True Neanders please take a deep breath and look away (electric tools are in the picture) :-) .
Here's a pic of my cheap & sturdy bench. The bottom boxes are torsion boxes (held together with long threaded rod). The metal plate in the middle is for a Kreg jig clamp. Total cost for this bench was ~ $60 in materials (not counting the vise hardware).


Here is a closeup of how I made the dog holes. I cut a bunch of 1x6 squares (slightly at an angle to accommodate bench dog tilt under load) and screwed & glued them in between 2x6s. The top is also a torsion box design and very flat & sturdy. The screw holes have been plugged with epoxy for a flat bench surface. Note that I was not done cutting the dog hole in the solid maple end vise yet.


This has been a great bench and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a quick to build (and cheap) bench.