It's been close to a year since I built my first proper workbench, a Roubo style workbench with a few modifications. When I built it I did a lot of research and took what looked like established, black and white principles without questioning them. A year later, after working on the bench a lot, I feel like I would do things a bit differently next time. Next time for me will be this summer, as I got my hands on a a large amount of 5x hard maple for a great deal. I would like to present some of the tips I would give to myself a year ago, along with the reason why - and would like to hear other people's suggestions too. Please keep in mind that I'm not looking for 'Chris Schwarz says so and so...' without any other context, I'm looking for suggestions from your personal experiences. Also, a lot of the suggestions will be very subjective, as what is important to one person isn't to the next, so please explain why you suggest what you do. Some will of course be in line with conventional wisdom, and some may be very different. So, to start off:

1. Bench width should be no wider than 22". My current bench is 24" wide and I hardly ever use the full width, and reaching to the end is a bit of a stretch and not practical when working a piece. My next bench will be around 20".

2. Softwood benches hold up perfectly fine. A year on I do have a few surface cuts from chopping, but the bench is holding up just fine without too many dents.

3. I would make a bench at the very least 6' long. Mine is a bit over 4' long and when working a long board I've found myself wishing I had the extra length to support the boards while planing.

4. Unless a tail vise is being installed, it is better to leave out the end cap. End caps get in the way when flattening bench tops.

5. I would put a dog in every dog hole. But not for the convenience or the looks - I would include a dog in every hole to prevent dust and shavings from dropping through the empty holes into the shelf below. I use my shelf to hold paste wax, mallets and bench accessories, and cleaning around them is a pain.

6. Round holes work perfectly well - just cut a small notch in the front and you're in business.

7. I would not build a split top bench again. The downsides outweigh the positives in my opinion. The planing stop is useful but easily recreated without the split top. The common use of the planing stop to hold tools results in clutter and reduces the useful width of the bench. Of course that is remedied by tidying up after every operation, but that doesn't work for someone like me. The two slabs can also make flattening a bit more difficult than otherwise. The ability to clamp a piece using the gap is not used too often and is not as useful if the bench is around 20" wide.

8. Following on from 7, I now believe simpler is better. With some holdfasts and battens you can recreate planing stops and workholding devices with ease.

9. I was quite unhappy about using a QR metal end vise as it wasn't 'traditional' but it has worked exceedingly well. It is fast, grips well, and set up with a proper chop and dogs, can perform pretty well as a wagon vise of sorts.

10. I built a leg vise using a LV tail vise screw. It works well and I can't complain about the mechanism. But the need to move the pin and slow action of the screw often has me turning to the QR vise instead. Next time I will save my pennies and spring for the classic benchcrafted leg vise. The ease of use without a pin and the quick action seems like a perfect combination.

11. I staggered my two rows of dog holes. I would not do that again, as it makes it difficult to rig up a batten planing stop.

12. A Veritas wonder dog is a wonderful cheap and easy replacement for a wagon vise. Please do correct me if you feel I'm wrong.

13. I am glad I did not go the dovetailed through tenon route, as the seasonal movement of the tenons and bench top would drive me crazy. That's more of a personal thing I realise, but my 1" tenons into the bench top have proved more than sufficient.

14. I made my bench a bit higher than what is normally recommended, but to be honest I have had no problems with planing at all. The higher bench also makes sawing operations easier.

That's all I can think of right now...will add more as I think of them. Looking forward to your thoughts!