I built a Euro style workbench probably 25 years ago, after a design from Frank Klausz in FWW. I modified the dimensions a little and eliminated the tool tray, but the guts of it are his design. That design has two stretchers with tenons set in mortises about 1/3 of the way up the end leg assemblies. I added a shelf on top of it when I built it and stored jigs, short pieces of wood, and various other things on it, none of which got used very often.
After I got my shop cleaned out fairly well a couple of months ago I moved the bench to a better location and decided I would much rather have a cabinet of drawers under the bench to store frequently used tools in than a shelf. This is what I came up with:
![[Image: XtMFE83TY_62K4x1gLy9EVHMZo771xs1_W4Ubu0y...35-h626-no]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XtMFE83TY_62K4x1gLy9EVHMZo771xs1_W4Ubu0y1ifSrn6gXUPxerCEx3s44cZCRXSmsNqQtgBjpnmh-hF9SyoB4-kCqK4N8TKd55RJhEKQYorpUPvAQL-xrlVDEhNL6oSC4NcnIGLLsSOppizUGwEIOpf2ASRVVhw7N2NlkqqmNlYH0ORISghDHRSkBWJAn0dNRn6WaFGui-WnsGWlgEG2U94kM43UWGhixQQ85xabrB4P_DMTgBfyl0F1xkzM039jq2i-un9FIRbxinqX5dIGE63zX_fWi56a8HnXch681YwFwBQk4BT_bzor4oMu-cVV18Q6gpOdRZ5Q4IdBuxlDcM1WBTxhJa9G7ew1IrhKEGB8gE9kNUGeOkJldWUbq2pvrOL_AtlssBvHgLN-4ZqRH7Qvcu1_UJOXlAuyeJte5xB4bC1X2kLhEkKD1_PYMBcLR9gous30U_Kx1LGATPubMVMGuQrLWD1nnzFZ2Gd9lPl2o4csSaPWdive21LESoow6SHxqziSw_T0o8N1_IH7mUnq11GF9izX9jXeoN3Urf7ywhbysKqs96ZeNVmpTutom6GdqSjJ23T5c1FiV_jxM-X4VevNhdZHtdLmW31MBFznmUAr5npRMprZAvANiEBygxvZbujUX2xiOnKJrOU0H5cZeBMzqXtSMSGAXunG98q968WfxWPtMncM14mvdpXXYgYwE52Rz_RKA7w=w835-h626-no)
I reused the stretchers by ripping them down to 3-1/2" W and cut new mortises at the bottom of the leg assemblies. I added two additional stretchers just below the top. That created a shallow shelf and maintained the amazing rigidity this bench has always had. The drawer cabinet is a simple affair, a frame top and bottom with 4 partitions defining the drawer widths. The cabinet slides into the opening and is secured to the bottom stretchers with a couple of screws. As you can see, I made a shelf on the left side, rather than a drawer, for easy access to frequently used hand planes. To maximize the storage for the drawers there are no dividers; the drawers are full width and side hung.
After the drawer cabinet was done I decided to see if I could incorporate a sliding pegboard to support long pieces in the front vise, like I frequently see on benches where the legs are flush with the edge of the bench top. But the legs on mine are inset from the front edge of the top by about 4", so I couldn't use a simple, straight pegboard. What you see is what I came up with. The pegboard turns 45 deg near the bottom. I routed a 1/2" wide dado on the bottom stretcher and under the front edge of the bench top. There is a mating 1/2" tenon on both ends of the pegboard. It's length is sized so that when the top tenon is fully inserted into the dado under the bench top that the tenon at the bottom will tip into the dado in the lower stretcher. It is just as easily removed, but stays locked in place as long as the load is straight down. I cut the 45 deg finger joints on the table saw using a simple sled I made and used epoxy to glue the parts together.
![[Image: DjAFKmscDOg8pVVIr_sXpYrct21SJmc0wlgYP4oI...35-h626-no]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DjAFKmscDOg8pVVIr_sXpYrct21SJmc0wlgYP4oI72RyDPsKKNVbScek_cU4DkSxUwuyT8lOEJ3nHent48rmeplAoXePNp_m6z_TId5-ugeii_n7hcn7hqG_Z_NIhsqOCH4VQhrMGwS8lurbZQnjIPAPsZalSon9_iOl0SpOk9iJ519yDZ-PXwWOOyi56HuIwL72_qfnC8-0-62v5umGkToq_4PRSdEn5ubNNp1Yky2HKMKFjkwWrHZlqjEytqdqpfYB9diJ80aLGFIJKvqKdy1idXakN8xFcG02ifgiXXVLMviWQRzfvTCGNajrbIlQXe6XVus_Dsir97jxrbqyjRVrVDLSYDVmv9W3SmUSglzxRCdESk5gnkDderA-Iu8mDIC66xRPz8jk0vYTmn_Upd9W7jBHdrtHd0qPL26GV1flBmRtrYjNsVtDUMsuaH3YMAhaZlLdcJueCfjUSDEvCY7a1zGp5c3y9SHxHna-SxYv5N3ceIDNndXcZgqekJNeIFJ5PoE3u8WgIYNR63sGiqUeVxtucevzC2eSsLMI-UC8wjRzpDMHSOnldd0_GoFgsSWj-U8ueU1LWYfY22BgdkqeqMBVYN0sx8VUQwohpshQ_r3LwxQZU6TLhKnN_n0zhPJSZrylvQaHAv-ZpFprt3nyvP0hga1U6UhGNsw-EyCRqDoIll5pmG2FdavfSW_8WbrWLmM_HH0hOph2Qj0=w835-h626-no)
![[Image: QoYY8lYd_moZ8FV25rDseeDCESzLnpYABpMkkEaF...35-h626-no]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QoYY8lYd_moZ8FV25rDseeDCESzLnpYABpMkkEaFhU84E6iiB8fdr-NHkWE_EDsIdaFeOyVdctG-b08dYIYCzCaePf2mW5rLMzY6tEi7C4i1EsBRPr-r8nhjZoGPuLdi2SIK9agYHA2QCWtkb_4wNNhQdvH2syZEQ5PcaYCZgsVTeGqB0rnYrI-Pkyjv9Lt3laIAxM1t-ue4wTxdyqzdX28xLjLdYWT4WX45qjrWm_4RHYlBohvmhVDdmvZX2kevxcyM4Agqpl7KLHLQwvRdvT5CbZkpLl-Nh4ElY4ikh7y28KK5An_gYA0gIHUj0kRoCzjLAK3p80MPfRp1SlN5_BH9LHYXWrkQd9ZNuMqi1m07Hzz54v0q2CAS2gkPjbjNUs0N2J77AYSPni_Okm3mq8kxxPpFo1CD67520ht0nhlVJrgNZUpxrXPBznbG7VooPWiazkH0gnKNpy6tt-mehm5yxG2eSeSZ3hge6TAL8z444u-QNViPO9v3gaXgolU98ZbvSblWSOxvuXbAIdGA6ThAF5WAeYepRMP9SWDxe4zSjDuLMLrg-cp4tF53CF7xaEUk5K-m02Dxotv4OPhQYuTu_Y4PE_PuVFHTP6IBhCHz6gLEGULDvsheH55pj-LnRnisDr-CSuyQvOsGupclBVDNOgqGmmWy_RRV2BCjySJSyE4eF-8k2xajgak7RSTV2LDEd2ZNZB_IDwY5aS0=w835-h626-no)
I used various pieces of scrap cherry and cherry ply for the cabinet and drawers fronts w/o much concern for color consistency, mixed maple and cherry for the drawer boxes, a piece of white oak for the pegboard, and a coat of Danish oil for a little color and protection. I already appreciate the easy access to those hand planes and having other frequently used tools close at hand in the drawers.
This was a fun little project.
John
After I got my shop cleaned out fairly well a couple of months ago I moved the bench to a better location and decided I would much rather have a cabinet of drawers under the bench to store frequently used tools in than a shelf. This is what I came up with:
I reused the stretchers by ripping them down to 3-1/2" W and cut new mortises at the bottom of the leg assemblies. I added two additional stretchers just below the top. That created a shallow shelf and maintained the amazing rigidity this bench has always had. The drawer cabinet is a simple affair, a frame top and bottom with 4 partitions defining the drawer widths. The cabinet slides into the opening and is secured to the bottom stretchers with a couple of screws. As you can see, I made a shelf on the left side, rather than a drawer, for easy access to frequently used hand planes. To maximize the storage for the drawers there are no dividers; the drawers are full width and side hung.
After the drawer cabinet was done I decided to see if I could incorporate a sliding pegboard to support long pieces in the front vise, like I frequently see on benches where the legs are flush with the edge of the bench top. But the legs on mine are inset from the front edge of the top by about 4", so I couldn't use a simple, straight pegboard. What you see is what I came up with. The pegboard turns 45 deg near the bottom. I routed a 1/2" wide dado on the bottom stretcher and under the front edge of the bench top. There is a mating 1/2" tenon on both ends of the pegboard. It's length is sized so that when the top tenon is fully inserted into the dado under the bench top that the tenon at the bottom will tip into the dado in the lower stretcher. It is just as easily removed, but stays locked in place as long as the load is straight down. I cut the 45 deg finger joints on the table saw using a simple sled I made and used epoxy to glue the parts together.
I used various pieces of scrap cherry and cherry ply for the cabinet and drawers fronts w/o much concern for color consistency, mixed maple and cherry for the drawer boxes, a piece of white oak for the pegboard, and a coat of Danish oil for a little color and protection. I already appreciate the easy access to those hand planes and having other frequently used tools close at hand in the drawers.
This was a fun little project.
John
