First Project I've Shown Here

[lombard]

First Project I've Shown Here

No worries. Wasn't taken as criticism.

Nice cart, BTW

[lrr]

I built a workbench recently using pocket hole joinery. No glue, just screws. It really was meant as a test project. I wanted a large "MFT-style" workbench for my Festool track saw, and I wanted a large out feed table for my BT-3100.

The top is CNC milled 3/4" MDF, just like the Festool MFT workbench. My bench is 36" x 84", so not designed to be portable like the MFT. This top, like the MFT, has 20mm holes, since there are a lot of accessories from Festool and others. I used 4" hole spacing, clsoe to the 96mm spacing on he MFT. (Hole spacing is not critical, except that it be uniform. What is critical is having perfect grid alignment, so you can get perfect 90 degree alignment between rows and columns, and true 45 degree angles along the diagonals.

I am amazed at the rigidity. It has 4X4 legs, but all other pieces are 2X4s. It will not be supporting heavy loads, so I figured from the beginning that it should be plenty strong. (and the Festool MFT has folding legs, although it is about half the size). I've stood on the bottom 2x4 rails on the long and short side and heard not a groan or squeak out of it.

I really like the clean looks and the flush edges since there are no overlapping pieces of "2-by" lumber and bolts.

My next purchase will be a Festool Domino. I would have used the Domino instead of using pocket hole joinery if I had it when I built this workbench. But I still see many uses for my Kreg jigs and pocket hole joinery.

Here is a picture of my bench. There is a 75" long Festool guide rail laying on it for reference. That's my trusty BT3100 along the back edge. I have anti-slip pads under the legs now, so the top is aligned with the saw for use as an outfeed table.