Is the Klausz-Frid-Scand Bench Dead?

[Eric Keller]

I copied the Scandanavian design in the Scott Landis workbench book, was that the Klausz design? Anyway, I do think that having a little different spacing on the tail vise than the bench is nice. I think my spacing is pretty much the same. I like the design, I like the face vise, but of course the tail vise gets the biggest workout. I need to tune mine up, it has been in service for almost 25 years now. I'm scheming to put a cabinet underneath it, I really need the storage space.

[William Fretwell]

I took the basic design in Tage Frid's book and changed it in several ways. I used inexpensive metal screws to get lots of movement.
I made mine longer so I can make house doors. I doubled the length of the tail vise which achieves lots of things:

You can move the leg beyond the tail vise opening and incorporate pegs on the leg to hold long boards for doors.
It moves your standing position more towards the middle of the bench so your feet clear the right leg and improves stability.
It eliminates droop of the tail vise.
It increases storage space for a cabinet under the bench some day.
The tail vise looks super cool and when open 13" (the max) you only see wood at the back of the opening.

If you double the tail vise length you will need to use the simple screw hardware, the expensive hardware won't really work so you save money!

Mine is 38.5" tall, the trestle legs are very substantial. I liked the Scandinavian concept but designed my own not using any books or plans. I can draw stuff in my head. The wood you have dictates how it will go also.

Dog spacing on mine is slightly different on the tail vise but not much. I did the maths and it offered a little advantage at the small sizes but not the far end of the range. You want the work over the main bench until you have to move it to the right so you use the end dog almost all the time.

My shoulder vise is substantial with 8" of usable space and serious holding power with no flex. I was pleasantly surprised with how solid it is.

I have 3 dog holes at the back of the bench also for panel work.

The thought process during building has been the most fun part, my engineer son will inherit it someday and then appreciate the thought I put in.

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

One of the cool things about SMC is zombie threads can live a long time!

Realized a couple days ago that I 'finished' this work bench exactly ten years ago, which got me reflecting.

The bench was my second and the first I built. The design is a slightly modified BC split top. I glued the halves together after a couple years and have no regrets. Jim's chain vise still works great, as does the BC wagon vise. I've also since added a Moxon made with Tom's hardware and souped it up with inspiration from Derek.

Has seen a move to a new shop, one or two major projects a year, and a whole bunch of little projects. The quick projects with family are probably my favorites, including bending a street sign that one of my sons (very teenage at the time) turned into a skid plate for under his Subaru. A few random shots from over the years:

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Was a bloody lot of work and took a long time. I remain grateful for all the inspiration and guidance from folks here and encourage anyone to build that bench--any bench--if you're thinking about it. While the Roubo craze seems to be waning a bit, whatever design you use, it will be great for somethings and less good at others. Would I change things now? A couple, but I have no regrets at all and the design is a fantastic all-around bench, especially when paired with a Moxon.

And I was moving wood around a couple weeks ago and it got me thinking about building a joinery bench...(the sickness is real).

Best,
Chris

[Eric Brown]

As long as work can be done, every workbench is good. Technique will develop around the limitations of a workbench. Where there is a will there is a way. My own bench has served me well and not many changes come to mind. Probably the one thing I would change is the hole locations on the skirts. They should have been offset from the top holes to avoid interference. I would definitely keep the Tucker vice and the adjust-a-bench legs. The next person to get my bench will have no problem with the height. Here is my bench:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ome&highlight=

[Mark Rainey]

that is a fine bench Chris!

[Christopher Charles]

Eric, I fully agree-my first bench was pretty spectacularly bad in comparison! And while traveling or visiting family and faced with a task, I've been surprised at how little a functional bench needs to be. Would love a Tucker vise--too bad (and a bit surprising) that there's not a solid pattern maker's vise still available.

Thanks Mark!