I’d been a bit worried about how exactly I was going to flip the bench over, but between my wife and teenage son, we were able to get it flipped over with no injuries to either the workbench or the workers.

Below, you can see it in the permanent location under the one window in the garage. Fits just perfectly in the space. (It’s almost like I measured and planned it!)

You can also see the mortise for the vise on the far leg, and three holes for the holdfast on the near leg.

Next, I broke out my two bench planes (a jack plane and a jointer) to flatten the top. This mostly involved lots of passes, and you can see the slightly rough shape it ended up in in the photo below.

I was a bit disappointed with the amount of tear-out the planes caused. (And yes, I’d sharpened the planes.) But, as I keep telling myself: it’s a workbench, it’s not supposed to be perfect.

Before I sanded the top (which made it look much nicer), I wanted to drill the dog holes. (A “dog hole” is a hole in the bench where one can insert a holdfast or a “bench dog” – basically, a piece of wood or metal that sticks up to help hold the workpiece in place.)

I followed the book’s advice on the dog hole locations, as you can see in the markings below.

Drilling holes in an object that you’ve just spent months making is slightly nerve-wracking. Especially when they’re fairly large holes – an inch in diameter. This is clearly a “measure twice” situation.

I’d had some tear-out with earlier holes I’d drilled using a big spiral bit, so I decided to start each hole with a Forstner bit because they seem to drill clean holes. But, the bit I have was shorter than the five-inch-thick benchtop, and Forstner bits need lots of in-and-out to clear woodchips. So, after going an inch or two in, I switched to the spiral bit for the rest of the depth.

My initially-maligned drill guide continued to earn it’s keep by helping me drill straight holes.

Then: sanding. Early on in my boatbuilding project, I’d invested in a really nice dust extractor and random orbit sander. I haven’t regretted that purchase (even though they weren’t cheap!), and they helped clean up the ragged benchtop. I started with 40 grit sandpaper, then went to 80 and 120. Anything beyond that was overkill for a workbench.

The book recommended applying a finish of equal parts spar varnish, boiled linseed oil, and paint thinner. So, that’s what I did. (I’m sometimes asked why I made a particular design decision, and the answer is almost always: “because the instructions told me to do it that way.”) I put on a couple of coats of the finish mixture. Although it might be hard to tell in the photos, the finish adds a nice color and sheen without being slick or slippery.

I tested out the holdfast. I can confirm that it does indeed hold things, well, fast.

I did need to use the spiral bit to slightly widen the holes, as the initial holes were a bit tight. I think with use they’ll loosen up just a bit more.

Next up: finish the vise. I haven’t had a chance to get into the shop, so that’s the holdup there. Hopefully soon!