The old timer who showed me his 30 year old workbench

I was at a salvage yard in Austin about 6 months back digging through old lumber. This guy Jim, must have been 70, walked over and pointed at my plywood workbench plans laying on the truck tailgate. He laughed and told me his grandpa built a workbench from a solid core door and some 2x4s back in 1965 and it still sits in his garage today. Said you don't need all those fancy jigs and clamps, just a straight edge and some patience. He showed me a photo on his phone of this beast covered in stains and dings but dead flat. Made me rethink my whole $400 plan for a premium bench. Has anyone else had an old school DIYer change your whole approach with just a few words?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorb171mo ago

Read that old Krenov book about workbenches. Dude built his whole shop around a simple slab and some vises.

skyler431mo ago

Krenov's bench is nice but too fussy for real work.

nora_dixon22d ago

Actually Krenov was the one who famously kept things simple and said most workbenches are way OVERbuilt for what you actually need. That slab and vise thing was his whole philosophy, not some complicated design. He'd probably laugh at those $400 premium benches too.