Woodworking Workbench - Securing the benchtops to the base assembly

A usable workbench is almost in sight, all that’s left to do is secure the benchtops to the assembly.

This is the point where I wished I had spent even more time on the benchtops to get them absolutely square. But I was way to excited to finish the project, so I went with what I had.

I played around with the benchtops to make sure I found the best fit all around. Some sides of the tops were more square than others, so I butted those up against the aprons.

I wasn’t sure whether there was a slight bow in the apron or the benchtops, but I could not get them to square up. In the end, it didn’t matter because glue and clamps brought it all together and no one will know.

One of the tops also had a twist that I was unable to get rid of by planning, so I added a wedge under to level it.

Having chosen the best combination of benchtop to aprons the glue went on and I used every clamp in the shop. Once both sides were done, I planned do the tops level.

My workbench was ready!

I wanted to find the best pairs of benchtop edges to apron sides. Moving around the benchtops is heavy work, but worth it when everything lines up.

There was a twist in the benchtop, but it didn’t matter once everything was glued and clamped together.

This benchtop had a bow in it, but once again, glue and clamps would make it disappear.

The twist was sever enough that the top didn’t sit flat on the leg frame. A small wedge ensured that it didn’t rock or have excessive movement.

I wanted this to remain a knock down bench, so a little paper between the leg frame and apron assembly ensured that any excess glue didn’t fuse everything together.

Lots and lots of glue.

I did one side at a time because I used every clamp in the shop to ensure a gap-free glue up. This would also help cancel out the bow/twist.