Today’s trendy Roubo workbenches can require a bank loan to afford and feature some complex details that are challenging to make for the average woodworker. These modern “wonder benches” are up to task, without a doubt! But they don’t have to be the be-all and end-all of bench designs. Stout and heavy with a flat top is what you want. Fancy and expensive, however, need not be part of that equation.
Twenty-plus years ago, my first attempt at a “workbench” was a modest affair. It was an oversized table I made from 2x lumber and a doubled-up layer of 3/4" MDF for the top. It took a beating for a lot of years and helped me build many projects until I finally retired it. I traded up — or so I thought — for an expensive prefab bench that has never really been heavy enough not to skitter along the floor when I’m hand-planing or wrestling large assemblies on it. And it’s had a wide tool tray down the middle that I would gladly have traded for a more flat benchtop instead. So I’ve been musing about building a workbench that had more heft and a better top.
Recently, I was browsing the Internet and ran across a bench made by hand-tool guru Rob Cosman. His design, which he uses for students, is made with a triple layer of 1" MDF for the top. It made me recall how stout and hard-working that first humble worktable of mine once was — thanks to dimensionally stable, easy to work with and economically priced MDF. So I set about designing the bench you see here. It features large mortise-and-tenon and bridle joinery for securing the legs to the long front and back stretchers. But there’s no fancy machining required — just glue the workpieces together in staggered fashion to create the tenons and mortises without drilling, routing or chopping. And the top is simply four laminations of 3/4" MDF wrapped with solid-wood edging. You can build the undercarriage from any dense hardwood or softwood you prefer. I used ash, which is still reasonably priced these days. While the workbench purists may scoff at MDF, I’m looking forward to using it again as a dense, flat and durable work surface. And I hope you will,
