
be created on the face block that clampedto the top
will be added to the vise.) o;f thc benchalk'u,
"pocket"
Second,a is routed in ,\o1tto cnmP tne
the back face of the front apron to endnpronsin plocc.
accomnodate Lhe back jaw of the
bench vise (Fig. 8b). (The size of
this pocket will depend upon the
viseyou are using, see page20.)
After routilg the pocket, you can
lout a gl oove around the top of the
bench as well as on the aprons @ig.
9). These grooves will hold splines
that help align the aprons with the
top ofthe bench. A router and a slot
cutter is all you need to make the
grooves. But note that the grooves
in the aprons are stopped short of NOTE:lf end of
the exposedends (Figs.9 and 10). apron ts exposed,
stop gtoove short
SPI|NIS. Once the grooves have
been routed, you can glue Lhe
aprons to the top using splines cut
into ships fron a sheet of farr hard-
board. Clamping the front and END
back aprons in place is no prob- SECTION
VIEW
len. But clamping across the
length of the bench is a challenge,
'1/a" slot
unless you have son.reextra long
clanps. For a simple solution, see
the margin photo at right.

No. 133 lVoodsmith 1i

 Iop (conlinued)
\Yith the apronsattached,the %rr-dia.
dogholeseanbe drilled.Therrjs on"
row along the i:olrt edge and a dou
ble ruw al the end rfur tie vise).TL,
keepthe hole rparing coniistFnlon
the long front edge (aswell asto guide
thedrillbit).I rnadeth, simpleindex-
i n g j i q s h o w ni n f i g . l l . F o rr h , f e w
holes al the end ofthe bench, I care-
fully laid out each one individually
With Lhetop just about complete,
I added the vise. Depending on the
size of the vise you plan to install,
you may neecl to mount a spacer
block to t]re undersicleof the bench
beforehand. Then after t.rrounling
the vise, I added a wood Jlu:e bloch
fI,') to the fiont jaw You can read
more about the vise mounting pro-
cecluleon pages20 and 21.
The last step to complete the top
is to rout a srnall (1/6rr) chamfer
around the top of the bench and rout 116"chamfer
around the inside edge of the dog around top af bench
and dog hales
holes. I wantecl to incorporate the
vise into this chamJer cletail as well,
so before turning on the router, I
closed the face block against Lhe
front apron. Then I routed the
chamfer around the top and the face
block, as well as around the inside
of each dog hole (Fig. 12).
The bearing on the chamfer bit ATTA(HING THIToP.The top of this MDF that butt againstthe upper
doesn't allow you to rout the cham- wor-kbenchis heavy enough that it stiles,locking the top in position.
Ier all the way into the corners ol the will stay put without being attached But beforethe cleatsare attached,
face block or the ends of the berch. to the base.Butto keep the top [-om you shouldmakesurethatthetopis
So alter you're done routing, you shifting or sliding, I added a couple set squarelyon the base(Figs.13a
can clean up thesc inside corners of cleatsto Lheurderside of the top. and 13b).Then the cleatscan be
with a chisel (Fle. 12b). These cleals fW) are just stfips of screwedin place.Ei

l
r-'l

\Yoodsnith No. 133

WonKerxur
AccrssoRms
Eventhe shrrdiestbench is nothing
more than a fancy table if you cal't
hold your work to it securelyThafs
where all the holes drilled through
the top of the workbenchcomein.
Theseholesacceptaccessories that
keepyour work whereyou want it.
BI (H DoG.The simplestof these
itemsis a tlpe of bench dog, shown
in the left photo below.It's just a
cylinder with a flat face at one end
and a spring in the side.A single
dog can be used as a stop when
planing or scrapinga board.And
sincethe dogis brass,ifs lesslikely
to damagea cutting edge if your
plane or chisel slips. (Rubber face
pads are also available, see the
photo above.) By using dogs in the
face block of the vise and a couple
more dogs in the bench, you can
clamp wide panels easily.
woNDtRPUP.Bench dogs alone
won't handle every clamping situa-
tion. \4/hat if you want to hold a long
piece from each end? Or need a
board clamped along the front edge
of the bench? That's where a
Wondzr Pup comes in handy (mid-
dle photo). The name might sound
Jike a kid's toy or a super hero's pet,
but ifs actually a small vise that fits
in any3/,t"dog hole. Use it with a
bench dog (or another Wonder & Vhen you need
Pzp) to securea workpiece.And an extia pair of
fvo holes in the headof the Pup let hands,thesebench
you screwa shopmadeblock to it. accesso'ieshelp
H01D-D0WN. Sometimesyou just Jou geta gri, on
needto hold a workpieceflat to the Jour prolects.
benchtop.In thesecases,you need
a hold-down (photo below). The
long shaftallowsyou to clampitems
up to 8rrthick. Turning a threaded
knob graduallyadjuststhe pressure
the arm placeson the workpiece.
Note:Theseaccessories aremal-
ufacturedby Veritas.Seepage35
for mail-ordersources.SI

Round.bench d.ogs.Put &tgs in the Wonder PuP . \Yith its threaAed Veritas hold.&nm. To keepyow
benchtop arl vise,ad" lyoucan cLtrnp shaft, the Pup servesas an eru).ttise work clnmpedfinnly to the bench,
warkpiecesin a lariety oJwols . that can beplacedin aq doghole. just nghtenthe l<nobon the tctP.

Whenyou needto cut metal pieces,

ifs best to use a machinisfsvise to
hold them.The wood facesof the
workbenchandvise can be scarred
if you nick them with a hack sawor
try to clampdovn on athreadedrod"
Placevisdoh baseto But sinceI dont uie my machinisfs
vise very often, this plate lets me
mountit to thebenchtemporarily,as
shownin the photo.
In the bottom ofthe plateare two
%rldia. dowel pins, spacedto fit a
pair of dog holes.A bolt and wing
Wing nut secure the assembly to the
Counterborc so f-nut benchtop through a third doghole.
sitsbelow surtace

No. 133 Woodsmith

 WonrcsxurSronncs 6
Wmt n swrea shapfulof nok at !o1.ufmgertips?
Here'sdwmtswer.

ow do you make a
great bench even
better?The answeris
to adda storageunit to
the base.Actually,the
designwecameupwith
features ,zro storage
units-afrontcabinet
with drawersanddoors
and an open shelving
unit in back. And if
that's not enough,you
canaddanoptionalpeg-
board storagepanelto
eachend. Build them
all,andyou'll be ableto
put a shopfuloftools at
your fingertips.
The reasonfor dividing the stor-
age spaceinto two separateunits is
only want to build the cabinet in (tilTlnSloloil.The centersection s
fronl Solefs start with that one. of the cabinetis ply'woodframework
simple. First, it allows you to have that creates the openings for the
accessiblestorageon both sidesof rRolttcallltEt drawers.You can begin by cutting
the bench.And second,it keepsthe The front cabinetis reallyjust a ply- the top andbottom(A),two uertfual
drawers in the tront cabinet at a wood box that's sizedto fit in the d;taiders(B), a hortzontal d,iuid,er
manageabledepth,so items don't spacebeneatl tle top of the work- (C), and a d,xtwer d,iuider (D) to
get lost at the back. bench.Ifs dividedup into compar! sizetom 3/arr plywood,as shownin
Of course,there's no reasonyou mentsfor the drawersandcupboard Fig. 1 on the next page.
have have to build both storage storageareas.The centersectionis The front edges of all these ply-
units.Ifyou're planningto placethe constructedfirst, andthen the sides wood panels need to be covered
bench up against a wall, you may are addedlater. with strips of %rLthick hardwood

Bank of dtawers. KeepJour hand.took Shelving Unit. U se every itlch of the bench Pegboard.End. Storage. In just a few
cleanmd arganized in thesegenerousll.sixed.b1 adding this shallowsheluingunit at the minutes, 1ou can have this optional pegboard
drawers.PIus,theJopenon full'extensrcn back. It's a perfectplacefor jigs, hardware, storagepdl1eImoratted,at eachend.of tfu
soyoucanfill themfrun frontm back. and other supplies.(Plarc start on page 19.)
slides bench.Seepage19 to finl outhow.

t4 Woodsmith No.133
 I

p d g ; , , 9( E t . a s s h o w n i n F i g . L l
chose to do this before asscmbll
becauseI found it a lot easier rt,
ahach and rim the edging flu5h VERTICAL
with each panel lying flat. DIVIDER 2
NOTE:A -z
Once the edging is in pJaee.you
cansetup your dadobladelo malch
palt @xcept
]h' pfwood
1 NOTE:Cut a
t}e lhickres: of the plyvood you rr
u.ing (Fig. la). All the dadoesarr 2l ' wide; then
187/16"
the same depth and width, so when edging strips
rhe bladei\ set up. il's just a maner
of adjustingyour rip fence to posi
ljon the dadoesaccordingto Fig. 1.
With all the dadoes cut, now is a
good time to assemble the center
section.I used both glue and screws
to do this, drilling all the pilot and
shank holes beforehand(Fig. 1b). It
makes sense here to work from the
inside out, starting by assembling
the horizontal divider between the
two vertical dividers. Then you can
add the short drawer divider and
the top and bottom panels.
slDls.All you have to do now to
complete the case of the cabinet is
to add a couple of sides (Fig. 2).
Like the other panels you cut earlier,
the sides (F) are also cut from %rl
pl1.wood.But these panels are cut S H E L FP I N
l/arrwider than the other pllwood TEMPLATE

I
panels. That's because they'll be
rabbeted along the back edges later
to hold a ply-woodback.
After cutting the sides to size,
hardwood edging is added to the 12"
front edges. Then a rabbet is cut
along the ends of each side to hold l
the top and bottom (A) of the cabi-
net (Fig. 2a). Before assembling the 1946"
sidesto the rest ofthe cabinet,a /arl
wide rabbet is cut along the back t
edge of each side pieceto hold a %r' 7-
pll.wood back that will be added %'
later (Fig. 2b). Then the sides can
be glued and screwedin place.
EDGING
SHtLvIS. With the case of the liont
cabinet completed,the next step is
to add the slrcLues(G). These are
nothing more than a couple of
pieces of %" plnvood with hard-
wood edging attached to the ftont.
The shelves are supported by
brass shelf pins. To ensure that the
holes are spaced evenly and line up * A hcLtclbodrcltem-
accurately,I used a sinple drilling pl"o.te
alktwt 1ou to
template that is shown in the draw- accuratelydrill holes
ing in the mar-ginat right. fo.theshelfpins
No. 133 Woodsmith 15
 SMALL
DRAWER

Drowers& Doors SMALL

DRAWER
The center section ofthe cab- SIDE
inet is designed to hold five ,.@
dr-awers.These are graduated a. small/medium N
in size to accomnodate dif-
ferent t]'pes of tools. But the
nice Lhingis that the method
of construction is identical for
all of them. So other than a
few dimension changes,the
procedureis the same. 19h6"

DRAwtR PARIS. I started by

cutting the r/z'Llhick rl,ruLuer
.li orrls and becks (H, I, J)
anrl drauer sicles (K, L) to b' Large
size (Fig. 3). The fronts and /_
backs are cut 1rr narrower
than the cabilet opening so
there will be clearance for
the full-extensionslides.
Next the half-blind dove-
tails that hold the drawer
together can be routed. And
a groove for the drawer bot-
tom can be cut on the
inside face of each drawer
piece. This groove is centered on the back of the drawers with ease, This space is lor the drawer false
the bottom pin of the drawer sides. I used fulfetension metal drawer i:onts that will be added next.
This way, it won't be visible on the slides to mount the drawers (Fig. IATSEtRONrg. ThelaLse fi'ottts (O,
encls of the workpieces alter the 4). One halJ of the slide is screwed P, Q) are cut from %rlthick hard-
drawers are assembled. to the side of the drawer, and the wood (Fig. 5). They are simply
tRAw[RBoTIoms. The tlru.uter bctt- other hall is screwedto the side of scre,,vedto the f:ont ofeach drawer
'fhe
tonts (M, N) are all cut from {rr ply the cabinet. importart thing is so that there is a %6" gap all around
wood. After they're cut to size, the that when mounting the slide to the front of the drawer To make it
drawers can be glued up. the cabinet, you allow 3/+" clear- easier to adjust the false fronts, try
DRAwtR sl.lD[s.Because I warted ance between the slide and the drilling oversize screw holes
to be able to get to items stored al front edge of the cabinet (Fig. 4b). through the %'Lthick drawer i'onts

t '
dratrersi Plentl \,Yithheatry-dut1,
full.
ertcnsionrlrau,erslides1ou canmakegoctl
rrseof erer,r-inchof cachdrawer.

iii Woodsmith No. 133

first. Then attach the false fronts
using screws and finish washers,
The oversize holes in the drawer
"play"
Ironts should provide enough
to adjust the false fronts for a perfect
fit. Oncethe falsefronts are in place,
you can add the metal drawer pulls.
D00Rs, To enclose the shelves on
either side of the drawers, I added
two doors. These are frame and
panel doors, assembledwith simple
stub tenon and groovejoinery.
To rlake the doors, start by cut-
ting the cloor raiLs (R) and stiles ISJ
to size (Fig. 6). Nert, a groove is cut
on the inside edge of each piece to
hold a p\-wood lrame. \4hen these
grooves are complete, sfub tenons
are cut on the ends of the rails to fit
in the grooves in the stiles.
PANtls.Each door panel is just a
piece of larr pl1'r,vood.After cutting
the door paneLs (T) to size, the
doors can be assembled.
HlNGtS.The cabinet doors are
mounted on common butt hinges. I door stile, but screwedit directly to Now that the doors are hung, a
wanted the hinges to match the the sideofthe cabinet(Fig.6a).And pull can be added to each. Then to
other hardware, so I spray painted creatingthe mortisesin the door keep each door closed, I installed a
some ordinary steelhinges black. stilesis easy.I simplyset the door small magnetic catch (Figs. 6b).
After the spray paint has dried, on edge and ran it acrossa dado These catches are mounted to the
the hinges can be attached to the blade on my table saw.(A tall auxil- underside of the top of the cabinet,
cabinet.To make this as easyaspos iary miter gaugefencewill help sup and the strike plates are mounted to
sible,I mortised each hinge into the port the doorwhileyou do this.) the back of each door

No. 133 Woodsmith l7

 Bqrk
At this point, the font storagecabi-
net is practicallycomplete.The only
thing that'sleft to do is adda back.If
you take a look at Fig. 7, you cansee
thatthe backis madeup ofthree sep
aratepiecesof %rrply.wood. Thereare
twobackend,panels(U) anda larger
bachcenterpanel (V).
\4tren measuringto determine
the sizesof theseback panels,keep
in mind that they fit in betweenthe
rabbetscut in the sidesof the cabi-
net but completelycoverthe back
edgesof the cabinettopandbottom.
After the panelsare cut to size, tt.
they're simply glued and nailed to ti
the back of the cabinetwith wire * 1 6x 1 '
brads(Figs.7aand7b).
THt(ABlNtT.
lNSTAll.lt{G Installingthe a:Z .:/'
h$
tl |l1-
'
cabinetin the bench couldn't be -\ a 4,"
much simpler.It just slidesinto place @,j
TOPSECTIONVIEW
until the front edgeis flush with the
lowerfront rail of the bench.

TIATERIAIS SUPPI.IES
FnorrStonlorClgrrrr . (48)#8 x 1Zz"FhWoodscrews
A Top/Bottom(2) 3/<ply - 21 x 647/s . ( 1 6 )Z r ' B r a sSs h e lP
f ins
B VerticaD viders (2) 3 h p ) y-.2 1 x 1 8 h e . (5 pr.)20' Full-Extension DrawerSlides
Wscrews
C H o r i zD v i d e r( 1 ) 3/a p|y.- 21 x 341h . (26)#6 x 1" FhWoodscrews
3h . (26)#6 Finish Washers
D D r a w eD r i v i d e( r1 ) fly. - 21 x 41/<
E Edglng ( 1 ) 3 / a x %- 4 8 l i n . f t . . (0) 4%' DoorPullsWscrews
F Sides (2) 3h -
ply. 211/'tx 197/ta . \2 pr.)2" x 11/2" BuItHinges Wscrews
G Shelves (2) 3/<ply. - 20 x 145/ta . (2)Maqnetlc Catches M5trikesandScrews
H Sm.DrawerFr./Bks. (4) 1 / 2 x 3 1 / z1_5 5 k . ( 7 6 )# 1 6x 1" W i r eB r a d s
I l\,4ed. DrawerFrlBk (2) t/2x3t/2-33

J Lg.DrawerFrlBks(4) 1 /2x43/ax33
K Sm./Med.DrawerSides(6) 1/zx 31/z- 193/q CUTTING DIAGRAM
L Lg.DrawerSides(4) 1/2x43/e-193/c
%" x 51/r"- 96" Hard Maple (3.7Bd. Ft.)
M 5m.DrawerBtms.(2) 1/a ply.- 197ha x151ha
N Lg DrawerBtms. (3) % ply - 197/ax327/ra
O Sm.DrawerFalse (2)
Fronts 3/qx35k- 161/z 3h"x 9'/a"- 96" Hard Maple (6.2ad Ft)
P IVed.DrawerFalse Front(1) 3/tx3s/e - 337/a
Q Lg DrawerFalse (2)
Fronts 3/qx 43/q- 337/s
R DoorRals (4) 3,/<x 21/z_ 1051e 1/2" -
5 DoorSties (4) 3 / q x 2 1 / z - 1 7 1 3 1 a x 7le' 96" Hard
T DoorPanels (2)
U BackEnd Panels(2)
l/t ply - 101/a x 133/t
1/tply.- 155/ax 197/te " x9%" - 96" Hard
K
K
K
K K 2
V BackCenterPanel(1)

Srrrvne Ulll
1/tply.- 343/ax197/ta

L
,%
W TopiBottom(2) 3/t ply.- 71/2x 647/a
X Sides(2) 3/<ply.-73/ax 197/ra
Y D i v i d e( r1 ) 3/t ply - 71/zx 187/ta
Z BackPanes (2) l/ap)y.- 321hex 197/ra
ALSO NEEDED:Two theels ol lz maple plwood
AAShelves (2) 3/'+ply.- 7% x 31l1/ra and two sheets of t/4" maple plwood

Woodsmith No. 133

 o.
ShelvingUnit
Thetrontstoragecabinetdoesn'tcom-
pletelyfill the spaceunderthe bench.
So I addedan openshelvingunit at
theback.Thisunit startsoff asa basic
14'
box andfeaturesthe sameconstruc-
tion asthe front cabinet.But the urit 2"
isn'tasdeepasthe front cabinet,ald I th6"
therearen'tanydrawersor doors.So 45/s
ids quitea bit easierto build. l_
I started building the shelving BOTTOM
unit by cutting the main piecesto
size.As you canseein Fig. 8,there's
a top atJJd. bottotn (W), two sids
(X),andad,i id.er( Y).Thesepanels
are all cut from %rr plwood and
then %r'hardwoodedgingis applied NOTE: All pieces (except
to the front edgesof eachpiece. edgind aie 3/a plwood

Oncethe edgingis in place,you

can begin on the joinery. Rabbets
are cut on the endsof the sidesto
hold the top and bottompanels.A
rabbet is also cut along the back
edgeof eachsideto hold the back
panelsthat will be addedlater.
The top and bottom panelseach
receivea dadoto hold the divider
panel (Fig. 8b). This dado is cen-
tered on the length ofthe panels.
Whenyou'vefinishedcutting all
the rabbetsand dadoes,the shelv-
ing unit canbe assembled.Like the
cabinet,thesepiecesare just glued
andscrewedtogether @ig.8c). Once the shelf pin holes have SHIIVIS.All that'sleft nowis to add
SHRIPltlHouS.Beforeaddingthe been drilled, you can add a back to lwo shBlues(.44). Theseare pieces
back, someshelf pin holes need to the unit. This time,the backis made of la ply.woodwith a strip of hard-
be drilled in the cabinetsides.fuain up of two identically-sizedpanelsof wood edging glued to each front
I used a simpletemplateto do this. larr ply.rvood,as shown in Fig.9. edge (Fig. 9). When the shelvesare
But sincethe spacingof theseholes After cutting thesetwo backpane\s in place,you can slide the shelving
isn't the sameas the front cabinet, (Z) to final size,they can be nailed unit into the benchjust like you did
you'll needa newtemplate(Fig.8a). in placewith brads @ig.9a). with the front cabinet.W

ffyou're looking for additionalstorage,

these pegboardpalels provide a con-
venientplaceto hangafewexkatoolsat
theendsoftheworkbench.Thebestpart
is that there'shardly aryttringto them.
All you needto do is nail somecleats
to the legs and upper and lower end
rails of the bench.Thenplacea pieceof
pegboardagainstthe cleatsand tack a
secondset of cleatsdown to hold the
pegboardin place.Add a few hooks,
andyou'rereadyto hangsometools.

Woodsmith

fllounting o Vise
Aclclinga visc to
the worl<benchou
page 6 isn't difficult. In
fact, it's just a three-step
process.Irirst, a pochet is
cut in the front apron to
accepttlle rear jaw oI tlle
vise. Thcl the vise is
attachedto the bench.Ancl
firally. awood faceblock is
acldedto the irontjaw.
But rvhy even go to this
tr-oub1e? \Vhy not just bolt
the vise to the ftonl apron
ancl screw a wootl pad to
eachjaw?There are a cou
ple ofreasons.By burying
the rear jaw in tl.teapron,
SuopNoms
you have a snrooth,
"paddecl"
face the lergth
of the bench for clal.rping.
The large thce block has
dog holes that align with
thc holes in thc bcnch so
you cal sccurewiclework-
pieces. lt also sprcads
clanpilg pressurc.
To inslall tht'vise, you'11
neeclto take it aparl first.
This isn't as scary as it
sounds. B5r renoving a
cotter kel', I was ablc to
seDaratethe front jaw of
ny vise (a1ongwith the
guide rods and threaded
shaft) [-onl the rearjaw
Insfallationof thc vise
bcgins beforc' l.ou attach
the i'onl apron. As you
can scc in Fig I, a pocket
is laid out and r-outedin
thc back lace 0Ithe apron.
Positionthis pocket so tht'
vise will be centercd
betwcer the dog holcs in
the beuch. Its size is r,/r,;"
wider ancl ta11erthan thc
rear jaw of the visc.
Once lhc pockel is
clone,thc apron can be
altachcd to the bench top
anclyou ca| movc on to
the seconclstcp - attach-
irg the vise.
Siarf by adclinga spacer
block under thc bench
top.Tl.rispiccc f,lis the gap
llelwecn the s?,pllo11
bltr;l; (l,I) and fhc vise
irounting plate (l'ig. 3). I
routerl a.ifrr rouncloveron
olre e(lgc so it woulcl fit
snugly behincl lhc jaw
After the spaccr is cut to
size.i1'sglued in place.
Ncxt, a selies of holes
neecls1o bc drilled. If you
iook at l.'i.q.2,you'll scc
1wocounterboredhoics in
thc top of lhc bencl.i.
'I)rese
acccpt hex head
bolls that pass througlr

.'.

NOTE:Remove lront
jaw (with rods) before
aftacntng rear law

.-,".l*-- ( 1 1 / a t' h i c k )

THIRD:Lay out
mountingholesin bench
tap and tront apron

z\) \{rooclsrnit lr N o .1 3 3
 the vise. And hvo holes Alter gluirg the piect's jaws of the vise, f oull
through the tionl apron togelhcf,lay out an(l drill a rolicc a srtrail gap
-tl allorv access lo screws cotqrleol ciogholcs ir the bctweerl thc aprol lincl
that attach tlle rcar jaw t0 jaw so that thcy aligrl wilh the bot10[l of the facc
the bench(Fis.3b). the holes in the bench. block, like l ou sec in the
To 1a1'ou1ths ht1.. ;I Then to mounl thc face photo at right. DoLr't
the berch top, yoll wiutt to block, just usc the vise 10 lvorry. The vise jaws cant
worii out liom the center- clan4r 1he block against (tilt) in slightl]' at thc top.
line oi 1hc pocliel in the the apron lvith the top Thc reason is that as you
aprol atrl the centc,rline edges antl cnds llush cianp a worlipiece, it
of the mourting p1ate. (Figs. zla and ,1b). -l'wo lorccs the top oI thc.vise S T|r rrr1., cd.qcs pf tfit 141'srilr in sliqfirh
The ncxt thing Lo do is scrcwssecule it fo theja\a'. apart.This lilt heeps thc r,.,(.r.,r''.'. r'il.,.
to drill the accessholes lvhen you clo-se thc jarvsparal1cl.Ei rhrrrrcirilto Jr-rtrth.rl()f cdg.s4)rrrt
through the fr ol]t apron
(Fig. 2). Thcsr: holes need
to be big enough to allow
lhe screws to pass
fhrough. Her-cagain, lay
out the holes by worhing
lron the centerlinesof tl.ie
rearjaw and the pockel.
The third step is rrak
ing and nrorrnting the
wood.[rr:r,Dlocl''( l]. This
consists 0f two slabs of
1Ll,rr-thick maple gluecl
together (Fig. ,1). Before
rloin.qthat, a racliusneecis
?t to be cut on each end of
one block as you can see
in irig. 4a. I did this on thc
band saw,thelr sandcdtl]e
curvessmooth.

Cuttinglenonson long Roils

When itwas time to cut the
tenons on the raiis for lhc
workbench on pagc 6, I
neecleda wayto handle .ie
long piecessa{clir.
I.i.q.1 showsthe "outrig
ger" system l carne up
with 1o support the ends
that cxtend past the wing
'
of the lablc saw. Just Clamp hold dawn
to auxiliary fence to
clarrp a board to a saw prevent rail from tipping
horsc so tl.iat it rnatches
the height ofthe wing. , o{,'^,,,.;,'ii'- .-'tt
a edge of autrigget support
An auxilialy felce level with table saw winq
attached to the nitc.r Outrigger
gauge helps sulDort the
piece. And a hold'clown
clamped to the lencc
kceps tlle rail pressed
t\ firnly to the lablc. This
lets you use bolh hands tcr
push the rvorhpicce
through the cu.. W

No.133 Wooclsmith