Woodworking Project - Woodworking Bench

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Every Woodworker dreams of having a heavy sturdy work bench for his shop. Purchasing one would require a second mortgage on the Ranch. So, I designed my own bench to be heavy, sturdy, and cheap! Just as with the shop cabinet, I combined ideas that I liked from several other benches to come up with this hard working yet affordable design. I started with the cheapest frame possible, construction grade pine. The legs are doubled 2x4's with 2x4 stringers and braces. The top is a solid-core luan laminated door. I cut the door down to 6' x 2' and wrapped it in 3/4" red oak for stability and durability. The tool trough is is framed in red oak with a luan bottom. The wood vises are Jorgensen 7" Pony vises with oak jaw pads cut to 9" for extra capacity. I picked up a set of round bench dogs and added a row of dog holes in line with the built-in dog on each of the Pony vises. I left the frame unfinished and gave the top several coats of clear polyurethane. Its too early to tell if this finish will be durable enough for the rigors of a woodworking bench, but its very easy to touch-up as it gets worn. I will probably add a plywood shelf below the bench on the lower stringers sometime in the near future. The over all dimensions of the bench are 72"l x 30"w x 34"h. Total cost: $150 (including the vises and bench dogs)!