Is the Klausz-Frid-Scand Bench Dead?
Hello all,
Someone noted that everybody loves a thread on building a bench (just like you can't have too many clamps?). I'm planning to migrate this thread to SMC:
http:// forums.finewoodworking.com/fi...and-bench-dead
(Remove the space after // when copying into your browser.)
I'll continue updates here as i make progress, slow as it might be.
Cheers,
Chris C.
This years colour is puce...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Frank Drew
What happens when Chris Schwarz has a change of heart and decides that some other bench design is cooler than the Roubo?
I made a Frid-Klausz style bench around 1982, and then used it professionally for almost twenty-five years making custom furniture; in all that time, I never felt that it didn't serve me well. I was luckier than many here in that I'd already worked at other benches so knew what I wanted, and what I didn't want (e.g. a tool trough).
The idea, though, that this well-considered and time-tested design will cease to be useful to woodworkers is, frankly, preposterous.
This is my sentiment exactly. It's pretty goofy to think that the bench used by an ex-pat European (traditionally trained to boot) woodworker - who actually gets paid to produce goods for sale - would be inadequate for anyone on this forum.
Why people have become so attached to the words of woodworking journos these days is beyond me. There are gerat writers out there indeed but not a one great enough to displace the example of a working master.
This whole "Roubo" fad is very odd. First I'd say that our definition of Roubo is about as useful and accurate as the phrase "new and improved" and secondly the Roubo was exceedingly primitive and had many well known failings given it's materials and construction. It has miraculously blossomed into the new and improved woodworker's bench these days. Golly!
If you feel strongly about flush front legs or certain vises I think that there is merit in discussing those topics but the freshly rebranded "Roubo" fervour is something I hope fades into the past as all trends do.
Now if you've built one and it works for you I think that that is fantastic and I hope that you get to do a lot of work on it and that you have the opportunity to build another bench down the road that may suit your woodworking needs even better. Use/refine/redesign can be a lot of fun.