re: New bench in the works...

Actually you can build the plywood bench with nothing but a circular saw, a router and a drill. A table saw makes the rip cuts easier but it isn’t necessary. I built a smaller version of this bench for my winter shop in Az. using only those basic tools so it is doable. Here is a build blog on the smaller one and here is a build blog on the bigger one.
I also used a cheap jig saw and band saw for the vices but the bench can be done with very basic tools.
I feel a bit silly re-posting all my existing stuff here but maybe I should with these blogs.
BTW, by my calculation 3/4" plywood at $40/ sheet is about $1.65 per fbm. If you can but decent hardwood for 1/3 of that price you are very lucky indeed.