Saw benches

After reading Jim Tolpin’s book, The New Traditional Woodworker, I made saw benches that he recommended. They are the same height as the top of my knee caps, so I can hold the boards with my knee while sawing. One side is slightly angled so that a large hand saw does not hit the legs. The other side is angled more for stability.

It took me awhile to wrap my brain cells around this because the tops are notched to hold the legs. The legs are notched to create a really solid joint with the tops. The end supports are rabbeted to fit tightly under the tops and between the legs. Everything is angled. I had to draw a full scale drawing to get it right. The cross pieces on the angled legs are drawbored and pegged into deep mortises. Edges are beveled with a spokeshave. They are constructed with 2×6′s and a 2×4. Each is 3 feet long so they can fit in the small space in front of the car and next to my work bench.

Long pieces can be cut by putting one bench in line with the other one. Crosscuts can be made by laying the piece across both benches. The near vertical sides facing each other create a slot for sawing with strong support on each side of the cut line. Clamps can be attached almost anywhere on both benches. These are turning out to be really, really handy. They can even be used as a small assembly table for cabinets and big pieces. Yee Hah!