Paul Sellers Bench

OK David. You buildt a bench! What kind of wood? How did you put it together? What about the the frame? The vice, ok I can understand that. This is the kind of things that I need to know, to understand what you are doing, and give you the kudos that you deserve.

Only one picture? More, please.

Oh sorry LOL. The bench is 6 feet in length. I think I used 58 – 2×4′s from Home Depot. Anyhow, the initial goal is to make 3 planks at 6" using material that’s 1-1/2″ × 3″. I took all of the 2×4′s for the two tops and the well board and chopped them at 6’-2". I gave myself a tad extra to trim off. The tops consist of 7-(2×4′s) ripped at 3". Don’t be too concerned about great accuracy on the ripping. The tops will be about 12″ × 3″ × 6′. The trick is to cut them squarely so that you don’t have too much planing. You will need a no. 4 Stanley bench plane to fair the timbers so that you can make a jointed lamination that will be the top. You will make two of those. The well board is the same thickness but I think it’s 6-studs wide. Be prepared to DISLIKE planing. I would not recommend the cheapest studs. I wish I had hand-picked my lumber. I was going for economy.

The leg assemblies are thru-mortised with haunched tenons at the top. They have a bearer across their top just before the tops are set. The aprons are similar laminations except they use the 3" face, leaving them at 1-1/2" thick. The aprons have huge dados for the leg assemblies but with an angle on the inside with a wedge that tightens itself over time. This gives the bench great stability.

While the well-board is the same thickness as the tops, it’s dado-ed so that it drops over the leg assemblies and it’s also chamfered at 45 degrees on the underside. That hides the thickness some. I made nice sawhorses first and then started on this. I have lots of pictures so if anyone needs any advice, I’ll share what I know. I basically memorized the Paul Sellers videos on YouTube and then just did it.

Oh, the entire bench is now coated with a single coat of shellac. You can re-plane the tops every year or so. It get’s beat up and messy fast. I put dowels in the front for my saws. I also need a series of 3/4" holes in the apron for holdfast and also dogs for long material.

I watched his video a couple of times and every time I said: “I will get started this weekend”.
fast forward, I am still using the crappy harbor freight that I dislike so much.
I have been wanting to use hard maple and the cost was just too high.

You did well, it looks solid and stable.

Wow that turned out great.