A Shaker Workbench - Hybrid Design

I'm building a workbench. The model above was produced in SketchUp. SketchUp is a relatively easy to learn, free, 3D modeling program. You can download the model here.

The workbench is a hybrid of what are called Shaker and Roubo designs. Shaker refers to the type of workbenches used by members of the Shaker religious community and the aesthetic style which they developed in their furniture. The other source of the design is André Jacob Roubo, a 16th century Frenchman who wrote a book on woodworking. A very heavy and solid style of bench takes its name from him.

Many of the ideas came from Christopher Schwarz's book and blog. Scott Landis's book was also very useful. Surfing the net and seeing other people's benches in the real world helped too. Although there is very little which is actually new in woodworking, I think a few of the ideas are original. originally posted 2008/05/30