Lesson 18
Workbench
A workbench is one of the most important tools in any woodworkers
shop. I can hear some of you saying, “Tool, I never thought of a
workbench as a tool,” but that’s exactly what it is. Webster’s definition
of a tool is “anything that serves in the manner of a tool”, and a
workbench sure does that!Just look back on all the projects that we’ve built in this book up until
this point. Our workbench is used in every single one. I’ll bet you’re
saying, “Then why didn’t we build this first?” That would have made
sense if we had the skills in the beginning to build a workbench. But we
needed to spend more time working with our tools and getting the hang
of using them before we tackled a project like this. But I know at this
point in your woodworking that youhave what it takes, so let’s get
started.
Workbenches come in all shapes and
sizes. One of the advantages of
building our own is that we can
make it to suit our needs. One of the
most important things to consider
when building a workbench is the
proper height of the work surface. If
what you’re going to be doing with
your workbench is sawing,
hammering, measuring, etc, like
we’ve been doing through out this
book, then here is a good way to find
your ideal work surface height.
Stand with your arm straight down