Using nothing but 2×10 southern yellow pine, Jay Bates built a traditional workbench – at a cost of about $110. He mills the stock using a table saw, a thickness planer, and a jointer. For the top, he aligns the pieces using a domino and floating tenons (a biscuit joiner would also work). Legs lock into the top via through-tenons and wedges, which he trims after assembly. Once everything is put together, he uses a hand plane to fine-tune the top. He adds vices to the bench in this video.
This isn’t a high-end bench by any means. If you’re interested in building a more heirloom-quality piece, check out Samurai Carpenter’s workbench build here. He uses maple, walnut, Garry oak (Oregon white oak), and red oak – and traditional joinery cut with power and hand tools.
