Hey guys. How's it going? Today I’m going to be showing you how I made
this workbench and how you can make it using just a few tools. Stick around to see how we made it.
This is going to be one of two workbenches that I’m going to make just like this. This
one's going to be done using all hand tools, and the next one I’ll use the CNC machine just
to show how a different construction can be. So I started out here with some poplar runners
from a pallet that I’m breaking down using the PR-1040c blade. You can even easily use
something like two by fours that are already pre-cut. And then I’m just using the table
saw to cross cut those using the 80 tooth fine trim blade. This leaves a really nice clean cut.
And these guys are all cross cut and ready to go. I’m going to use half laps to join these pieces
together basically that means I need to remove half the material at the right thickness so
that everything can join together correctly. So we have everything marked out I’m setting
my circular saw to the correct depth and then I’ll use a square offset to edge up against that
shoulder. So I didn't get it right the first time, so I moved it over just a little bit,
and the second time was still a little bit off, so I moved it over a third
time for a final cut, and it looks perfect. If you love this type of content be sure to
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We can get the rest of that material moved. So I’m just using the kerf of the saw
to make the wood a little bit weaker so that we can break it. So this is one way to do that using
a circular saw and then I’ll just take the mallet and break those off. I’ll use a hand plane just to
clean that up a little bit and then I’ll do the final clean up with just a chisel. So everything
is ready to go here and we have a perfectly clean half lap. You could do the same exact thing
on the other pieces to get the same result. Instead I’m going to use the table saw here. Using
the 658060c Prestige Dado Stack and this is going to fly through this material quite a bit quicker
for the remaining half laps that need to be cut. So I use the miter sled. this is the jessum
Miter Excel 2 gauge -we do sell that on our website - to set that length
and we got it perfectly on the first cut. So I removed the stop and then cut the rest
of that there and you can see that they both join together perfectly clean and they are a nice fit.
So either way you do it you get a great result. So I did the same thing you can see the process
here on the next one we'll just flip that stop down and then cut the remainder of
the waste material using that dado stack. So with all of those joints cut we have a assembly
that needs to be glued up. So I’m just using some Titebond II wood glue and clamping everything
together. There's always going to be a little bit of squeeze out so I use a straw to help remove
that. Basically it conforms to the corner and gets in there and removes all of that excess glue. So
that's a really easy way to get that done in the corners, and you can see it's perfectly square.
After the glue is dry, we got all the clamps removed, and just used a chisel to help clean
up the excess glue squeeze out, and then I just used a sander to sand everything nice and smooth.
It's time to work on the connecting pieces. I just have some two by fours that I cut down
to the right size to make the rest of the base. I’ve got a cheaper Kreg jig here. This is just one
that's about $30 or so and it will work for this sort of thing. But I also have a larger Kreg jig
that definitely makes this a little bit easier of a process and I’ll use that for the remainder of
those. So you definitely don't need the expensive option. It just makes things a little bit quicker.
So we got all the pocket holes drilled on there. It’s a quick easy way to join
everything together and it is very strong. So I’m joining everything on the longer pieces
here and creating basically a shelf. So we'll get that flipped over onto the other one and then get
it screwed down as well using the pocket holes. And we created another one of these as well,
that way we can get it attached to the end caps. So all of these are screwed with two and a
half inch long screws, using the 55227 no-mar countersink to drive those below
the surface. So I did the other one the exact same way. We got everything all countersunk.
I’ll get it removed from the bench and set down on the floor. I didn't have
the ceiling height to attach the other piece as well. So we can get it flipped back over
and we will attach the other one the exact same way. This is a really strong way to do this
and it will last quite a long time. I don't like gluing projects like this because things always
change in the workshop and you never know when you're going to need to disassemble something.
So I got the casters installed. These are some really nice five-inch casters that'll roll really
well throughout the entire shop. The base is now done so we can turn our attention to the top.
The top is going to be a Paulk style workbench. I’m using the PR-1040c 40 tooth combo blade
to break down this plywood. So I have my top and bottom pieces there.
Then using the Rockler Material Mate cart we can get the next pieces loaded over to the
saw. And so these will be the stretchers that will go across the length of the workbench.
So I got those all ripped down. The micro jig gripper definitely helps
with keeping things nice and safe on the table saw. We do sell that as well.
And this is a template material that I’ll use to make the holes of the Paulk workbench.
Those holes are really nice as they allow you to put all the things that you're going
to be using inside of there, rather than cluttering up the top of the workbench.
So I’m going to lay out my templates using a few different measuring tools and a compass
based on the dimensions that are laid out in the Paulk plans. I did purchase the plans for this.
It's a really great workbench setup. And I’ve had it before and absolutely love it.
So I’m using a jigsaw to cut everything out and using a straight edge here to reference up against
that way this cut is perfectly straight, doesn't need any sort of sanding or anything like that.
Do the same thing on the other side and then just get close to the line here on the radius
cuts. And we can just use a file to file back to that line. This is one way of doing this,
and it definitely is a easy way to do that with very minimal tools,
but the other way to do this -- I did the same thing on the larger
piece and left a little bit more space there that way it didn't accidentally cut over the line.
-- is using an oscillating spindle sander. Oscillating spindle sanders make really quick work
of this and allow you to sand right up to that line really really easily as you can see here.
With a lot of pieces to do having templates make things really easy so we can get that traced out
and then we'll use the jigsaw to cut out the remainder of the material.
Again this is a different jigsaw. It's a more expensive one, so it
does work a little bit faster, has dust collection and stuff like that built in,
but the regular jigsaw will work as well. I used the larger template for the stretcher
pieces and got everything cut the same way. So using the template now we can get that all clamped
down and then I’ll use the 45366-3TS three-flute pattern bit to follow the top. The bearing rides
along that template and basically trims everything flush to that template. So that's a really easy
way to do all of these and definitely speeds up the process making sure that they are perfectly
aligned and perfectly the same. So we did that on all of those
pieces there and then I did the exact same thing on the longer stretcher pieces as well.
Using the 49527 quarter-inch radius round-over I’ll soften all of the edges of
all of the parts for the holes. So I did that on both sides just to smooth things over and
make sure that everything is nice to the touch. So I showed you how to do pocket holes before
using the two different Kreg jigs; well this is a Kreg foreman. Essentially it's the same
thing as all the other ones you just pull a lever, and this is definitely the quickest way
to get a bunch of pocket holes done - which is definitely nice because
there were a ton of them on this workbench. So that part is done. All the pocket holes are
ready to go, and we can get everything installed. So one of the reasons this workbench is so strong
is because it basically has a torsion box style with all of those pieces in there
allowing it to remain perfectly flat and it's a very strong workbench setup.
So we got all of those done and then we can install the top of the workbench. Actually
this is the bottom. So I used a square to mark out where all of those pieces are
and that way I can go through, flush everything up, and then use the 55227 no-mar countersink to
attach it from the bottom. It's really difficult to get in there with the pocket screws since you
have to have a longer bit, but this attaches really nicely and we'll get it flipped over and
attach that to the actual base of the workbench. So I got everything flushed up on the back
as when we do the second workbench we want to be able to connect them to make a full
four by eight workbench. So I used two and a half inch screws driven into the frame
and it's going absolutely nowhere. So this is all done and the last thing that we
want to do is add some formica to the top of this. This was the only size I could buy it in so I do
need to trim it down just a little bit. I’ll do that using the track saw. I’ve got the MD160-565
blade in there. Does a really nice job cutting through this. That's a non-ferrous metal and
plastic cutting blade and definitely left a nice clean cut on there without any chipping at all. So
we did the same thing along the length of it. I’ll get it moved over to the garage area and then I’ll
use contact cement to actually attach it. I mixed it up really well, poured it into
a container, and then we'll use a roller to spread everything on. So you do a nice
thin layer there and then we'll move it over to another area to dry and then I’ll apply the exact
same stuff to the top of the workbench. After 15 minutes it's dry to the touch
and we can get that applied on there. I used some PVC to help keep it off of the workbench
until I’m ready for it, moved it over and got it installed. So I removed one piece of the PVC
and then applied some hand pressure there to start applying it to the workbench.
So the pressure basically permanently attaches it and then I’ll just use a laminate roller to apply
a ton more pressure than I can by hand. I removed those pieces of PVC as we went along and got it
all attached down using the laminate roller like I said this applies a ton of pressure and that's how
the contact cement works, is through pressure. So I got that all done and then it's time to
get it flush trimmed to the actual workbench. I installed the 47150 this is a no file flush
trim bit. So it has a small radius on the top that you could see sticking out of the router
that files over that edge for you so you don't have to go back with a file. This stuff is
extremely sharp without that, and this makes it really nice to the touch. It did a great
job throughout the entire workbench and left an edge that requires absolutely no work at all.
I’ll just quickly install a shelf on the bottom. We'll end up putting cabinets here but for now a
shelf will do. I always like to try new finishes on projects like shop project type pieces,
so we just started selling this Walrus Oil Furniture Butter so I figured it'd be a great
opportunity to try it on this workbench. It goes on nice and smooth and looks really nice as well.
It doesn't give a yellow tint to the wood at all it just brings out that natural color of
the wood. So I definitely really like the way that this stuff works. Essentially you just wipe it on
and after 24 hours you can buff it off. It even made the two by fours look really nice as well.
So it's been 24 hours just buffed that off and there wasn't a ton left it soaked into the wood
really nicely and it definitely left that buttery smooth finish. Absolutely love the way that this
workbench turned out hopefully you guys enjoyed seeing it all come together definitely let us know
what you guys think in the comments and we'll catch you guys back out here in the next one.
Thank you guys so much for watching. If you love this type of content be
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