Revised and updated in a new edition, this is the only workbench book that shows the reader how to design a good workbench, how to build it and - most importantly - how to use it in their shop for all sorts of tasks, teaching the craftsperson how to fish rather than feeding them

Two centuries of workbench wisdom in one book!

With this book, your very first workbench will do everything you need it to do--possibly for the rest of your woodworking career!

Encompassing years of historical research and real-world trials, Christopher Schwarz boils down centuries of the history and engineering of workbenches into basic ideas that all woodworkers can use.


• Learn how to design your own world-class workbench
• Learn the fundamental rules of good workbench design that have been largely forgotten
• Learn how to build an inexpensive and practical bench that hasn't been in widespread use for over 100 years
• Learn how to properly use any workbench
In this revised and updated edition you'll find plans for five benches--two sturdy English benches and two variations on the French Roubo, as well as a portable bench you can clamp to any solid surface. The old-school benches in this book are simpler than modern benches, easier to build and perfect for both power and hand tools.

Beginning woodworkers can build any of these benches. The technical drawings are clear and show every detail. Using the step-by-step instructions, you will be amazed at how easily these workbenches can be constructed.