Most workbenches are built to work on, not to look at. Chris builds them to do both. A cabinetmaker by trade and a craftsman by obsession, he spent three years designing a bench that he describes as “the piece I’d be most proud to show, if it weren’t covered in tool marks.” The base is hand-cut mortise-and-tenon white oak. The top is end-grain cherry. The vise hardware is custom-fitted bronze. The leg vise features a carved panel his daughter designed when she was twelve.
The build cost him roughly $1,200 in materials and about 300 hours of shop time spread over two winters. He acknowledges that this is not a reasonable ratio for most woodworkers. But Chris isn’t building for efficiency – he’s building for permanence. “I wanted a bench that would outlast me,” he says simply. “And I wanted it to be something worth looking at while I’m working on it.”
The bench is not precious. Chris uses it hard – handplaning, mortising, assembly work, finishing. The end-grain cherry top shows everything: glue, finish drips, chisel nicks. He says that’s part of the point. The beauty isn’t meant to be preserved; it’s meant to age. In ten years it will look like a tool. In twenty it will look like a masterpiece that was used up in the making of other masterpieces.
We asked Chris for his advice to builders considering a more intentional workbench build. “Decide first whether you’re building for yourself or for the work,” he said. “Both are valid. Just know which one it is before you choose your materials.” Sound advice for any build. What would you build if the bench itself was the project?