Anthony’s Workbench

Viewer Project -
Added on November 8, 2010

From: Anthony Malin

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

Amateur or Pro: Amateur

Finish Used: The Finish is something I received from Chris S. from PW. It is 1/3 BLO, 1/3 Varnish, and 1/3 Mineral Spirits and is just wiped on the freshly hand planed wood.

Wood Species: The majority of the wood is Rock Tiger Maple with Cherry Accents. The parallel guide for the leg vise is QS White Oak.

Project Description:
The was my first large project. I made one box before, a storage cabinet, and some radiator covers before diving into this project, but nothing of this magnitude. I used vise hardware from Benchcrafted.com, as well as the plans for the bench.

The inspiration came from a video I watched on The Wood Whisperer site a few years ago. Marc had mentioned it was a right of passage for woodworkers to build a bench and that stuck with me every since.

I met a man who owned a saw mill and he had hundreds of Board Feet of 8/4 Cherry and 8/4 Tiger Hard Maple. I bought hundreds of feet of both and got to it. It was all in rough form so I had to mill every single piece of lumber you see in the project. I have blogged about my building process at TalkFestool.com if anyone is interested in seeing the process in more detail.

Marc, since you have been one of the main factors in me buying the tools necessary to get my shop together, it would be an honor to have my first project shown on your site that has brought inspiration to me and so many others. I honestly watched every video on your site in November 2008. Then in December 2008, I called Grizzly and made 7K order of all the tools in your shop. Some unfortunate circumstances prevented me from even opening the crates until the end of 2009, but I have since got things rolling.

This project also helped me jump into the addiction that is Festool with the purchase of my first Festool tools: a 1400 router and Ct33 dust collection system. I LOVE Festool and will continue to purchase their tools as my budget will allow.

My love for vintage hand tools is what sparked my purchase of some new hand tools. I ordered an entire set of Veritas Bevel up planes and absolutely love them!! I have also purchased a set of Lie Nielsen chisels and a Block plane, as well as their dovetail saw.

I hope this makes it onto your site, which again would be a huge honor!

Discussion

Jimi C November 8, 2010 9:59 pm

Very nice. I’d definitely be interested in the build process – can you post a link to it in the forums?

Reply
Triple B November 8, 2010 10:39 pm

Well Anthony,it appears your “right of passage” has been completed. Excellent job, the bench is almost too pretty to use, the dovetails really make it look classy. Enjoy your new toy.

Reply
David November 8, 2010 11:27 pm

Excellent build Anthony and a good choice of woods.

most unique thing that I like are your vise cranks :D

Reply
spwiz5578 November 9, 2010 4:33 am

Looks great! From the sounds of it Anthony has a near limitless budget. :) Great to see what inspiration can create.

Reply
David A November 9, 2010 7:17 am

Wow, you don’t do things in half-measure do you :)..

Very nice, and looks very solid.. I just finished my bench not long ago, and it’s a great feeling when it all comes together as one envisions (or at least close :) ..

Reply
Jeremy Meeks November 9, 2010 7:28 am

This is great! I’ve been collecting pieces and plans for my first bench for a while. Nice job!

Reply
bob Pawloski November 9, 2010 7:31 am

That is a pretty nice workbench.

Reply
dyami plotke November 9, 2010 7:49 am

Anthony,
That’s a kick butt bench. Nicely done.

Reply
Gary November 9, 2010 7:55 am

Very nice Anthony. Not bad for a first big project. It will probably take me a few more projects to get that nice. Love the Detail of you name on the bottom. Good job!!

Reply
Bryan Huot November 9, 2010 9:07 am

Sweet! Nice work Anthony…that bench not only looks sturdy and extremely functional, but beautiful to boot! Well done!

Reply
PickeringMike November 9, 2010 9:18 am

What a great bench! Nice write up too. I especially like the dovetailed end vice board.

Reply
Dan Drabek November 9, 2010 9:40 am

A solid, good looking bench. What’s the purpose of the open slot in the center?

Don’t ever ask me to help you move. :->

DD

Reply
- anthony malin November 10, 2010 6:11 am
  
  Dan,
  
  The slot in the center can be used to store chisels and such. The cherry strip you see is actually an applianced called a gap stop. When it is flipped down like shown in the picture it is flush with the benchtop. When you flip it over the other way it sits 5/8 inch above the surface and allows you to hand plane wood against it. It is a wonderful design that was quite intimidating when I firts started reading about it but as long as I took it one step at a time it all seemed to come together at the end.
  
  Reply
Rob Cottle November 9, 2010 10:51 am

GREAT Job on the Bench, turned out good I am sure you will get many years of use out of it. Looks like you also have a pretty good size shop to work in. Keep us informed of your next project……

Reply
Alex Leslie November 9, 2010 11:00 am

Great bench, Anthony! I’m sure you’ll get many years of enjoyment from it!

Reply
Mike in Pitt November 9, 2010 12:19 pm

Dude, that’s way to nice for the workshop. I suggest the dining room. Or the bedroom. Or the Smithsonian. Geezuz.

Reply
Larry Clinton November 9, 2010 12:39 pm

Wow Anthony, I’m impressed! Like someone else said, it’s too pretty for a wood shop, but I’m sure it’ll get plenty of use. I love the dovetail used on the vise. Just a great job for a woodworker with years of experience, much less for a first big project. Keep it up.

Reply
Vic November 9, 2010 2:04 pm

Beautiful, Anthony!! Almost exactly what I’m planning, with a different wood species. Is your hardware BenchCrafted? If not, would you run down your hardware and where you got it?

Reply
- anthony malin November 10, 2010 6:16 am
  
  Vic,
  
  The hardware is indeed benchcrafted hardware. I just cannot say enough about the hardware, plans and customer service of Jameel at benchcrafted. The vise seems to technical for someone with no expierence at first glance but the instructions are great. The feeling of completion I had after putting this vise together was really incredible.
  
  Reply
Brian November 9, 2010 3:57 pm

Beautiful bench Anthony. The wood has some nice figure that shows up pretty well in those pictures. I hope that you can enjoy your bench for many years. The benchcrafted hardware looks great too. I hear they make great stuff. Congrats.

Reply
Mike M November 9, 2010 4:00 pm

Very well done!

Reply
robert lee November 9, 2010 5:28 pm

Beautiful bench… I’ve been wanting to build a bench for a while, and when I do I most likely will build a shortened version, perhaps 3 or 4 feet long. I surely can’t afford cherry and maple for my bench, but I’m hoping to get a solid bench that will be used for years.

Reply
Wilton M November 9, 2010 6:29 pm

Great Job. Particularly like the massive dovetails.

Reply
nick November 9, 2010 9:11 pm

you did a amazing job keep at it your very skilled

Reply
Kevin November 10, 2010 10:14 am

Wow, that bench is sick! Great job! Almost too nice to work on.

Reply
Jeremy Bridges November 10, 2010 4:54 pm

Great job Anthony! I’m in the middle of the same project myself (almost completed the base). I’m using the same Benchcrafted hardware and same Split top Roubo plans. This is also a first major project for me as well, and the tail vise installation has me a little intimidated. Did you find them particularly troublesome?

Reply
- anthony malin November 11, 2010 5:02 pm
  
  Jeremy,
  
  I had very little problems with the tail vise, just makje sure to follow the instructions. Check out my blog of the process at talkfestool.com to see my procedure!
  
  Reply
Shaun Wellington November 10, 2010 7:42 pm

I’m impressed! You should feel really good about your accomplishment Anthony~ Great Job!

Reply
Lucy LaForest November 10, 2010 8:28 pm

That is cool! I recently made a new top for my work bench using 2 layers of MDF, topping it with maple laminate flooring (got a great deal on an imperfect box) and trimming it out with 2″ walnut. I’d love to have a real maple top but it’s not in the cards right now. This looks good and since it’s pre-finished glue come’s right up. Your comment on buying from a local mill struck a chord with me. In New York I had access to local mills but since coming to California I can’t find any. I live on the central coast, does anybody know of any back yard mills in my area?

Reply
Ben November 10, 2010 11:07 pm

Holy @#%& that’s fancy wood for a workbench! I do love all of the details, such as the gaps and holdfast holes, etc. If I were to redo my workbench I would include way more of that stuff because you can never seem to have enough spots to rig a clamp.

Reply
Dyami Plotke November 19, 2010 10:33 am

Anthony,
That is one sweet looking bench. I hope it performs as good as it looks (I’m sure it will). Nicely done. Now keep up the good work.

Reply
Ed November 30, 2010 10:09 pm

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery.. don’t publish the plans or you’ll be so flattered that you’ll be beside yourself. Job well done, and here to me wanting to flatter you somemore… :)

Reply
TennesseeYankee April 16, 2012 12:43 pm

This has got to be the most beautifully figured wood used for a work bench. I love it.

Reply

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Anthony’s Workbench

Advertisers