Plywood Workbench

The completion of any project should always be exciting but when it’s your workbench there is something really special and unique about it.

Paul is now on the last few steps of completing the construction of the bench itself. He starts this episode by cutting and fitting the wellboard.

Paul kicks off this episode by attaching the apron to the leg frames. He then continues to complete the next step by gluing the bench top to the apron. Once this is done Paul works on fixing the bench top to the bearers by screwing it into place. Paul then finishes this episode off by fixing the supporting rails for the wellboard into place.

The leg frame joinery is a very precise fit and things can go wrong if you are not experienced with how to deal with what we call glue freeze. One of Paul’s leg frames starts to stick but Paul explains throughout the glue up exactly how he deals with stubborn assemblies for a successful outcome…

We’ll kick off this episode by getting our legs into shape, then see if we are on track with the fit of the rails. Finally, we’ll bring the components together in a test assembly.

In this video Paul addresses the importance of aligning the shoulder lines of the rails as he glues and assembles both legs and rails in preparation for developing the leg frames. As it is with solid wood mortise and tenon joinery, the shoulders to the tenons are critical to the resistance of lateral pressures exerted…

Paul takes you through the first stages of cutting the plywood to create sizes that are easier to manage. He then rips through the panels using the bandsaw and planes the edges. He repeats this method until he has done all of the panels. Lastly, Paul moves on to gluing up and screwing his workbench top.

Paul has come up with an alternative workbench design that matches his original for utility, stability and durability, but which can be made using a bandsaw, plywood and an ingenious approach to joinery.