Last week, we received a treat of an email from Douglas Lambert, who recreated three workbenches from “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use” by Christopher Schwarz* in Lego form, and sent us detailed plans for each:
You can download the plans for free at each of the links above.
We reached out to Lambert to learn more about him and his work.
“I’m a video editor from Brazil, living in São Paulo,” he says. “I love Lego – it’s been a passion of mine since I was a kid – but I also have a big fascination with woodworking (my grandfather was a woodworker, so I think I got it from him). For a brief period of time, I actually tried to be a woodworker, but I couldn’t really do it because I just don’t have the space for a working woodshop in my apartment. So, I started reading a bunch of stuff about it and decided that if I couldn’t be a ‘physical woodworker,’ I could be like an ‘academic woodworker’ in a sort of way. I follow the community, read the magazines, and love the books from Lost Art Press.”
Lambert says after spending so much time researching woodworking, he wanted to create something adjacent to the craft that people could actually build.
“I had previously designed a full woodworking shop for the Lego Ideas website, but it didn’t get the proper votes to become an approved project,” he says.
(Previously, he designed another project based on the Brazilian Ipê tree that got some great attention.)
“Since I already had Chris Schwarz’s book on workbenches because of my plans to one day build a real one, I decided to take on a new challenge,” Lambert says. “If I couldn’t have a real bench in my home, I could turn Chris’s iconic workbench projects into Lego sets. That way, I could finally have a woodworking bench that I could put right on my editing desk as a nice piece of decoration.”
It took Lambert about two days to come up with the design for the three sets.
“Doing the very first one was definitely the most difficult part,” he says. “I had to figure out the proper relationship between the Lego parts and the scale of a proper workbench, and I had to create a whole new design ‘language’ from scratch. I had to figure out how to make a wood plane look right, how to create the wood shavings, get the color schemes down and make sure everything was recognizable as woodworking tools using the proper Lego pieces.”
He designed everything digitally in a program called Studio, which gave him access to unlimited bricks.
“Once I cracked the code on the first bench, the other two went much faster,” he says. “After finishing the digital models, I bought the actual pieces to see if the design worked in real life, and they turned out very stable and awesome to look at.”
Lambert originally offered these instructions on his website.
“I used to sell them for a dollar, but I’ve decided to share them for free,” he says.
If you’d like to support Lambert’s work, you can use the site to leave a donation of a dollar or whatever you like.
“It’s just a cool way for me to share these designs with the community and help other people get these little benches onto their own workspaces,” he says.
— Kara Gebhart Uhl
*Copies of Christopher Schwarz’s “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use” (Popular Woodworking Books, 2010) are readily available on the secondary market.
The fully stocked storefront offers all our books, tools and apparel, plus cash-only blemished seconds and tools.
The LAP editorial staff is happy to welcome to the Lost Art Press storefront (407 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., 41011) from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on most Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
But a heads up that we will be closed on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day.
Editor’s note: Our Mind Upon Mind series is a nod to a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column (also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years”), in which Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement.To that end, we’ve asked you what else you have thought of, tried out and improved upon after building projects from our books.
Send us your own ideas! Email [email protected]. You can read more about the submission process here.
In issue 3 of The Stick Chair Journal and on the Never Sponsored Substack, Chris gives a review of and instructions for using the Stanley No. 77 Doweling Machine for creating the round tenons on long and short sticks.
He recommends using the “stock guide plate,” and shares his method for holding the stick and feeding slowly while cranking fast.
I had already been experimenting with the No. 77 for this, but even following these great instructions, including using the Woodka and a spoke pointer to cone the end, I could not get a great, centered cut.
My solution: I had a cheap machinist cross-slide vise lying around for the drill press and decided to bolt it in front of my dowel machine. I can now clamp the stick with no wobble or vibration (I use shims to set the stick height on the vise). I can center the stick perfectly and feed it at a very consistent rate with the vise crank while turning the doweling machine crank at a consistent rate. Additionally, I can stop perfectly on the scribed line for the length.
With so many sticks to do, this method allows me to sit in a comfortable position and also lets me see the work more closely. It works amazingly well, and my tenons are really nice (the ones in the photo are in cherry).
A year ago in the spring of ’25, while I, Kale, was still an apprentice, I ventured to Vermont to build a settee with George Sawyer at his workshop in Woodbury. This is the love child birthed from my time there. This settee takes inspiration from the “Rod Back Chair,” a chair originally designed by Dave Sawyer, that was then modified by George. This class was George’s first attempt at converting the Rod Back Chair into a settee. Built over the course of eight days, this compact settee offers loads of comfort and style.
For the first time ever, I’ll be selling a seating piece via silent auction; the details are below. The bidding price includes crating and shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S. But first, some details on the settee.
From the ground to the top of the comb, this settee is 47″ tall and about 4′ wide. The carved seat sits 16 1/2″ off the ground and is 14-1/2″ deep. Overall, the settee is made from a combination of cherry, white oak, pine and maple.
The legs, stretchers, hand and back posts are turned, while the sticks (short and long,) comb and seat are shaped by hand. Because this settee is handmade, the occasional tool mark and inconsistency may be present. The comb and sticks in particular have a true handmade feel and look, as they were riven then shaped on a shave horse.
The hand features a rounded “knuckle,” which was a personal decision. I love the flair and playfulness it adds.
Although this settee has a slight tilt, the flexible back sticks and sculptured seat invite you to lounge. Comfortable and wildly stylish, the drama of this settee never goes unnoticed.
The settee was assembled with animal glue, making any future repairs a breeze. It is finished with two coats of General Finishes “lamp black” Milk Paint (actually, an acrylic).
How to Buy the Chair
I’m selling this chair via a silent auction with a minimum bid of $800. The winning bid includes the settee, and crating and shipping to anywhere in the lower 48. If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to [email protected] before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, May 13th. Please use the subject line: “Settee.” In the email please include:
Your bid
U.S. shipping address
Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
If you are the highest bidder, the chair will be shipped to your door. The price includes the crate and all shipping charges. There are no additional charges. Alternatively, the chair can be picked up at our storefront. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.)
My kitchen renovation is nowhere near complete, but I’m glad the space is at least semi-functional.
I’ve been at home this week (and possibly will be next) staring on and off at my not-yet-finished kitchen – on which I cannot currently work – every time I go to refresh my ice pack and drink more fluids. (I’m recovering from minor but uncomfortable surgery, and am under doctor’s orders to do no physically taxing work and to lift no more than 10 pounds for at least two weeks.)
This gives me plenty of time to second-guess my decisions. Maybe I should have built a lazy Susan cabinet in the corner…. Perhaps a smaller refrigerator tucked into the pantry would have been a better use of space… Should I have done inset toe kicks after all… Why did I even start this project ….
But start it I did, the day after Thanksgiving last year. And I’ve been thinking about it since the day I closed on the house in 2016. The first thing I built was the pantry storage, so that I’d have a place to store stuff – and it turns out that the pantry holds about 70 percent of my dishes, cookware, food stocks, etc. Not in any terribly organized or convenient setup, mind you – but at least I don’t have everything piled on my dining room table.
The pantry is also not done, but it’s almost completely functional (blue-tape drawer pulls for the win!). All that’s missing for full functionality is the ladder, which will also be used in the kitchen proper to reach the not-yet-begun upper cabinets there.
I moved my refrigerator into the dining room for a few months while I tore everything out and had the floors sanded and refinished. Going down to the basement to do dishes sucked enough that I got the sink base done quickly and hooked up the disposal and dishwasher with as little delay as possible.
And, my stove is now in place and hooked up. It taught me an expensive lesson: Do not replace a gas stove with a dual-fuel stove (or an all electric range, I suppose) without first making sure you have enough space on your electric panel to run that new stove. (I had to have a new panel put in…there went the budget!)
I built the cabinets just like Nancy Hiller teaches in “Kitchen Think” – except I use loose tenons where she used biscuits, because we have a Domino but no biscuit joiner. I did build one cabinet without loose tenons – screws only – and that was a mistake. The tenons (or biscuits) make it a heck of a lot easier to keep things in alignment as you drive screws. Always listen to Nancy.
I sure wish she were around to help me – or to at least weigh in on my choices. Or to simply share dinner with. (But I think she’d be proud I decided against a corner cabinet.)
Here’s how Nancy usually built kitchen cabinets (and how I do, too).
– Fitz
The method I use most often for built-in cabinetry combines simplicity and strength for the basic casework with materials and techniques for doors, drawers and finished panels that owe more to the world of furniture than that of contemporary commercial cabinetmaking. The technique that follows is a hybrid, drawing on what I learned at the different shops where I’ve worked. I have chosen materials and methods that make sense for my business, given my clientele and the styles in which I specialize.
Basic types of toe kick seen from the cabinet’s left end. The base cabinet at left has a flush kick. The one at right has a recessed kick.
I have worked on kitchen remodels managed by general contractors, but more often I’m working directly for clients. This is at least partly because installing the type of cabinets I most often build for kitchens is more labor-intensive and finicky than a lot of contractors want to bother with. They want to get their job done and return the kitchen to their clients as quickly as they can while doing high-quality work.
I get it. Before my husband and I were romantically involved, we were acquainted as tradespersons in the town we’d both made our home. The first job on which we collaborated was a wall of built-in bookcases. The clients had contracted with me to design and build them; Mark and his crew were going to do the installation. When we discussed the job initially, I asked about scribe rails for the sides where the bookcase face frames would meet the walls. “Life’s too short,” Mark commented. I was happy to be let off the hook and have him install the casework with applied trim, as he saw fit.
As time went on and we worked together on several kitchens, his attitude shifted. He still prefers not to scribe cabinets to their surroundings – it’s fiddly work that involves a fair amount of heavy lifting. As you get older, it hurts. But despite the aches, Mark has become expert at installing this type of cabinetry. A couple of years ago he even said he’d come to appreciate why I design and build kitchen cabinetry the way I do – it’s far more truly handmade than the majority of custom cabinetry. It allows the cabinetmaker (in this case, Mark’s wife) to use materials and techniques that are no longer common in this line of work, which translates to opportunities for the kind of satisfaction John Ruskin argued was every worker’s birthright.6 And in my experience, it’s clear that many clients appreciate the extra attention to detail, along with the awareness of history and craft that underlies it.
This is not to suggest that building and installing cabinets according to the following methods will be for everyone. It obviously isn’t. But considering how much flak I’ve had for my approach from fellow professionals over the years, it’s worth pointing out that a growing number of craftspersons and clients value this way of working.
The cabinet in the following example was designed for the kitchen of a 1912 house. I planned to scribe it to the floor and to the wall at its left; that’s why the face frame protrudes beyond the cabinet’s left side.
Unless you’re running a production facility where you build things in multiples to standard sizes, you should take the building work in stages instead of cutting all your parts at the start, based on a cutting list taken off drawings. That way you’ll have a chance to adjust the different parts to fit what you’ve made so far, instead of finding that your face frame is 1/16″ too narrow or you cut the recess for your kick 1/4″ too high.
Some people start with face frames, then build their carcases to fit. I work the other way around: Once the basic cases have been assembled, I move on to face frames. Then come doors and drawers.
Get Going
Now you have your scale elevations at hand and have made a cutting list based on them. My typical material for kitchen casework is 3/4″ maple-faced veneer-core plywood, prefinished on one side. The prefinished side goes to the cabinet interior; it saves a lot of time, which helps make my work affordable. That said, some jobs call for painted interiors or other finish treatments, so I always choose the sheet material to suit the job.
The next step is to cut your basic parts (sides, tops and cabinet floors) to size. Because I’m building each job to genuinely custom dimensions, some base cabinets may not be designed to end up 24″ deep or 34-3/4″ high. (For example, I love a 38″-high counter. It should go without saying that the carcase height must be adjusted to allow for the thickness of whichever counter material you’ll be using.) And even if most of the uppers in a kitchen job will be 12″ deep, one may be a 5″-deep spice cabinet, while another may be 16″ deep.
Rip all of the sides and floors to width. The edges and corners of sheet goods may not be square, and they often have minor damage, so it’s ideal to make the first rip slightly overwidth, then turn it around and rip the other edge to the size you require. That way you’ll have two square, clean edges for joinery.
Keep in mind how parts relate. Plan view of cabinet sides and back with face frame overhang (top). Front elevation showing face frame, door and drawer (bottom).
After ripping, cut the parts to length. There are various ways to do this. Aside from cutting each part accurately to length, it’s important to cut the ends square. You can do this with a track saw if you have one. Alternatively you can use a straightedge and a pattern cutting bit to rout one end square, then crosscut on a table saw, running that end along the fence. (The same technique will work with a radial arm saw for the second cut, which trims the piece to length.) My current method is to crosscut one end of each piece using a slider on my table saw, then cut it to length using the fence. Be sure you mark each part clearly as you cut it.
My method for joining cabinet floors to sides may not be refined, but it’s quick, simple and strong. I use a spacer made from scrap 3/4″ plywood to position the floor and support it. Twin-thread screws run in through the cabinet sides will fasten the whole thing together.
Your elevations will determine how high the kick needs to be and whether it will be flush or recessed. Calculate the height of the space that will be be neath the cabinet floor and rip spacers from scrap plywood to this width, then cut them to length. If your kick will be flush, the spacer should be a hair under the width of the cabinet sides in length; if the kick will be recessed, the spacer should be a hair under the width of the cutout portion at the bottom of each cabinet side.
Next, drill for the screws that will tie the sides together with the floor.
Most base cabinets do not need a solid plywood top. A strip several inches wide at the front and back offers plenty of material to tie the sides together and support a counter, and using less material lightens the weight of these substantial cabinets while minimizing waste. Sink bases in particular do not need a solid top; the vast majority of a sink base’s top will be cut out to accommodate the sink. For narrow cabinets (those 18″ or less wide) it’s usually quicker to go ahead and make a solid plywood top, following the same directions as those for a strip top.
The strips for a particular cabinet will be the same length as the floor for that cabinet, so cut them to length at the same time. The sides of the cabinet will be joined to these strips with twin-thread screws, but I also use biscuit joints, for increased strength as well as a positive means of locating the parts during assembly. Mark each strip with the cabinet name or number and “front” or “back,” so you’ll be able to identify quickly which end is right and left, and which long edge faces forward. It’s a good idea to have at least two biscuits in each strip to help prevent the strips from twisting during assembly.
If you have ever found yourself on hands and knees, searching for that custard pan in the very back of a base cabinet, you’ll understand why most cabinets today are made with drawers or pull-out trays on full-extension mechanical slides instead of with shelves concealed by doors. I rarely put shelves in base cabinets, but I do use them in upper cabinets and in shallow base units such as bookshelves.
When a cabinet will have adjustable shelves, I usually use 1/4″ pin-style supports, which are unobtrusive, extremely strong (I have used them to store large shelves of LPs) and fast. Now is the time to drill shelf support holes, because you can clamp the cabinet sides together and mark them at the same time. Lay out the positions with a long square.
Safety first. Drill shelf support holes close to the front and back of the shelf, where they will give the necessary support.
Shelf spacing may seem like a no-brainer, but even here it’s worth paying attention to a few considerations:
There is no point putting shelf support holes too close to the cabinet floor or top (or, in cases where there will be drawers above the shelf compartment, too close to the drawers) where there would not be enough room to store anything on the shelves. Think about what the shelves will need to hold and plan their spacing accordingly. If the bottom of the cabinet will be holding flower vases that are 12″ tall, there may not be any point putting shelf support holes lower than about 13″ above the cabinet floor.
Holes at the back of the cabinet should be about 1″ forward from the back edge to allow enough space for fingers when inserting and removing supports.
Holes near the front of the cabinet should be positioned close enough to the front edge of the shelves that they prevent the shelves from tipping when someone is putting an object away or taking it out. At the same time, take any lipping at the front edge of the shelf into account. In general it’s a good idea to center the front shelf support holes about 5/8″ on center behind the back face of a shelf lipping that hangs below the underside of the shelf.
Consider how much adjustability is really necessary for the shelves in a given cabinet. For cabinets that will store shorter items such as juice glasses and dishware, closer spacing may be warranted; I often lay these out at 1-1/4″ on center. For cabinets storing large items such as tall jars of dry goods, 2″ on center may be more practical. The point is to allow as much versatility in positioning the shelves as may be needed while avoiding the visual busy-ness of too many holes.
A typical upper unit. The top shows a plan view; at bottom is an elevation.
Assembly Time
With the basic carcase joints cut and shelf support holes drilled, you’re ready to glue up the cabinets. Run a bead of glue along the top edge of each floor spacer, then stand the sides on the floor, front edge facing up. (You can lean each side against a workbench, stationary machine or sturdy trash can to hold it temporarily.)
Set the cabinet floor in place between the sides, and clamp loosely. Depending on the size of the assembly and whether you have a helper, it may be more practical to hold the floor and sides together by clamping the floor to the bottom spacers instead of clamping across the cabinet’s width. At this point the clamp is just to hold the parts together while you insert the top (or top strips); there will be time to adjust the fit and get things square.
Now apply glue to the biscuit slots for the top (or top strips), insert the biscuits, and set the top in place. Apply a couple of clamps to hold the assembly together while you adjust the fit.
After squaring the cabinet, sight across the top edges to check for winding. Shim at the bottom as necessary to remove twist, then drill and screw. Let the cabinet sit until the glue has set, per the glue manufacturer’s instructions.
Vertical Dividers Plywood that’s prefinished on both sides comes into its own for vertical dividers. I measure for dividers at this point and fasten them in place with screws.
Instead of using a tape measure, I cut a couple of pieces of scrap plywood (one for the bottom, the other for the top) to the distance between the divider and the nearest cabinet side. Clamp the scrap in place and you have an instant way to drill the pilot holes, 3/8″ on center from the edge of the scrap. This method also makes locating the divider a snap when you’re ready to screw it in place.
Of course, you can’t insert that divider until you’ve cut it. Don’t precut dividers to size; cut them to fit. Otherwise you may find that your divider is too small. The most accurate way to determine a divider’s length is by setting one end in place and marking the other.
Wide cabinets should have support feet below or near vertical dividers to prevent sag. Make these from strips of 3/4″ plywood cut to the same height as the spacers supporting the cabinet sides. Screw a batten on each side of the foot through which you can fasten to the underside of the cabinet floor.
Excerpted from Nancy R, Hiller’s “Kitchen Think” – which I cannot recommend highly enough if you’re considering a kitchen renovation. And doubly so if you’re considering a sympathetic renovation for an older home
