Workbench upgrades provide insight

The best lesson aren't just what, but how and why.

Workbenches are one of those things that grab woodworkers’ attention at one point or another. For most, I imagine the appeal is strongest when they’re mentally building the most perfect bench of all time ever, so they consult what others built. I already did that for me, so now the appeal is seeing how and why other people work: How did they install that vise? Why did they choose that wood species? Why did they cut that joinery with this tool instead of that one? I love watching people work; it provides so much underlying knowledge for woodworking writ large.

One meeting place for the where the what and the why is upgrades and changes. These are where woodworkers learn what isn’t working for them and fix it. For students, they provide multiple lessons in one package. For me, that’s the appeal of FWW ambassador Mike Farrington‘s own workbench upgrades. The master of pro tips, Mike goes through hardware choices, tooling, fixing mistakes, jigs, and building strategies. I’ll never build this bench, but I sure will try to retain as much of Mike’s acumen as possible