A slab top for the Japanese Workbench

These days my life revolves around the lastest addition to the farm, our daughter.

I spent the last few months franticly finishing some renovations so she didn’t grow up in a construction zone. Right before she was born I finally got around to finishing up my Japanese Workbench that I started over a year ago.

I finally procured a large slab of ash a couple months ago 12″ wide 12/4. It took some working getting it flat and square (dont even think about trying to pass a slab this big over a little 6″ jointer). This was a case of you must take the tool to the wood!

After it was square and flat I dovetailed a slot into the bottom to hook against the saw horse. I originally planned on dovetailing a slot in the top that I could slide a planing stop into as needed, but after much consideration I ended up stealing and idea from western benches. I just drilled 2 3/4″ dog hols in the top and popped in a couple of Ash bench dogs from Time Warp Tool Works – Thanks Chris!

They make it far more convenient to just pop up a planing stop as needed!