The top is just a series of face glued boards, they were surfaced with a #8 Jointer Plane, the top was flattened with various planes, ( scrub, jack, jointer, then smoother ) I would like to include more details on the top but, I had already made it before I started the web site, so...in a nutshell it is 26" X 72" and one slab is 3" thick, and the other is 2 3/4 (more on why later...) Also the lumber is Quartersawn, to lessen movement... it also has round dog holes, I added them later, but would have probably made them round anyway... 

This is a terrible shot of the mortise that is in the underside of the top, there are two of them each on the long side of the bench, and they are about 1/4 inch deep, the posts slip into the mortises to keep the top in place while you work, and since the top basically sits on the other two posts, it allows for seasonal movement, and while it looks kind of funny, it is very strong, I did break down and put a lag screw in the base so I can lift the bench and not just the top...the shank holes are a bit oversize to allow for movement...I had trouble with the pine chipping around the edges, so the mortises ended up ragged. They were laid out with a pencil, I positioned the top were I thought it should go, making allowance for the vise, and drew around the posts...made the mortise, it works pretty good...here I think having a little slop is ok, since the top has to drop into the posts, you don't want it to be so tight you have to beat the top down, gravity will do the trick here...

This shot shows the mechanical end of the vise, note the underside of the top, I was overeager with the scrub plane, and nearly took off too much, the diagonal lines show the marks left by the plane...This particular vise I purchased at highland hardware, it is the large shoulder vise, installed as an end vise...this one opens nearly 12 inches...it is huge...it is lag bolted to the underside of the bench, along with the mahogany end cap, which serves as the rear jaw for the vise... 

Here is the vise from the business end, it is all mahogany, that was liberated again, from a shipping container...the jaws were shaped after looking at several other benches in books and on the internet...basically a rabbet and then a quarter round. I used a backsaw, and planes to make the shapes. 

For the handle I used the scraps from the jaws, the dowel part is not really round, but has facets, well, it had facets. 32 of them, they kind of disappeared when I sanded the handle...the knobs are octagonal, I just started making chamfers and liked it...these were made with a chisel and plane...