Man Builds $4,000 Workbench to Support $200 Worth of Tools He Never Uses

Hobbyist woodworker Dale Krieger, 47, completed his split-top Roubo workbench last Saturday after 14 months of construction, $4,000 in materials, and what his wife describes as 'a complete reorganization of our family's priorities around a piece of furniture that lives in the garage.' The bench, built from 300 board feet of hard maple sourced from a mill in Pennsylvania, features twin-screw leg vises, a wagon vise with Benchcrafted hardware, a sliding deadman, and a tool tray that Krieger says 'provides optimal access to the hand tools I plan to learn to use.' Those tools — a $180 block plane and a set of bench chisels purchased during the bench's construction — remain in their original packaging on the bench's surface, where they have sat undisturbed since March. 'The bench is the foundation of hand-tool woodworking,' Krieger explained, running his hand along the bench's immaculately flattened top. 'You can't do proper joinery without a proper bench. I'm not going to learn dovetails on a folding table like some kind of animal.' When asked what projects he plans to tackle now that the bench is complete, Krieger said he first needs to build 'a proper sharpening station, a tool cabinet, and maybe a saw till,' estimating that these bench accessories will take approximately eight to ten months. 'You can't just start making things,' Krieger said. 'The shop has to be ready. I'd say I'm about 60 percent through the shop-building phase. Then I'll be ready to make a cutting board or something.' Krieger's wife, Linda, noted that the family's kitchen cutting board — a $12 purchase from Target — has been in daily use for nine years and 'works fine.' Krieger described this observation as 'missing the point entirely.'