Benchmark Fine Woodworking

Benchmark Fine Woodworking Welcome to Benchmark Fine Woodworking!
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Located in the heart of Flemington, NJ, we are a local workshop with world class facilities where the finest artisan woodworkers come together to create exceptional custom furniture and other fine woodworks.

07/13/2026

With the giant pallet finally broken down and everything organized, it was time to stop looking at boxes and start building the new Avid 10x5 CNC at Benchmark Fine Woodworking.

One thing became obvious pretty quickly... every box had another box of goodies inside. Good thing we actually decided to follow the instructions on this one—otherwise we would've been completely screwed... literally.

Assembly starts with the foundation. We dug out the leg assemblies, feet, and cross members, then spent some time laying everything out before turning a wrench. It might seem like a slow start, but staying organized now makes the rest of the build go together a whole lot smoother.

Big machines are really just a collection of small steps. Take your time, keep the parts organized, and trust the process.

Alright... enough sorting. Let's build this thing.




07/06/2026

The shop cleanup is officially behind us... which means it's time to jump straight into another project at Benchmark Fine Woodworking.

Meet the newest addition to the shop—a brand new Avid 10x5 CNC.

At first glance it looks like a mountain of boxes, but I have to give Avid credit—they did a great job packing everything onto a single, manageable pallet. The temptation was to start tearing into everything immediately, but we knew that would probably come back to bite us.

Instead, we slowed down.

We unpacked each box, grouped like parts together, organized hardware, and kept the assembly manual close by. It may look quick in the reel, but we spent a good amount of time just getting organized before turning a single wrench.

On a machine like this, a little planning up front saves a lot of headaches later.

Now that everything is sorted... it's finally time to start building.

Who else gets more excited about opening new tools than they probably should?





06/24/2026

So now we finally get to the reason for all that cleaning at Benchmark Fine Woodworking...

The new Avid 10x5 CNC.

This machine showed up right in the middle of our shop cleanup project on a single pallet, ready to completely change how we work—and create a whole lot of work before it ever made its first cut.

The problem was the shop wasn't ready for it yet.

So instead of rushing the install, we tucked it away for a few weeks while we reorganized lumber storage, built sheet goods racks, cleaned up workflow, and made room for the machine to actually live where it belonged.

Fast forward to today.

The space is ready.
The floor is clear.
And it's finally time to start assembling this beast.

Once we rolled it into position, the boxes started opening and suddenly there were parts everywhere. Rails, gantries, hardware, electronics... and somehow all of it needs to become a precision CNC machine.

This is the beginning of a whole new chapter for the shop.

Follow along as we build it, dial it in, and make the very first cuts.



06/23/2026

One final cleanup project at Benchmark Fine Woodworking... and honestly, this might be the most relatable one yet.

After building the vertical lumber rack, the sheet goods rack, the cutoff bins, and getting everything organized, there was still one problem left:

The scrap pile.

You know the one.

Those little boards you're absolutely convinced you're going to use someday.

Not today.
Not next week.
Probably not next year.

But you can't throw them away because "that's still a good piece."

Eventually they become part of your estate plan and get passed down to future generations.

So I grabbed some leftover plywood from the sheet goods rack build and made the biggest scrap bin I could. Nothing fancy—just a giant box on wheels designed to contain the chaos.

The original plan was for it to be mobile.

The actual result? It never moves because everyone keeps filling it faster than it can be emptied.

But hey, at least the scraps are all in one place now.

And as an unexpected bonus, it apparently doubles as a soapbox derby car for unofficial shop racing events. Don't worry—no woodworkers were harmed in the making of this video.

Although I will say...

Those wheels have WAY better bearings than I expected.



06/17/2026

The final piece of the shop cleanup puzzle before the new 10x5 CNC arrives at Benchmark Fine Woodworking.

After building the vertical sheet goods rack and the vertical lumber storage rack, we ended up with an entire wall cleared out and ready for something useful. The only problem? The vertical rack tops out around 8.5 feet, and we still needed a home for the longer 10–12 foot boards that inevitably show up for future projects.

For this one, I went with Bora wood racks. I've used them in my home shop for years, and honestly, they're tough to beat. A quick trip to Home Depot or Lowe's, a little assembly, a few SPAX lags into the wall, and you've got solid horizontal lumber storage without spending a weekend building it.

Now don't get me wrong—I love building shop projects. But sometimes buying is the smarter answer. The sheet goods rack? Build. The custom vertical lumber rack? Build. Simple horizontal lumber storage? Buy.

That's always the debate, right? Build it or buy it.

For this one, Bora won.

Now let's see how long everyone can keep the lumber IN the racks and the shop clean.



06/16/2026

Last week's roller video absolutely took off, and there were a ton of great questions, so here's a quick follow-up on the vertical sheet goods rack at Benchmark Fine Woodworking.

The star of the show seems to be the roller. It's actually a heavy-duty gravity conveyor roller from Uline—the 33" version. When I built the base of the rack, I intentionally extended the framing in a few locations so the rollers would have solid support underneath.

A lot of people were concerned about the mounting screws, but the screws aren't really carrying the load. The roller shafts have hex-shaped ends that sit in the BX clips, and the weight transfers directly into the 2x4 framing below. The clips and screws are mostly there to keep everything located where it belongs.

The other common question was about storing sheet goods vertically. In our experience, thinner materials like 1/4" plywood and Masonite can develop a slight bow over time, but it usually relaxes once removed from storage. Materials 1/2" and thicker haven't been an issue for us, and the dividers help keep everything standing straight and organized.

As for the dividers themselves—they were actually repurposed from a material lift installation, so unfortunately I don't have a source for those.

Now it's time to do what this rack was built for—get the material off the floor and finally get this shop cleaned up.





06/15/2026

Every shop project eventually reaches the moment of truth.

For the new vertical sheet goods rack at Benchmark Fine Woodworking, that moment was loading it up and seeing if all the planning, building, and side quests actually paid off.

The base was built. The dividers were installed. The cutoff bins were finished. The rollers were in place. Now it was time to move the mountain of plywood that had been staged in another part of the shop and finally put this thing to work.

Honestly, this is my favorite part of any organization project. Watching a pile of chaos turn into something organized, accessible, and useful.

And the best part?

It actually works exactly how I hoped it would.

The rollers make loading easy, the dividers keep everything organized, and now we can actually find what we're looking for without digging through a stack of sheet goods like we're on an archaeological expedition.

One project down.

Now onto the next shop improvement.



06/09/2026

Wrapping up the new sheet goods storage rack at Benchmark Fine Woodworking, and I had one last idea that turned out way better than expected.

I picked up a pair of gravity rollers from Uline—actually replacement rollers for their conveyor systems—and built the rack around them from the beginning. When I framed the base, I intentionally left the 2x4 structure proud at the front edge and center so these rollers would have a solid mounting point.

The rollers sit just slightly above the finished deck, which means when you're loading a full sheet, you can drop the weight onto the roller and slide it in with almost no effort.

Honestly, I thought it would help...

I didn't think it would work THIS well.

It's one of those simple additions that completely changes how the rack feels to use. Moving sheet goods is easier, loading is easier, unloading is easier, and my back is probably a little happier too.

Definitely one of those upgrades I'll be adding again in future storage builds.



06/08/2026

Wrapping up the small sheet goods bins for the new vertical storage rack at Benchmark Fine Woodworking.

Sometimes the final steps of a project require a little creativity... and apparently a willingness to squeeze yourself into places you probably shouldn't fit.

To secure the upper storage bin for 1/4 sheets and cutoffs, I had to crawl inside the cabinet and install a wall cleat from the inside. Turns out it was surprisingly comfortable in there. I briefly considered taking a nap, but Bill kept interrupting to ask where things were and insist we keep making progress.

Something about productivity...

The good news is the bins are now locked in, secure, and ready to handle all those plywood scraps we swear we're going to use someday.

One more step closer to getting this shop organized and ready for the next big project.

Address

34 Stangl Road
Flemington, NJ
08822

Telephone

+19087459751

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