Saw Bench with Tool Storage

I don't have a whole lot of room in my shop for a saw bench, but I have been missing something to lay a board on to saw, as well as something to sit on while I do some busywork. I've looked at a bunch of designs for saw benches from the traditional (looks like a fancy saw horse) to the split top rigid type that I assume are great for ripping with a hand saw. I think ripping is great, but I have a table saw, and I haven't reached the point where I've become a hand tool user, exclusively.

Click to enlarge, send me a note if you want the plans

So my saw bench starts with some pretty simple ideas, e.g., keep the sides and ends square to the top to act as a guide, make it at a comfortable height for sawing and sitting, and don't get too carried away with the design and construction. I think the saw bench I've come up with will last and when its time to break it down and build a new one, its should be pretty easy.

I was going to hinge the top, but then I figured why not just set it in there? So my design shows a rabbet all the way around so the top--1 1/2-inch thick stock--can drop right into the opening. I figure that will help stiffen the whole assembly when I'm sawing and sitting, and the two scoops cut out in the faces allow me to pull the top off when I need to get to the storage inside.

The two ends are also 1 1/2-inch thick stock, and the faces and bottom are 1x stock. I've let in the two sides so the face are flat down to the floor, and there are dadoes in the two ends to support the bottom. The two sides dip down in the middle so I can add nailing strips to support the bottom, and I have one stretcher running across, to also add support to the bottom and keep the sides from blowing out. I thought about doing a through tenon on the center stretcher, but I ended up doing a mortise about halfway through. The drawing shows solid pieces for the side panels and the bottom, but I'm making them out of some older stock that I'm piecing together.

More to come!