are you going to install levelers on the legs?
makes it easier to level the bench out

Yep. I'll look for some today at the hardware shop. That an a box of screws. I'm thinking using brackets on the top to avoid putting holes down through the surface.

Here are the "new and improved" parts. You see the longer stretchers and the double cross-beams as well as the custom cut shelf ply. But, of course, both of my (cheap) battery powered hand drills are powerless at the moment. So building will have to wait until tomorrow. Ah, remember the good old days of power cords?

I have both a mass market battery powered drill and corded drill. Any time I need any serious torque, the corded one comes out - watts are watts.

Martin

Done. (Almost.) I didn't document every step because it's all pretty obvious on such a simple workbench. The top still needs to be attached (with brackets from below) and I should add the levelers (though I don't know yet if they're necessary). All in all, I'm happy with my first "woodworking" project. It's a damn sight easier than making radiator panels!

Just checked and it's dead-level as it is. The parts were really precisely cut with all the same lengths being cut at the same time on giant industrial saws (by a guy who obviously knew what he was doing). So as long as I made sure to seat each part properly, it was all bound to add up.

Also important from a photographer's perspective is the room lighting. The first photo shows the normal room like from a typical Japanese circular overhead fluorescent light. The second was taken with this light angled towards the model (and I could do this with some strings and hooks). The third shows the light bounced off the right hand wall. And the four photo shows light bounced off the left hand wall. This looks ok, but it's all a bit harsher than I'd ideally like. In my main work area I hung a large sheet of white/translucent coroplast below the lights which acts as a large soft box. Also the light in the "light workshop" would be coming from behind me, which is not ideal.