Sunday 15 January 2012

A Woodwork Bench for Beginners

I was given a link to the 'ever-ready' YouTube site. The link directed me to
a video that describes the building of an inexpensive, yet sturdy, pine and plywood workbench; a 'proper-job', ideal for a beginner.

The video does assume ownership of basic power tools, but I believe the bench could be built with basic hand-tools. Hand-held machines would just make the job easier and quicker. If you bought-in ready prepared timber, and made this bench with just hand-tools, then I suppose it might take you ten to fourteen days, assuming you work just in your evenings and at weekends.

If you are without a bench to start with, then no problem. Make the top first, and then put this onto a pair of trestles, to work from, whilst building the under-frame. If you don't have trestles, buy two pairs of those metal angled-brackets that take 4 x 2 timbers, to make a temporary pair of saw-horses/trestles. Then to hold stuff down buy or borrow some good sized 'G' cramps and maybe a couple of sash cramps. Where there's a will there's a way; not very original but true. So if you really do want and need a workbench check out the links at the foot of my blog homepage. Alan Holtham's link is at the top.