A BENCH OF MANY COLORS

Exotic and domestic woods dress up this built-from-plans workbench. Exotic and domestic woods dress up this built-from-plans workbench.

SHOP OWNER: Neil Yeager LOCATION: Brewster, NY

I cut out plans for a workbench from the September 1992 issue of WOOD magazine. It featured a fairly simple workbench design and looked like the kind of project that I could handle. As it turned out, it was the fall of 1997 before I ever got started on my workbench. I realized that it probably would be the only one that I would ever build.

As with most projects, as I began to assemble the materials and supplies, the project got bigger and bigger. Two years from the start date and seven years from the time I originally cut the article out, the bench was completed.

My bench has a 3-in. thick, laminated hard maple top, red oak legs and stretchers, padauk end caps and vise jaw for the twin-screw vise, walnut side skirts with lacewood accents, ebony turned handles for the end vise and a fancy board jack made from walnut and maple. After all was completed, I could not bear to use the plastic cover that comes with the Veritas vise, so I made one from birdseye maple.

I owe a tremendous amount of thanks to my father for his help and inspiration in completing my workbench.