Tool tray or not tool tray, that is the question...
Leg vise, shoulder vise, twin screw too... Wagon vise, tail vise what's one to do?
A slab of wood, some sturdy legs
as long as it won't move
while planing stock,
rabbeting
or when I cut a groove
As long as one can do their work without fighting the bench the bench is fine.
There is not one bench for all. It is as individual a choice as one's preferred hand plane.
My father made a bench in the 1950's. It served him well into the 1990's. It didn't suit my needs so a friend now has it.
It was made for working on mechanical equipment. That is what it is mostly used for today.
The bench should be designed for the purpose and the person. The person and work should not need to be altered to accommodate the bench.
A shoulder vise doesn't fit my way of working. For others, my bench may not provide the features they need.
The bench of my design may have some features of one "famous named" bench or another, but I am not bothering to make it true to anyone's dreams but my own.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)