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The swiss army knife of workbenches

8045 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Joeb41, 
Chris Curl
The new-fangled bench has been called the swiss army knife of workbenches. I built one recently, but I tweaked it a little to suit my desires for it.

It is 8 feet long, 30" wide, and 36" high.

The main differences in mine are the way it is constructed, and the t-track.

I made much beefier legs for it, and have a 2x10 apron along the front. these upgrades give it more strength, weight and stiffness.

The use of an apron for added structure came from Paul Sellers, It gives it the structure a bench needs, along with providing a place for the holes for the front vises, without giving up space below for storage. I also used a wedge technique from Paul Sellers for securing the legs in such a way that it can be taken apart and put back together easily, without sacrificing stiffness.

I also took a cue from Bernie and added t-track.

It is easily the most versatile bench I have ever had.
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M
Chris;

Could I ask how you attached the apron (Upside down L attachments on outside of bench) to maintain strength for clamping and holding?

I'm wanting to do pretty much the same thing to my workbench. I built mine 24" x 8', and pretty much within the first couple of times I have used it I found it not to be wide enough. Adding an apron like yours would solve my issues. I am thinking that I could add a 12" apron on both sides making my bench 48" x 8'

Also for your T-Tracks, did you work to get them perfectly square with each other so that you could use them as slides as well as for clamping, or are they strictly for clamping?

How did you attach them to maintain strength for clamping without fear of them pulling out from the wood below them?
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