For the last 30 years I have used a bench I threw together using a few lengths of hemlock and a set of legs from another project I had lying around. It was far too low and the vice too small. Our decision to establish a studio seemed the ideal opportunity/excuse to finally build a new bench,

I’ve suffered from “Bench Envy” for many years: a brief trawl of the internet will produce numerous images of beautiful benches with multiple types of vices, dog holes, inbuilt drawers and cupboards. I, however, wanted a simple bench with a single vice, but it would need to be sturdy and heavy/robust. I chose to use Paul Sellers' design. 

https://paulsellers.com/paul-sellers-workbench-plans/

Paul is a vastly experienced woodworker who specialises in the use of hand tools rather than machines to make wooden furniture and many other things. I’ve long admired Paul’s skills and share his desire to prioritise hand tools over machines. I intend my own workshop to be machine free as far as I can in order to reduce noise and dust generation. 

After completing my courses at Edinburgh Open Workshop (see stool and box project), I returned to hire a workspace for a day and use their machines to cut and joint the components for the bench.

I used some material left over from the hut project (C16 CLS),  which I had previously glued into larger sections more appropriate for the bench top and legs etc. I also used an old 9” vice which had been gathering dust in a corner for several years. This required a full strip down and clean, but once reassembled and lubricated it was ready to put into use.

The bench is now built and I’m very happy with the results. Predictably, it's not 100% finished - I still need to plane the bench top smooth and flat, and give everything a coat of oil. But despite that I’m already putting it to good use and it's certainly helping to make all the other projects easier.