Modern Baker Workbench

A workbench often is the most used tool in a shop. Not only is it a station for anything from gluing to sanding to hand tool work, but it’s also a platform for planning — for scribing cut lines, laying out joinery, and poring over plans. It’s the center that joins all work across the shop, and the base of operations for any woodworker. As such, it needs to be a strong, stable piece, but also one that you’ll enjoy standing before and looking over. When our designer, Dillon Baker, was conceiving the new nexus for his own workspace in the shop at Woodsmith, the bench you see here was the result. The first thing that catches the eye on this bench is the top, laminated from strips of Baltic birch plywood, held together and protected by epoxy. Equally strong are the cherry legs and stretchers below. A particular pair of vises, made by HNT Gordon, aren’t like the ones you’d see on your grandfather’s bench. Rather than being made of hardwood or cast iron, these are made from precise and stable machined aluminum. Finally, seated on the stretchers is a cabinet of Baltic birch and cherry. Altogether, this is a workbench of a truly modern mindset — not merely in its open aesthetic, but also in its construction. The bench makes the most of contemporary materials for both functionality and a fresh sense of style.

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