Pop Woodworking 21st Century Bench

[Rob Bois]

I wasn't a big fan of the tool tray when I first saw the bench (and originally considered just eliminating it from the design). But when I found out they were removable, I reconsidered. Really the big complaint about tool trays is that they fill up with shavings and dust, but if you can just pop them out and dump them, that pretty much solves that problem. The temporary bench I'm using has no tray, and a recent project that required frequent switching between three chisels, also showed me how a tool tray could be useful. My 1/4" chisel rolled off the bench a few times, and cost me about 45 minutes of honing.

[Jim Becker]

I'm the same way...never been enamored with tool wells for much the same reasons as others, but the explanations given here about the design make sense and in this case, the inclusion of the feature in the manner it's designed offers some interesting capabilities that are lacking on basic flat bench designs. The removability for clamping and cleaning specifically are attractive design elements...

Bob, thanks also for chiming in. It's always nice when someone intimate with such a project contributes to the conversation!