Building a Sturdy Workbench with Cheap Wood

I tried to take this on without a planner and the wood I got from Home Depot was absolute crap even spending an hour trying to get the best I could find.

I have had a very tough time getting the top to be even and straight and the glue up went really bad as well with gaps due to warped wood.

I think this is one of the best solid benches I have seen but damn even with the plans it has been very tough to build

Great Job

$150 of wood.... now i just need the $12,000 of tools he used to do it...

I heard that using 2x8s and ripping them in half will actually last longer than 2x4s because the piff is (mostly) removed.
(The piff expands and contracts over the years which eventually deforms the wood)

I really like the bench; great job. I want to start doing woodworking in my retirement; loved it when in H.S. , but pop's didn't like it as a career choice, so never did.

That’s a nice freaking top ❤

well done. Looks great.

You Sir, are a cool guy ! 👍🏽Subscribed !

Planer. I don't have. Table saw. I also don't have :(

WAAAY too much drama!

I enjoyed your video. I used the same materials for my bench top - 2 x 6 yellow pine ripped in half. I chose longer material because I wanted a 4' x 8' top. I don't have a surface planer, so I built the leg system first out of fir 4" x 4", then glued up the top one board at a time. To flatten it I used a router sled, followed by belt sander and orbital sander. Added a 10" wood vise at one end, a leg vise on one side, and a set of dog holes. The table was built exactly where it will stay because it is too heavy to move without four guys and a small crane. It is exactly the same height as my table saw and other surround benches along the walls. I attached the table saw to one end of the bench, so it serves not only as a work bench, but as an out-feed table for the saw. Drawers underneath and a few coats of oil, and it is a very serviceable (and inexpensive) addition to the shop.

I learned several things watching this video. Thank you!
Those auger bits did a really nice job. I might have to buy some more clamps. 😅

SUPER. BRAVO UKRAINA

Surprised you didn't add lockable casters...

If you put drawers under it would they not fill with wood shavings through the dog holes

I love these videos that say you can build X for peanuts, then they use about $10K worth of sophisticated power tools to do it. That said, I couldn't stop watching, it was fascinating.

Why not use 4x4s or 4x6s

That was great. But looking at the cost of wood, i would say for wood alone it'd cost $300+. Still i could be a great idea when wood drops.

I clicked thinking "cool, $150, I wanna see how he accomplished this." The answer was with $8,000+ worth of tools in a decked out shop.

$150? thats at LEAST $1000 worth of wood.

how to build a sturdy workbench when you have a PLANER and FANCY Equipment.

That would make a massive computer desk!

What size chamfer bit did you use for the holes?

If you want to use construction grade lumber for a project like this you should l;ook tot he 2x12 material. Most contructionlumber is harvested as soon as it is large enough to produce lumber, so a 2x12 will have additional years of growth, so the rings will be tighter and provide more stability to the lumber. Just rip it down to size after the fact and leave the smaller dimensioned lumber on the shelves.

I love your projects and your knowledge, but dude!!!!! Never, ever, ever wear gloves with any rotating or spinning tools! I know 2 people who have split their hands in half and across the middle finger, no middle finger left, looking like the vulcan "Dr Spok on star trek" finger sign for hello due to wearing gloves with a table saw and the other with a sliding compound miter saw.
Drills the same thing, if the tip of your glove gets picked it will wrap your fingers and break them.
Saws can catch just the tip of your glove and pull you in instantly! Do not do that!!!!

The content is great. However as a beginner is frustrating to watch a "$150 workbench" with several thousand dollars in jigs, tools, bits.

I want to build a workbench that is smaller due to space constraints but one I can put a vise on. Build or just buy for cheaper? No experience in carpentry.

Could I use a plunge router to make the dog hole?

Informative, educational, entertaining. Thanks for sharing.

I personally think Mistakes Were Made should be the new name of your channel! if you don't take it I'm going to!

No doubt this is a great build, but I'm trynna build a bench cus I ain't got one. In fact I don't have a single tool he used in this video.

Thanks for sharing, these types of videos help a lot.

Great job! The bench looks great! Are you planning on building or buying a bench clamp to mount on the side? Jay Bates has a cool DIY design, but I'm curious about what kind of design you would do if you were to add one. Keep up the great content!!

Build this cheap bench using 100 grand or more in equipment. O KAY! lol

Love the vid, I've gone and built the exact same one. Whens the video of the storage cabinets below coming?

i violate all the rules of woodworking and could put my projects into the Smithsonian to showcase the imperfections of my amateur/weekend warrior work. btw no planer, no cool bits, tools, just standard table saw, drill, screws and mitersaw

Hint for not losing your hole template: Make a specific hiding spot for it on the table itself.

PS... reminder: I'm a buyer for that grid template if you feel like making some for sale. There's zero chance I'm the only one, too. *hint hint* :)

Good video. I enjoyed watching that.
Very nice workbench!
What was the finish applied to the workbench?

Brad, I have watched countless videos from many different contractors/builders (depending on what I was doing from door hanging, painting, cabinet making, etc etc etc) YOU are my number one favorite! You do GREAT work, give GREAT details and perspective and options and are FUN to watch! I will follow you for the rest of my existence!

AWESOME MAESTRO

What’s the link for the slip on’s ppe shoe 👟?

Hey guys, have a question, I thought you had to wait a long time to build anything with construction lumber since its rather wet. The only Kiln Dried lumber ive seen are 2x4.

How did you attach the top to the base? You skipped that in the video?

$150 in wood, $5000 in tools

That’s a lotta work. I do need to build a work bench soon but I’m gonna go with a quicker build. That’s nice tho it came out great 👍🏻

Enjoyed the video.... great explanations and such. However, based on your tool list, I need excluding tax and shipping: $9210 worth of equipment. $2299 for your C&C machine, $3200 for the planer, $2000 for the jointer, $400 for the Kreg Track saw and $260 for the Low Angle Jack plane? Oy??

Finally someone shows how a perfectly planned glue up still gets stressful

Geez this looks good… I just got into wood working. Built a work table, had no clue the pros were using wood glue, I’ve got screws and lag bolts everywhere. Thanks for this.

Why would you abuse the mountain dew?