This book addresses a key dilemma of the beginning woodworker: how do you build good projects without the basic shop furnishings to get the job done? And, why struggle with makeshift workshop equipment when you can create your own? Now you have the guidance of an expert woodworker to help you build workshop basics that you will use for years to come.
You can bookend my 30 years of woodworking with two volumes. Roy Underhill’s “The Woodwright’s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft” (U of North Carolina P) marks the beginning. Today, Steven W. Semes’ “The Architecture of the Classical Interior” (Norton) makes sense of all the conflicting mishmash of “design speak” tossed about. Hope I have another 30 years in me so the Semes book will someday be a midway milepost in a long, rewarding journey.
A bewildering variety of tools, clever marketing copy, and lack of knowledge can lead even the most determined new woodworker to make many unnecessary purchases, causing frustration or retreat. Written for true beginners, Your First Shop offers inspiration and encouragement, guiding readers toward smart tool choices by providing realistic, reliable information. Best-selling author Aimé Ontario Fraser started working with wood in high school, and has taught extensively in workshops and classes since. Your First Shop brings that experience to readers. Woodworkers of every taste can find a shop style that works for them in one of the book’s four sections: The Essential Shop, The Basic Shop, The Efficient Shop, and The Well-Rounded Shop. Topics include how each tool is used and what it is used for. The book also offers extensive advice on choosing a location for the shop, maximizing available space, and planning for future expansion.
When you have the other leg seated, the threaded rods will extend father than you want them to. You'll want to mark them so they can be cut to length. Place a washer and a nut on each threaded rod, and then tighten down the nut to pull everything tight. Depending upon the wrench you are using, and how much longer the rod is than it needs to be, you may find it necessary to stack up a number of washers, so that the nut is positioned where the wrench can operate on it. 
Woodworking Workbenches are available in a variety of styles. Open Style Wood Workbenches feature a large work surface and a lower shelf. 2-1/4" thick maple top with maple plywood lower shelf. Open Style Wood Workbenches are available as a 2-station unit (28"W) or a 4-station unit (54"W). Open Style Auxiliary Workbenches are used for placement against walls. Shelf features a rear curb to keep contents in place. Solid maple top features angle iron front edge. Plywood shelf is open for maximum functionality. Solid maple legs. Environmentally-friendly UV finish. Units measure 24"D and are available in several lengths and heights. Mitre Box Benches ensure wood pieces are kept flat while mitres are cut. Bench is made using solid maple unit with environmentally-friendly UV finish. Holds a mitre saw up to 26"W and provides a 24" square work surface on both sides. Mitre Box Benches measure 33-3/4"H. Sheet Metal Workbenches are made with a 2-1/4" thick maple top and is protected on two long edges with 2" x 2" angle iron. Solid maple legs and stringers. Plywood shelves are designed to provide open storage of 30" metal sheets. Measures 40"D x 32"H and available in widths of 60" or 96".

This bench suffers from no such limitations as it provides an incredibly solid and stable workspace, albeit in a somewhat stripped down version. In terms of performance, Sjobergs tops our list at providing 80 lbs of weight capacity. This is one of the more quantifiable measurements to determine the quality of a work bench’s craftsmanship. This is achieved by using thick pieces of European birch wood and working it without using lower end joints – like butt joints.
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