I built the workbench almost a year ago and I still look at it in awe. It is a perfect center piece to my shop. I remember searching for ideas before reluctantly watching the original build series. I thought it was going to be way too complex. But when I saw all the features, I immediately purchased the plans. It was a lot of work. But it was totally worth the effort. The design is awesome! As a side note, I also have the same drill press as you. Your tool review on that helped sway my decision to buy it.
I recently built a workbench with casters using the red 3” casters at tractor supply and they’re incredibly stable! I believe it’s because their locking mechanism locks both the wheels and the swiveling mechanism so the casters can’t rotate. Would highly recommend them and they’re big enough that they can roll over extension cords and stuff no problem!
The final appearance of the workbench and the convenience of all peripherals and built-in elements are well worth the effort. You don't need to justify any part of the video about how tough a carpenter you are - for the impatient - just rewind to the end... you will 100% come back and watch it again. Thanks for the magic. your workbench is trully THING!!!
I'm a huge fan of track sawing plywood into smaller chunks rather than struggling with 4x8 sheets on my table saw, but that's partly due to me not having a big stable setup with outfeed and such. Thanks for the video, it was cool to watch all the stuff you crammed into this table.
I bought the shmedium plans and I loved it. I changed them slightly to work for me. I didn't need a router table so I made a 2nd set of drawers. And I don't have a dust extractor so I made a slide out trash can drawers. LOVE IT!!
I will add that I work in a factory maintaining industrial type machinery. We have those same casters on a lot of pieces. They are very easy to raise equipment up and lower down and hold a ton of weight. They make it easy to roll equipment around. Good choice for your bench.
One very cool thing abouthe casters is that you can sewt everything level. I have them on a pool table I built. Sometimes in woodwork a level surface reference can be very helpful in glue ups and measuring
I don't normally comment on TH-cam videos, nor do I usually watch hour long videos, but I've got to say that this was probably the best TH-cam video I've ever watched. The bench is immaculate, you did a fantastic job!
Love everything about your videos and projects. Your attention to detail, your "sickness" 😀, your mistakes, and the production value. You do great work and I'm glad you're sharing it all with us.
The moment that mask went into the dust collector made my day XD stuff like this happens to me a lot but its like the universe giving you a free comedian to make life fun.
Man do I appreciate those "left in" screw-ups. I make mistakes like that so much. But most people edit them out. Thank you for showing your mistake! The table is awesome btw.
Very cool project! Can’t wait to make one for my shop. Your main problem on the tear-out when you made the first insert track cut was that you were going the wrong direction with the router. You’re supposed to go left to right against the fence, and subsequent cuts were much smoother and safer.
Thanks for leaving in the mistakes. I don't feel quite so bad now about all of mine. I did lol when you sucked up your mask into the dust collection. Looks like one of my classic issues. :)
Loving this bench, I may make myself one. From my background in electrical, my only suggestion is circuit breakers. Each of your power strips should have one built in, and TEST it (cheap chinesium may advertise but not include it). Reason is, you remember the amerpage restrictions now but how about 5 years from now? Overload inside wood shop furniture is a great fire starter.
Watching you use the router in the wrong direction, then clamping on a piece to eliminate blow out was worth the price of admission. 😊 Not busting your balls. Router bit facing up, right to left. Router bit down, left to right.
And....don't make that deep of a cut in a single pass. Rule of thumb that I've heard is to take a bite only 1/2 of the diameter of the router bit. So, if it's a 1/2" wide bit, only take 1/4" of material per pass. It looked like you were having to work hard to push the router through the material. You should never have to put any muscle into your router cuts. Something is wrong if you have to work hard with a router. It could be dangerous. Love your videos. You have great ideas. Your finished product is amazing. Keep up the great work.
.. and also, the way he carries boards is disturbing. It's all fine and well now but 15 years from now he'll wish he used a rope sling and a straight back.
router bit facing up, riht to left and down for left to right is not accurate. depends on which side of the wood your on. that being said, if your routing the face towards you and the router bit is down, then yes , it is in fact left to right. and thats what he was doing. look at the position of the router.
however his pass should be no more than half the width of the bit hes using. youl;l break pieces of the wood right off if you try taking off a half inch with a quarter inch bit
I THOROUGHLY ENJOY your videos, Travis. I just found you again AFTER YEARS of not seeing you. You still make me laugh OUT LOUD! You're still amazing at everything you do. Great workbench!
Just a note for the future, and for your fingers, never wear gloves while using power tools that spin. You do NOT want to know what can happen if, God forbid, something snags the glove while you are moving a board through a jointer.
Gloves are required 100% of the time in my trade. While I can see where you are getting at with this comment. As long as you are wearing the appropriate gloves that are a good fit for your hands and are not loose as long as you pay attention you will be fine.
I appreciate how you made your sponsor ads and your “like and subscribe" less intrusive. I usually skip these, but these were more palatable. Good job.
This was great and very genuine. I loved the part where the dust mask got sucked up in the dust collector. Very entertaining. All I can say is I hope to be this good one day..
The table saw being the exact height of your bench is a blessing. That is a take for granted point in your video. I have a bunch of board buddies to help me with big pieces like 4x8 plywood. They are adjustable roller stands.
I’ve always enjoyed your content even though I don’t own a 3d printer. I always watch because your videos are well done and I think I can always learn something. After watching this I think I do miss some of your older content that were shop projects. I design all my own stuff so I rarely purchase plans but I definitely glean bits of info and ideas from videos like this. I guess I’m trying to say I appreciate ALL your content but at the same time hope you mix more stuff like this back into it.
This is the first video of yours i have seen.. im very impressed you have earned my subscription with all the tips and tricks to make my life easier 😂😂
This is awesome. I'm currently working with a contractor to build my combination wood shop, electronics lab, and music studio... so yeah, I'll be needing a little flexibility. I've built custom benches for work areas in the past, which always did better than off-the-shelf stuff. So I'll be building some custom and, in many case, movable benches for this space over the next 2 or so years. Thanks for doing this! Haven't decided if I'll use this, though it's pretty on-target, but if nothing else, you've already improved on my previous bench-building designs. Thanks!
Workbench build videos on youtube are a dime a dozen. Yours is worth its weight in gold. I should have known a 1hr video would have a lot more design savvy and build quality than a 15m video... but now I know. Brilliant. If you productized this, I'd buy one. I wish I had the skill and stamina to build one :)
I got the plans from you for the medium bench. I did make some modifications to it, such as increase the overhang that butts up to my table saw ( it is an older Craftsman with an exposed motor. The overhang protects the motor from wood dropping on it. ) The table top is 3 each 1/2 inch plywood sheets that I laminated together. The frame is reclaimed 2x4's from a neighbor's house remodel. The overall look is white oak trimmed in black walnut. I did go with the Jessem router lift and I purchased a Power Tec fence for the router. Thanks. I look forward to more videos from you.
Only thing I’d change is to glue a top veneer like melamine instead of sealed MDF. But great plans regardless! I have a sanding area in mine that simply has some holes connected to the dust collection so there is a fine drsft
For marking aluminum, I use a DA (Duel Action orbital sander) to polish it up so you can see you markings instead of using blueing. After all drilling and machining is done DA it again for a nice finish, and if you want to make it really shiny use polishing compound and polishing wheel for a Mirror finish.
Well Jason, you got me hooked. I got your plans for the floor and wall cabinets and that went surprisingly well for my experience level. I am currently in the middle of building another cabinet for my wife's craft room. Going pretty well but I struggle with keeping plywood flat. As soon as I finish this cabinet I intend to replace my bench. Got to get your plans. Thanks for the great videos. Yours are always very entertaining and just the right amount of talking and keep showing the oopsies. Then I have only me to blame when I do the same. Stay the same...
I'm glad this build series is in a single video. If there's one thing I learned between you and Tamar of 3x3 Customs, it's to glue your boards first, then trim them to final size. Doing it the other way around is messy and potentially causes trouble (boards not being square or centered after the glue dries).
Great video. I love it. I have a 2x4 workbench I made about 12 years ago. I’ll never get rid of it. But it’s just very basic. Ana white plans I think. A top…. And a shelf on the bottom. The top has been beat up a lot. I’ve been trying to decide how I’ll use it as I’m reconfiguring my shop. I know I’m gonna replace the top. I think adding a bank of drawers like you did to this. But I hadn’t thought of adding a router lift into it. That may be a really good plan. Thanks for sharing. I can relate to all the issues you had during the build. It definitely makes me feel more…. Normal. LOL My husband is not a woodworker. Whenever I make mistakes and I say something he says something super. Helpful like “did you not measure?” Or one time he said…. “I thought you knew what you were doing” Ha! Yes. We are still married and he’s still alive. 😂.
Super nice design. Super nice build. And super nice video. And I think it displays a lot of integrity on your part when you actually show your own mistakes. Kudos on you. Well done
Great video!.. best thing that you never see is an actual maker making mistakes and keeping it in the video!!. Dust mask thrown into dust vac!.. priceless 😂 and on the router fence you can get the 20/20 T track different sizes and have a lot more versatility for different size bits and not so much work.. thank you for a great video. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love the table and loved seeing your struggles. At least I'm not alone. I did learn from my table build though, to do shallow passes with the router. If you do it in two or three passes, it's a lot easier to control and much less chance of blowout.
I'm looking to build a new workbench for myself and I think this is just the one. Might narrow it down some as I dont need storage on both side or a built in router table but this was absolutely what I was looking for.
CRIKEY!!!!!!!! Very complete. Very impressive. I wish it was possible to make a living making things, when I was your age. Nights and evenings didn't cut it. Good work. Persevere!
I feel your pain with everything that goes wrong when it goes wrong. It seems like lately in my shop every time I turn around I’m dropping a tool after I sharpen it or the screw. I’m using falls underneath the workbench and I got a climb down under and get it or I cut something wrong cause I’mfixated on building the project but not following the plans. I totally understand and what you’re going through but don’t let it stop you keep building amazing content love watching it thanks.
I just discovered your channel today and subscribed. I love how technical and meticulous you are. I noticed that you pre-drill for every screw it seems? I really love that. Do you have any tips on what drill size to use depending on screw size? I would love any advice on that. Thank you again for your channel, again, I love that you are an engineer and seeing your whole process is just a blast to watch.
I love this format - full project video. I hear lots of folks saying their table saw is the center of their workshop. I love using a well made table saw as much as anyone but I think the true center is a well made work bench - every project touches it and they are indispensable . This one looks like a winner! 👍
Thanks for doing a complete video on this build Travis. I’m getting ready to turn a shed into an epic workshop and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna build a replica of your workbench as the centerpiece of the whole shop. Well done! PS. It was fun hanging out with you at WBC.
If I built a bench like yours scaled down to the size of my workspace it would be like a kitchen chopping board! In fact in my shed that worktop would be called the floor... I love these American videos where it seems everyone's 'home shop' is the size of a Tennis court!
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but wood glue doesn't stick to melamine boards, which is why people use it as forms for epoxy river tables. But at least you did screw the various boards together after gluing!
Small tipp when you use a jointer. You should push the part behind the cutting blade down and not before the blade, because you will lift the piece and it can end not perfectly flat.
Looks great with the only exception being that those handles look like a nightmare! The protruding ends will be snagging tool power cords all the time. I would definitely go with a rounded end design.
I love your videos! I don't do any wood work, but your videos are so entertaining it doesn't matter at all. Looking forward to future videos. How's the building in your back yard (w/ the outdoor television) working out? I thoroughly enjoyed the series on that build.
I subscribed, right after I saw you do the slightly longer half lap, and then cut it down for it to be flush once you had the pieces ready to join up. the amount of times I tried this and ended up being a little too short was annoying, but this approach definitely takes care of it completely
Great job. I actually built a similar bench (not as fancy) for my CNC machine. Under the table, I have a shop vac with a Home Depot Dustopper on a 5 gallon bucket, a pancake compressor for blowing off residual dust and a 5 gallon bucket of coolant (windshield washer fluid) with a pump for the water-cooled spindle and a lot of the same electrical setup. A couple of things you did gave me an "Ah-ha" moment. I've built a lot of cabinets over the years, building the carcasses then putting in the slides later, then the drawers. That was what I planned to do for this table. When I saw what you did, installing the slides, building the boxes, then fitting the boxes into the table, I slapped myself in the head. Duh! Why didn't I think of that? I liked your using the Sharpie for marking the aluminum. I do some work with metal and trying to find DyeChem is not easy nor is it as cheap as a Sharpie. I subscribed and look forward to watching other videos. I can relate to the mistakes, since I've made those and many others. Here's a tip for you. I have done a lot of plastic laminate (Formica style). When using contact cement, I'm sure you know, you get one shot at attaching it. Well, I had a full sheet that I got slightly crooked. It was stuck and $100+ was going down the drain. Looking around my shop, I spotted my favorite solvent - brake cleaner. I squirted it under the edge and peeled the laminate right off. I cleaned off all the cement, reapplied it and stuck it on correctly. Whew!
Nice to see the full detailed version of how you built this as I'm going through making some shop furniture for my garage workshop right now :). OH... also just to mention, for those casters and how they can be a bit of a PITA to adjust (turn the thingy in the middle), I have 2 suggestions for you (although perhaps you've done one of them already as I'm only 8 min. in while writing this). 1. Another channel that used them made what can only be described as a key. It's a about a 6 to 8 inch long piece of MDF / Plywood, and there are teeth cut into one side of it that fit into the notches of the thingy on the caster, and are spaced out accordingly (also make sure the whole key is the same height as the thingy). Then he just pushes or pulls the key across the thingy, the teeth on the key catch the notches on the thingy and rotate it. Voila. 2. This is the option I picked and is far easier IMO. They make a version of that same caster with a built in ratchet!! So instead of a rotating thingy, there's a small ratchet with a direction toggle that works just like a socket wrench! Set it to clockwise / counter-clockwise and then just wiggle it back and forth like a socket wrench and it'll just raise / lower the foot. They also have several sizes of these casters to support more weight, so I got the 4 inch monsters that I needed to support the bench I made for my table saw / router table thing. Each foot can take something like 400lbs I think? Might even be much higher than that. Just found them on Amazon.
cutting slots in aluminum: (1) layout your slot. drill holes at each end of the slot. clamp the aluminum down real tight. use jig saw to cut between the 2 holes. clean up sharp edges with a file. (2) layout your slot. drill end holes. drill more holes between the end holes. cleanup with a file. live to see another day.
Hey, I'm building the workbench. Got the plans from you and so far it's going great. What router bit did you use to cut for the Kreg router lift? Thanks!
So nice to see all your mistakes. We see so many woodworkers present picture perfect videos it makes us feel like we can do some of the same things, even as mere mortals.
I built a 12' workbench with drawers and cupboard doors out of pallet wood. I also covered my garage walls in pallet wood too. With wood walls, you can hang anything, anywhere.
make a stand you can clamp the portable extraction hose to while using the router table for extra dust collection. you can use the t-track as a way of fixing it into position on the table
That router fence looks great for a DIY solution. Seen people like @GetHandsDirty do a lot with colored plywood, but definitely never seen it here in the States. Cool to see if used on a project. Great outcome.
What brand are the big blue clamps you use to cold the big drawers together on the table. Where did you f purchase them. I like that they have the measurements on them to help guid you. And the fact you can use it on the table is cool
Hey Travis, amazing video thanks for sharing and grats on your channel! I’m starting woodworking and wanted to have an idea of what’s the budget for materials and how long did you take to build this from scratch? Just a rough idea would be great. Thanks in advance!
I once took an old "Seed Bin" that came out of an old store, cut it into 2 parts & made 2 x 20ft seed bins from 1 . Made all the little glass bins that seeds were originally in them. This was made into 2 pieces for a large Fan Store that also had candies galore. They put candy in all those bins. Seeing other craftsmen do their thing is always impressive as you can learn from every person. They've all got little tricks of the trade to learn. I only wish we had cameras of my project but it was part of a 2 month long process where we even beat the newer wood to look old -n- worn. This video gives me lots of ideas for the future. Thanks again, peace
I was actually, JUST NOW, watching this build series when this video posted! LOL. When are looking at the new workshop video to come out or other updated videos?
Man your little boy he is so cute very very interesting of your work he want to be like his daddy God bless you and bless your friend thank you for the work good job man too many thumbs up👍👍👍👍👍....
Thanks for the video. I had a question about your dust collection though. Initially your wall mounted unit was the sack style, but then near the end of the video it is changed. I've heard that the sacks tend to still produce a lot of fine dust when used and was wondering, is that is why you changed it?
I am working on this bench currently following along to a T. I have run into an issue with my upper brace install though. They are a 1/4 inch too short. They are measured to the 29.75 as laid out in the plans. Before I cut new braces to fix the issue... is there an issue I may run into by increasing the brace length or maybe I'm missing something else?
Several years ago I built something similar to this. The top is a 1/2 sheet of 4 x 8 Home Depot cheap plywood. Originally I wanted it to be a 1/2 thick piece of butcher block but I thought about the price which was just under 1k at the time. I used a similar caster system but mine have a built in ratcheting mechanism which makes moving the table a breeze. In fact the table is so heavy that I really don't need to rest the table on it's caster pads. But when you do it feels like trying to move a block of granite.
Really cool video. I can tell you put a lot of time and effort into designing so that things would go together smoothly. 1 Piece of small advice I noticed is occasionally you’ll not clear your left hand FULLY when you’re shooting brad nails for joining two perpendicular boards. You should always assume that brad nail will divert from a hidden knot or hard spot and come splintering Up the side of the piece rather than following the intended path. Its a by product that we all pickup as we learn to hold the boards flush when first setting the corners. So remembering to shift your hold away more than a brad length away from the point your shooting into. Only reason I’m even bothering mentioning is cuz I brad nailed my hand to my project doing the very same thing, hope it saves you an injury.
Love this build. Why did you go with the Powertec blast gates though? Have you had a positive experience with these (unlike mine)? I used those exact ones and learned they are impossible to clean when dust gets in the gate slots. I upgraded to metal ones and haven't had a problem since.
I built the workbench almost a year ago and I still look at it in awe. It is a perfect center piece to my shop. I remember searching for ideas before reluctantly watching the original build series. I thought it was going to be way too complex. But when I saw all the features, I immediately purchased the plans. It was a lot of work. But it was totally worth the effort. The design is awesome! As a side note, I also have the same drill press as you. Your tool review on that helped sway my decision to buy it.
Wow very cool! Glad you like it
I would like to see a picture of your table.
I recently built a workbench with casters using the red 3” casters at tractor supply and they’re incredibly stable! I believe it’s because their locking mechanism locks both the wheels and the swiveling mechanism so the casters can’t rotate. Would highly recommend them and they’re big enough that they can roll over extension cords and stuff no problem!
The final appearance of the workbench and the convenience of all peripherals and built-in elements are well worth the effort. You don't need to justify any part of the video about how tough a carpenter you are - for the impatient - just rewind to the end... you will 100% come back and watch it again. Thanks for the magic. your workbench is trully THING!!!
Also watching on 2x speed is always an option
I'm a huge fan of track sawing plywood into smaller chunks rather than struggling with 4x8 sheets on my table saw, but that's partly due to me not having a big stable setup with outfeed and such. Thanks for the video, it was cool to watch all the stuff you crammed into this table.
I bought the shmedium plans and I loved it. I changed them slightly to work for me. I didn't need a router table so I made a 2nd set of drawers. And I don't have a dust extractor so I made a slide out trash can drawers. LOVE IT!!
I will add that I work in a factory maintaining industrial type machinery. We have those same casters on a lot of pieces. They are very easy to raise equipment up and lower down and hold a ton of weight. They make it easy to roll equipment around. Good choice for your bench.
One very cool thing abouthe casters is that you can sewt everything level. I have them on a pool table I built. Sometimes in woodwork a level surface reference can be very helpful in glue ups and measuring
I don't normally comment on TH-cam videos, nor do I usually watch hour long videos, but I've got to say that this was probably the best TH-cam video I've ever watched. The bench is immaculate, you did a fantastic job!
I can’t see a fault in your comment.
Seems like you have not seen very much YT videos then if you honestly think this is the best of them.
Love everything about your videos and projects. Your attention to detail, your "sickness" 😀, your mistakes, and the production value. You do great work and I'm glad you're sharing it all with us.
The moment that mask went into the dust collector made my day XD stuff like this happens to me a lot but its like the universe giving you a free comedian to make life fun.
Man do I appreciate those "left in" screw-ups. I make mistakes like that so much. But most people edit them out. Thank you for showing your mistake! The table is awesome btw.
Very cool project! Can’t wait to make one for my shop. Your main problem on the tear-out when you made the first insert track cut was that you were going the wrong direction with the router. You’re supposed to go left to right against the fence, and subsequent cuts were much smoother and safer.
The dust mask into to the vac. Priceless.
Hell, I'll wear a dust mask to bed.
The best time to wear a dust mask is yes.
Thanks for leaving in the mistakes. I don't feel quite so bad now about all of mine. I did lol when you sucked up your mask into the dust collection. Looks like one of my classic issues. :)
Loving this bench, I may make myself one. From my background in electrical, my only suggestion is circuit breakers. Each of your power strips should have one built in, and TEST it (cheap chinesium may advertise but not include it). Reason is, you remember the amerpage restrictions now but how about 5 years from now? Overload inside wood shop furniture is a great fire starter.
Watching you use the router in the wrong direction, then clamping on a piece to eliminate blow out was worth the price of admission. 😊
Not busting your balls. Router bit facing up, right to left. Router bit down, left to right.
And....don't make that deep of a cut in a single pass. Rule of thumb that I've heard is to take a bite only 1/2 of the diameter of the router bit. So, if it's a 1/2" wide bit, only take 1/4" of material per pass. It looked like you were having to work hard to push the router through the material. You should never have to put any muscle into your router cuts. Something is wrong if you have to work hard with a router. It could be dangerous. Love your videos. You have great ideas. Your finished product is amazing. Keep up the great work.
.. and also, the way he carries boards is disturbing. It's all fine and well now but 15 years from now he'll wish he used a rope sling and a straight back.
Dam TH-cam is rough
router bit facing up, riht to left and down for left to right is not accurate. depends on which side of the wood your on. that being said, if your routing the face towards you and the router bit is down, then yes , it is in fact left to right. and thats what he was doing. look at the position of the router.
however his pass should be no more than half the width of the bit hes using. youl;l break pieces of the wood right off if you try taking off a half inch with a quarter inch bit
I THOROUGHLY ENJOY your videos, Travis. I just found you again AFTER YEARS of not seeing you. You still make me laugh OUT LOUD! You're still amazing at everything you do. Great workbench!
4:05 LOL I'd swear that jointer MAKES more shavings out of thin air just running. The fountain coming off that thing in between passes is astounding.
Just finished the shmedium version of this table a few weeks ago. Great plans
Just a note for the future, and for your fingers, never wear gloves while using power tools that spin. You do NOT want to know what can happen if, God forbid, something snags the glove while you are moving a board through a jointer.
I have a glove sitting on my table saw to remind me. I got very lucky and only got a minor cut.
Gloves are required 100% of the time in my trade. While I can see where you are getting at with this comment. As long as you are wearing the appropriate gloves that are a good fit for your hands and are not loose as long as you pay attention you will be fine.
Yea its always fine until its not@@MeatUrMakerZ
@@MeatUrMakerZ Maaaaaybe nitrile or latex gloves.... something that would rip easily but work-style gloves is an emphatic NEVER
My friend almost died and broke his arm in 27 places using a metal lathe whilst wearing gloves.
I appreciate how you made your sponsor ads and your “like and subscribe" less intrusive. I usually skip these, but these were more palatable. Good job.
This was great and very genuine. I loved the part where the dust mask got sucked up in the dust collector. Very entertaining. All I can say is I hope to be this good one day..
Hilarious (39:30). I love that you keep the mistakes in your videos.
Probably the best work bench EVER!! Seen a lot on TH-cam, this one is aesthetically pleasing and SUPER efficient. Everything has a place... NICE JOB!!
The table saw being the exact height of your bench is a blessing. That is a take for granted point in your video. I have a bunch of board buddies to help me with big pieces like 4x8 plywood. They are adjustable roller stands.
I’ve always enjoyed your content even though I don’t own a 3d printer. I always watch because your videos are well done and I think I can always learn something. After watching this I think I do miss some of your older content that were shop projects. I design all my own stuff so I rarely purchase plans but I definitely glean bits of info and ideas from videos like this. I guess I’m trying to say I appreciate ALL your content but at the same time hope you mix more stuff like this back into it.
This is the first video of yours i have seen.. im very impressed you have earned my subscription with all the tips and tricks to make my life easier 😂😂
Building this now. Trying to come up with a plan to make drawers instead of organizer drawers. So far it’s not a bad build.
This is awesome. I'm currently working with a contractor to build my combination wood shop, electronics lab, and music studio... so yeah, I'll be needing a little flexibility. I've built custom benches for work areas in the past, which always did better than off-the-shelf stuff. So I'll be building some custom and, in many case, movable benches for this space over the next 2 or so years. Thanks for doing this! Haven't decided if I'll use this, though it's pretty on-target, but if nothing else, you've already improved on my previous bench-building designs. Thanks!
Workbench build videos on youtube are a dime a dozen.
Yours is worth its weight in gold.
I should have known a 1hr video would have a lot more design savvy and build quality than a 15m video... but now I know.
Brilliant. If you productized this, I'd buy one. I wish I had the skill and stamina to build one :)
I got the plans from you for the medium bench. I did make some modifications to it, such as increase the overhang that butts up to my table saw ( it is an older Craftsman with an exposed motor. The overhang protects the motor from wood dropping on it. ) The table top is 3 each 1/2 inch plywood sheets that I laminated together. The frame is reclaimed 2x4's from a neighbor's house remodel. The overall look is white oak trimmed in black walnut. I did go with the Jessem router lift and I purchased a Power Tec fence for the router. Thanks. I look forward to more videos from you.
It has been such a treasure to watch you and listen to your dialogue . I really enjoyed myself. Thanks for such content.
Brilliant - I'd love a workshop and workbench like that, and your level of design and skill leave me in awe. Well done that man!!
Only thing I’d change is to glue a top veneer like melamine instead of sealed MDF. But great plans regardless!
I have a sanding area in mine that simply has some holes connected to the dust collection so there is a fine drsft
Was about to suggest that. I would raise the maple edging by the thickness of the laminate and level the edging to be smooth.
For marking aluminum, I use a DA (Duel Action orbital sander) to polish it up so you can see you markings instead of using blueing. After all drilling and machining is done DA it again for a nice finish, and if you want to make it really shiny use polishing compound and polishing wheel for a Mirror finish.
Well Jason, you got me hooked. I got your plans for the floor and wall cabinets and that went surprisingly well for my experience level. I am currently in the middle of building another cabinet for my wife's craft room. Going pretty well but I struggle with keeping plywood flat. As soon as I finish this cabinet I intend to replace my bench. Got to get your plans. Thanks for the great videos. Yours are always very entertaining and just the right amount of talking and keep showing the oopsies. Then I have only me to blame when I do the same. Stay the same...
I didn't see any shavings either...great dust collection! ;)
I'm glad this build series is in a single video. If there's one thing I learned between you and Tamar of 3x3 Customs, it's to glue your boards first, then trim them to final size. Doing it the other way around is messy and potentially causes trouble (boards not being square or centered after the glue dries).
Just learning. Starting with free stuff like pallets. This will be a job for 8 -10 years from now. Awesome build!
Great video. I love it.
I have a 2x4 workbench I made about 12 years ago. I’ll never get rid of it. But it’s just very basic. Ana white plans I think. A top…. And a shelf on the bottom. The top has been beat up a lot. I’ve been trying to decide how I’ll use it as I’m reconfiguring my shop. I know I’m gonna replace the top. I think adding a bank of drawers like you did to this. But I hadn’t thought of adding a router lift into it. That may be a really good plan. Thanks for sharing.
I can relate to all the issues you had during the build. It definitely makes me feel more…. Normal. LOL My husband is not a woodworker. Whenever I make mistakes and I say something he says something super. Helpful like “did you not measure?” Or one time he said…. “I thought you knew what you were doing” Ha! Yes. We are still married and he’s still alive. 😂.
Super nice design. Super nice build. And super nice video. And I think it displays a lot of integrity on your part when you actually show your own mistakes. Kudos on you. Well done
Great video!.. best thing that you never see is an actual maker making mistakes and keeping it in the video!!. Dust mask thrown into dust vac!.. priceless 😂 and on the router fence you can get the 20/20 T track different sizes and have a lot more versatility for different size bits and not so much work.. thank you for a great video. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I keep wanting to build a good table like that. One of these days hopefully i will find the time.
Love the table and loved seeing your struggles. At least I'm not alone. I did learn from my table build though, to do shallow passes with the router. If you do it in two or three passes, it's a lot easier to control and much less chance of blowout.
I'm looking to build a new workbench for myself and I think this is just the one. Might narrow it down some as I dont need storage on both side or a built in router table but this was absolutely what I was looking for.
Love Chester funny character 😂 great addition to the channel and your team keep the videos coming really enjoyed this episode great Sunday watch
CRIKEY!!!!!!!! Very complete. Very impressive. I wish it was possible to make a living making things, when I was your age. Nights and evenings didn't cut it. Good work. Persevere!
I feel your pain with everything that goes wrong when it goes wrong. It seems like lately in my shop every time I turn around I’m dropping a tool after I sharpen it or the screw. I’m using falls underneath the workbench and I got a climb down under and get it or I cut something wrong cause I’mfixated on building the project but not following the plans. I totally understand and what you’re going through but don’t let it stop you keep building amazing content love watching it thanks.
I just discovered your channel today and subscribed. I love how technical and meticulous you are. I noticed that you pre-drill for every screw it seems? I really love that. Do you have any tips on what drill size to use depending on screw size? I would love any advice on that. Thank you again for your channel, again, I love that you are an engineer and seeing your whole process is just a blast to watch.
I love this format - full project video. I hear lots of folks saying their table saw is the center of their workshop. I love using a well made table saw as much as anyone but I think the true center is a well made work bench - every project touches it and they are indispensable . This one looks like a winner! 👍
I want one of these for my quilt studio! Only the sawdust would be fabric scraps!😉 Great Job! Thanks for sharing.🥰
Thanks for doing a complete video on this build Travis. I’m getting ready to turn a shed into an epic workshop and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna build a replica of your workbench as the centerpiece of the whole shop. Well done!
PS. It was fun hanging out with you at WBC.
Sounds awesome! Great meeting you as well
How do you get such good (straight, solid, etc) 2x4s? Even if I pick through the piles and piles I can't get more than a few 2x4s like that.
If I built a bench like yours scaled down to the size of my workspace it would be like a kitchen chopping board! In fact in my shed that worktop would be called the floor... I love these American videos where it seems everyone's 'home shop' is the size of a Tennis court!
only the rich have space like this... my workshop is a 6x9 shed
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but wood glue doesn't stick to melamine boards, which is why people use it as forms for epoxy river tables. But at least you did screw the various boards together after gluing!
Small tipp when you use a jointer. You should push the part behind the cutting blade down and not before the blade, because you will lift the piece and it can end not perfectly flat.
Looks great with the only exception being that those handles look like a nightmare! The protruding ends will be snagging tool power cords all the time. I would definitely go with a rounded end design.
I feel like the 2x4s take up a lot of usable space. So far. I built everything with just plywood like the miter station.
I love your videos! I don't do any wood work, but your videos are so entertaining it doesn't matter at all. Looking forward to future videos. How's the building in your back yard (w/ the outdoor television) working out? I thoroughly enjoyed the series on that build.
I subscribed, right after I saw you do the slightly longer half lap, and then cut it down for it to be flush once you had the pieces ready to join up. the amount of times I tried this and ended up being a little too short was annoying, but this approach definitely takes care of it completely
Great job. I actually built a similar bench (not as fancy) for my CNC machine. Under the table, I have a shop vac with a Home Depot Dustopper on a 5 gallon bucket, a pancake compressor for blowing off residual dust and a 5 gallon bucket of coolant (windshield washer fluid) with a pump for the water-cooled spindle and a lot of the same electrical setup.
A couple of things you did gave me an "Ah-ha" moment. I've built a lot of cabinets over the years, building the carcasses then putting in the slides later, then the drawers. That was what I planned to do for this table. When I saw what you did, installing the slides, building the boxes, then fitting the boxes into the table, I slapped myself in the head. Duh! Why didn't I think of that? I liked your using the Sharpie for marking the aluminum. I do some work with metal and trying to find DyeChem is not easy nor is it as cheap as a Sharpie. I subscribed and look forward to watching other videos. I can relate to the mistakes, since I've made those and many others.
Here's a tip for you. I have done a lot of plastic laminate (Formica style). When using contact cement, I'm sure you know, you get one shot at attaching it. Well, I had a full sheet that I got slightly crooked. It was stuck and $100+ was going down the drain. Looking around my shop, I spotted my favorite solvent - brake cleaner. I squirted it under the edge and peeled the laminate right off. I cleaned off all the cement, reapplied it and stuck it on correctly. Whew!
Nice to see the full detailed version of how you built this as I'm going through making some shop furniture for my garage workshop right now :). OH... also just to mention, for those casters and how they can be a bit of a PITA to adjust (turn the thingy in the middle), I have 2 suggestions for you (although perhaps you've done one of them already as I'm only 8 min. in while writing this).
1. Another channel that used them made what can only be described as a key. It's a about a 6 to 8 inch long piece of MDF / Plywood, and there are teeth cut into one side of it that fit into the notches of the thingy on the caster, and are spaced out accordingly (also make sure the whole key is the same height as the thingy). Then he just pushes or pulls the key across the thingy, the teeth on the key catch the notches on the thingy and rotate it. Voila.
2. This is the option I picked and is far easier IMO. They make a version of that same caster with a built in ratchet!! So instead of a rotating thingy, there's a small ratchet with a direction toggle that works just like a socket wrench! Set it to clockwise / counter-clockwise and then just wiggle it back and forth like a socket wrench and it'll just raise / lower the foot. They also have several sizes of these casters to support more weight, so I got the 4 inch monsters that I needed to support the bench I made for my table saw / router table thing. Each foot can take something like 400lbs I think? Might even be much higher than that. Just found them on Amazon.
incredible job. To top things off you chose a nice color for the bench.
Amazing! I'm curious to see if I can eventually build a worktop out of Corian with dovetail channels for the OTORO dovetail T-tracks.
The gray color on the workbench is absolutely great looking.
cutting slots in aluminum:
(1) layout your slot. drill holes at each end of the slot. clamp the aluminum down real tight. use jig saw to cut between the 2 holes. clean up sharp edges with a file.
(2) layout your slot. drill end holes. drill more holes between the end holes. cleanup with a file.
live to see another day.
Hey, I'm building the workbench. Got the plans from you and so far it's going great. What router bit did you use to cut for the Kreg router lift? Thanks!
Awesome build man gave me some ideas for sure
This was a quality watch, excellent video and I’ve subscribed. Loved your humour and your work and video are great.
A good quality window squeegee will help when creating a large laminate, and you will use less glue. Great project!
So nice to see all your mistakes. We see so many woodworkers present picture perfect videos it makes us feel like we can do some of the same things, even as mere mortals.
Really liked the video! The music choices, not so much but I get the why 😂
I built a 12' workbench with drawers and cupboard doors out of pallet wood. I also covered my garage walls in pallet wood too. With wood walls, you can hang anything, anywhere.
This was so funny to watch. I love your style of instruction. You make it fun and interesting.
make a stand you can clamp the portable extraction hose to while using the router table for extra dust collection.
you can use the t-track as a way of fixing it into position on the table
Hey, you should get one of those dust collection attachments for that chop saw. I saw a guy on youtube who 3D prints them.
That router fence looks great for a DIY solution. Seen people like @GetHandsDirty do a lot with colored plywood, but definitely never seen it here in the States. Cool to see if used on a project. Great outcome.
What brand are the big blue clamps you use to cold the big drawers together on the table. Where did you f purchase them. I like that they have the measurements on them to help guid you. And the fact you can use it on the table is cool
Hey Travis, amazing video thanks for sharing and grats on your channel! I’m starting woodworking and wanted to have an idea of what’s the budget for materials and how long did you take to build this from scratch? Just a rough idea would be great. Thanks in advance!
great job! nice looking bench, a smaller spray tip would have been ideal when painting, the Graco's are brilliant though
Did you catch that at 14:52 when you put the first screw in you separated the MDF from the Plywood, all in all great build good job!
Great design and execution on the bench, well thought out and built. Subscribed.
How's your 3d printing farm going?
I once took an old "Seed Bin" that came out of an old store, cut it into 2 parts & made 2 x 20ft seed bins from 1 . Made all the little
glass bins that seeds were originally in them. This was made into 2 pieces for a large Fan Store that also had candies galore. They
put candy in all those bins. Seeing other craftsmen do their thing is always impressive as you can learn from every person. They've
all got little tricks of the trade to learn. I only wish we had cameras of my project but it was part of a 2 month long process where
we even beat the newer wood to look old -n- worn. This video gives me lots of ideas for the future. Thanks again, peace
Im currently watching essential craftsman build a work bench. I rarely just use one persons ideas so i love seeing a more modern take on a work bench
Already bought the plans for the mega table saw bench and I am gathering materials for it. What kind of plywood did you use for the build?
I was actually, JUST NOW, watching this build series when this video posted! LOL.
When are looking at the new workshop video to come out or other updated videos?
Man your little boy he is so cute very very interesting of your work he want to be like his daddy God bless you and bless your friend thank you for the work good job man too many thumbs up👍👍👍👍👍....
Very nice design and you make an entertaining video. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed this as much as I did the first time. Can't wait for your next project!
You did a great job on this workbench. I love how versatile it is. All the different functions and storage. Great job.
Awesome build, one day when I have the space this bench will be the bench for me to build. Great video, subbed!
Thanks for the video. I had a question about your dust collection though. Initially your wall mounted unit was the sack style, but then near the end of the video it is changed. I've heard that the sacks tend to still produce a lot of fine dust when used and was wondering, is that is why you changed it?
You have to anodize that aluminum on the fence to match the tracks...for shop greatness sake!
nice job there if i was in the market for a timber working bench then looks simple enough to knock out Cheers
I am working on this bench currently following along to a T. I have run into an issue with my upper brace install though. They are a 1/4 inch too short. They are measured to the 29.75 as laid out in the plans. Before I cut new braces to fix the issue... is there an issue I may run into by increasing the brace length or maybe I'm missing something else?
Several years ago I built something similar to this. The top is a 1/2 sheet of 4 x 8 Home Depot cheap plywood. Originally I wanted it to be a 1/2 thick piece of butcher block but I thought about the price which was just under 1k at the time.
I used a similar caster system but mine have a built in ratcheting mechanism which makes moving the table a breeze. In fact the table is so heavy that I really don't need to rest the table on it's caster pads. But when you do it feels like trying to move a block of granite.
Really cool video. I can tell you put a lot of time and effort into designing so that things would go together smoothly.
1 Piece of small advice I noticed is occasionally you’ll not clear your left hand FULLY when you’re shooting brad nails for joining two perpendicular boards. You should always assume that brad nail will divert from a hidden knot or hard spot and come splintering Up the side of the piece rather than following the intended path.
Its a by product that we all pickup as we learn to hold the boards flush when first setting the corners. So remembering to shift your hold away more than a brad length away from the point your shooting into. Only reason I’m even bothering mentioning is cuz I brad nailed my hand to my project doing the very same thing, hope it saves you an injury.
How did you control the vacuum on the router box ? Seems like it was always on!
Great video!! I did have one question, Why did you opt for the MDF as the top face as opposed the plywood? Just curious.
Love this build. Why did you go with the Powertec blast gates though? Have you had a positive experience with these (unlike mine)? I used those exact ones and learned they are impossible to clean when dust gets in the gate slots. I upgraded to metal ones and haven't had a problem since.
Would there be an easy way to mod the plans in order to hook up external dust collection vs the smaller unit you used?