This simple and inexpensive workbench add-on is a woodworking game changer!

I've got a cheap and simple solution to fix this and to add some functionality to any workbench on a budget. So let's get started. The first thing we need to do is modify the edges of our bench. And this can be accomplished with simple tools like a router, an edge guide, and either the inexpensive micro jig match fit system or with some aluminum T track and the appropriate bolts and hardware and router bits for that, let's get to it.

What I'm thinking of doing is creating a low profile sliding stop of some kind to hold work pieces that I'm dealing with fast against the bench dogs. I'm gonna use the match fit grooves that I just routed into the side of my workbench here. If you did t-track, you can use those too, but I'm gonna use that to fasten everything down and slide it into place where I want it to be. I also have some other ideas for ways that we can utilize these match fit grooves. So make sure that you stick around to the end where I'm gonna give some of these other options I've come up with. I'm doing now it's just lining up where I want to pre-drill for the match fit holes. So set this into a dado just like that. I wanna leave some room on this side here. Okay. So we pushed up our bench dog here and we're gonna sit our piece of wood against there. Now I'll take my plane stop here and I'm going to push it in as tight as I can and tighten this thing down. It's not perfect cuz we are dealing with something that is not ultimately a vise and you'll see, you know, it's half decent. I can take my plane in here

And nothing's sliding across. So overall I'm pretty happy with that. When I'm done, I just loosen these knobs off, pull that back and there we go. And this is all we're looking at here.

All right, so this next one, I'm gonna take these offcut pieces of cherry that I've got from another project. Really you could use any thin stock or even some quarter inch or eighth inch plywood if you wanted to. I'm gonna put some spacers in between these with a little bit overhanging each side that I can put my match fit system into. Basically what I'm doing is I, I'm gonna make a floating tool holder, kind of like you'd see on a split top rubo except for this, it's on the side of whatever match fit system groove or t track groove that you've put into your workbench. So again, like the other one, I'm going to just mark this off where I want it. The height that I wanted on the bench, I'm thinking that I want it to be just a little bit lower maybe, Eh, No, we're gonna go even, I'm gonna go even with the top of the bench here and so I'll just mark out where my holes need to be here. That one in there, in there.

So what this is gonna be nice for here if you haven't guessed already is when I'm working on the bench, it very quickly starts to fill up, you know, I'll get a marking gauge going and all that on the, the desk. I'll, you know, get my marking knife maybe, you know, a couple of chisels or something like that out here being used and, and it starts to, to build up maybe even a, a flush trim saw, right? And so the idea here is that when I'm in the midst of, of using these things, I mean the marking knife I guess isn't gonna work, but that's fine. You know, we got some chisels going and they can just kind of all drop in here, flush, trim saw can drop in there. And then as I need them I can be picking things up and drop it back in, do what I need, deal with the trim saw, you know, do the marking thing, all that.

And if I don't want it anymore, I can just undo these, slide it off if I want it on the other end of the bench, not undo this and take it around the other side. So it's totally portable but keeps things outta my way. So I'm really excited for that. I actually may move it to the other end there when there's tools here, it's gonna get in the way of some of my table saw stuff, but at the far end there, it's a lot less likely to do that. This next one really takes advantage of the match fit system though I know that there are ways that you could do this with t track as well. And for this, let's say that you're dealing with a fairly large board and you need to be dealing with it on its edge like this or you know, maybe you're even doing some dovetailing or something like that and the panel's too big for your moxon vice or you don't have a moxon vise yet, which by the way, if you don't have a moxon vise, click this link to see a video on how I made one and there's free plans there for you.

But this, this trick here, this is going to use these match fit dovetail clamps. What I'm doing is this groove that we've done in here, these clamps fit right in there as well. So I'm gonna put one going one direction, one going the other direction. And really what that allows me to do is I can bring them over here together and I can use them to begin clamping this board in place.

And just like that, this board is attached to my bench. So there's another thing that you can do using the match fit groove along the side of your workbench and you're gonna find that you have a nice clamping area that you can use if you don't have a vise. So I have one other that I'm not gonna be able to show you because it's still printing and I wanna get this video out, but if you have a 3D printer, go ahead and look up some designs for a cup holder or I'm sure that outta wood you could, you could make one if you wanna spend the time to do it. I just don't really want to, but I'm gonna be printing out this cup holder and then I'm going to bolt it onto a piece of plywood, put a couple of the match fit feet inside of it and I can attach a cup holder then to my bench wherever I want it.

Another idea would be you can attach a a magnifying loop or a lamp or something like that to it and slide that around. You could make multiples of those tool holders. you could make something with a magnetic strip or or even a little area that pops off to the side with a cutout for one of those magnetic parts trays and you could drop nuts and bolts and screws and whatever you're working on in there so that you don't lose it. There's all kinds of things that you can use this match fit groove or the t track on the side, the edge of your bench, especially if like me, you haven't gotten around to actually getting any kind of really good bench vise or permanent bench vise. So yeah, hopefully you found this helpful. Hey, if you liked this video and you wanna see more like it, be sure to hit that thumbs up button below the video and click subscribe over here. And then once you've done that, I think that you're really gonna enjoy checking out my comparison between this DeWalt planner and my old Ridgid planer or perhaps this Moxon Vise video.