French Triangles and French Workbenches

One of the many things I learned in my first woodworking class was how to read and apply the French Triangle system of labelling parts. It's kept me from making more mistakes than I can count. And mistake avoidance is the name of the game when you're up against a deadline.

Next week my (at Home) Workbench students will laying out, cutting and fitting the tenons on the long rails that tie the end assemblies of their workbench bases together. I made a little video on how to arrange the legs using the red and black triangles that I've scribbled all over their parts. It's modified version of the original system (there are two colors of triangles and you'll find them on the from as well as the back of the bench), but it seems like the kind of thing that any workbench builder might benefit from knowing. So here you go...