Cherry trestle table

Comment

Comment by Ken Darga on October 4, 2012 at 9:01pm

Nice looking functional work center.

Comment by Michael DeMattos on October 4, 2012 at 10:22am

Thanks so much for the reply.  I love that you built this out of plywood and teak.  I have a pair of Festool MFT's and I love them...but they simply can't take the type of beating that comes from hand cutting mortises, sawing tenons of running the belt sander.  They're perfect for glue-ups, cross cutting, and assembly, but I need something much more stable and I'm unwilling to spend several thousand dollars to buy or build a "real" cabinetmakers bench.  Seeing people doing great work on homemade benches inspires me to make my own.  I was thinking of building a bench out of pine pallet boards.  I have a friend who works at a construction site and he hooked me up with a ton of 2x4's.  I must have forty boards.  I think the american pine will be too soft for the bench top, but it should be plenty sturdy enough for the base and side.  I may just lay a laminated plywood top on the solid pine wood base.  Still trying to figure out the bench dogs, but your kreg clamps are a great idea.  I set one in my MFT and like it very much.  Again, I really appreciate the insight.  Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.  I will be watching for more photos of you latest projects.  Take care,  Mike 

Comment by thetoolnut on October 4, 2012 at 7:39am

Here are some pictures of my bench, i also fitted a set of rockler bench castors which really add a lot of flexability because of my limited floor space. I also use my bench as an outfeed table for my tablesaw and my planer. The bench is 40'' high, 79-5/8'' long and 34-11/16'' wide. I hope this will come in handy to  the rest of the Kreg community.

Comment by thetoolnut on October 4, 2012 at 4:53am

Hello Micheal, how are thing? Thanks for your positive comment, they are always appreciated. I built the bench myself from plywood and a left over piece of kitchen worktop, the design was borrowed from an article from Fine Woodworking magazine by Cecil Braeden. It was in a workshop solutions suppliment from May/June of 2008. The article is also available from finewoodworking.com. The legs, aprons and strechers are made of 3/4'' pywood laminations and the frame sides are joined together with plywood panels. The base assembly is joined to the top with pocket screws. I wrapped the top with 1-1/2'' by 3/4'' teak strips and fitted six Kreg clamp bases and a 10-1/2'' Irwin-Record quick release vice. I learned alot about bench construction whilst making the bench and i would make a few minor changes if i were to make another one. The object of the design was to build a rugged stable bench in a short period of time and with a modest outlay on materials. The bench snobs out there might turn up their noses at it because it's not a solid beech heirloom cabinetmakers bench but it does the job for me. I'll post some pictures and dimensions asap.  

Comment by Michael DeMattos on October 3, 2012 at 2:40am

You're doing some great work!  well done.  Do you have any pictures of your workbench?  I am assuming you built it yourself.  Best, Mike