Is the Klausz-Frid-Scand Bench Dead?

[Zach Dillinger]

The very first thing I built once I got serious about woodworking was a Klausz-Frid workbench. I even made the wooden screws with one of those Woodcraft tap and die sets (1"... I didn't know any better at the time). I still get a lot of use out of it. It is my in-the-basement bench so that I can work in the winter. It's only 5 feet long or so and not the most stable thing in the world (due to my lack of skill at the time, not an inherent flaw of the bench). I'll get pics if someone wants, but trust me its ugly.

[Chris Hachet]

I don't think it's dead, I think it's just too complicated for most of us building our first bench...especially building it with only hand tools, even though that's the way they were built for centuries. It's actually not that complicated, but if you look at all the dovetails, moving parts, splines and careful planning, it seems like a daunting task.

I just put the finishing touches on my Holtz-ominy bench and I'm loving it...but the scandanavian bench is still a goal of mine. One of these days I would love to make a hardwood scandinavian bench with wooden vise screws, a traditional tail vise, and tusk tenoned stretchers...but that's out of my price range, time constraints, and experience level. It's also pure desire, not need, on my part. I don't think that style of bench is superior...it just looks so dang cool.

agree with you on this, it is on my bucket list to build one!

[Chris Hachet]

Gary,

I use my tail vise a lot more than my shoulder vise. The vise faces I most often use are those on the tail vise.

Like David, I did have trouble with the heavily cantilevered tail vise sagging on the first bench I built. Since then I built four more benches and modified the design to eliminate the sag. I moved the legs at the tail back under the vise, it's easy to do. Two of the benches I built are portable and have a tail vise on each side so two people can work on one bench.

I do find the Frid/Klausz shoulder vise gets in the way at times because it sticks out so far. If I was building one again, I just use something like the old Record quick release vise. The shoulder vise I have is great for supporting a variety of fixtures though.

Yes, you could move the legs to the edge but I'm not sure of why this is needed. If you do, it's important to remember to keep the stretcher back away from the tail vise so that things clamped in the jaws can go all the way to the floor. If you're looking to install a sliding deadman it wouldn't be a difficult modification. I find I don't need that. For supporting longer stock in the shoulder vise, I just clamp a 2 X 4 vertically in the tail vise. This 2 X 4 is the same length of the height of the bench and has holes drilled a couple inches apart in its edge. I insert a short dowel in the appropriate hole to support the end of longer stock.

I might use Klausz's plans as a guideline but there are a number of changes I'd recommend. One other important one is the shape of the small land inside the bench dog holes. If you leave that parallel to the bench top as both Klausz and Frid show debris collects there and makes it impossible to set dogs level to the top. just angling that land at about 45º lets you keep that land clean by just removing and reinserting the dog.

I'm attaching photos of one of our portable benches with 2 tail vises and my bigger bench that I've been working on for around 15 years.

Very nice work...interesting that you would go with the record style front vise...I have thought of taking that route, but I think it would be more difficult to dovetail with that arrangement...but a lot easier to build...!

[Chris Hachet]

I love my Fortune/Nelson.

Attachment 202982

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A very motivational photograph for me...a lot of the visual bang of the euro bench, with a nice simple record style front vise arrangement....eye candy!

[Mike Holbrook]

"Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking" Book 3 Furnituremaking, Chapter 3, Furniture to Make Furniture, Workbench- 19 pages of text drawings etc. on how Tage built his workbench. Interesting to me that Tage's bench is only about 60" long x 12" wide.

I had the pleasure of attending a few of the seminars Tage did at Highland Woodworking. He was not a big guy and he did a fair amount of sawing with a bow saw standing up in a position that allowed him to use his entire body. It may also be of interest to know that according to Tage's book he came up with his bench design to solve the issue of suitable benches for students to use in the first woodworking school he worked in in the US. Apparently they made a bench for every graduate student, sometimes doing "production" runs of 15 benches a time in the space of a few days. I suspect that the cost of the hard maple to make these benches and the space constraints in a school influenced the design. The design was apparently similar to the one Tage worked on at the school he apprenticed at. Klausz may have learned on a similar bench so this design may be a classic design built by or for students in the type of schools these two woodworkers learned in.

I think John has the pronunciation of his name pretty close.

[Chris Hachet]

"Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking" Book 3 Furnituremaking, Chapter 3, Furniture to Make Furniture, Workbench- 19 pages of text drawings etc. on how Tage built his workbench. Interesting to me that Tage's bench is only about 60" long x 12" wide.

I had the pleasure of attending a few of the seminars Tage did at Highland Woodworking. He was not a big guy and he did a fair amount of sawing with a bow saw standing up in a position that allowed him to use his entire body. It may also be of interest to know that according to Tage's book he came up with his bench design to solve the issue of suitable benches for students to use in the first woodworking school he worked in in the US. Apparently they made a bench for every graduate student, sometimes doing "production" runs of 15 benches a time in the space of a few days. I suspect that the cost of the hard maple to make these benches and the space constraints in a school influenced the design. The design was apparently similar to the one Tage worked on at the school he apprenticed at. Klausz may have learned on a similar bench so this design may be a classic design built by or for students in the type of schools these two woodworkers learned in.

I think John has the pronunciation of his name pretty close.

Interestingly, this smaller size is kind of what I am after...thanks for the reference!

[Christopher Charles]

Howdy,

After breaking down the base and lots of milling, I was surprised to see how small the piles of parts were compared to the slabs. Being pressed for time, most of the joinery for the base was completed with power tools, though everything was fitted with planes. I started breaking down the slabs last November and had the base dry fitted in late Feb.

Cheers,
C

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[David Weaver]

Goodness...nothing at all wrong with doing joinery with power tools. Especially on what is essentially a large piece of shop hardware.

Looks good so far.

[Chris Hachet]

Goodness...nothing at all wrong with doing joinery with power tools. Especially on what is essentially a large piece of shop hardware.

Looks good so far.

The voice of rational reason...thank you for this post!

[Christopher Charles]

As promised, here are a few shots of the doweling plate. The backing board is a piece of scrap American cherry and the clearance holes were drilled oversize to let the dowels clear. I did not counter bore the plate itself and barely did anything to flatten the face. Works like a charm with rived stock and I also found it to be a remarkably therapeutic activity. Not sure if the benefits came from release of aggression or a harking back to pounding wooden pegs on a toy workbench....

Cheers,
C

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[Chris Hachet]

Wonder how many people here in this forum actually also use power tools?

[Bob Lang]

The productive ones and the honest ones.

Bob Lang

[Zach Dillinger]

The productive ones and the honest ones.

Bob Lang

Ouch

I'm sure there are others here who are productive and honest.

[David Weaver]

I'm sure there are a few also. I do use power tools any time I have to build something someone else wants me to build, though. That's the honest part. The items that please me the most are the ones that were made completely by hand, though. And the process pleases me the most, too, all the way down to ripping boards.

[Winton Applegate]

Wonder how many people here in this forum actually also use power tools?

Every single one of us use power tools.
Don't take me toooooo seriously when I get all about the hand tools.
After all it is the hand tool forum and I am getting in the spirit of the thing and encouraging new bench makers to enjoy themselves here.
I do feel strongly that it is worth learning to make with hand tools FIRST and that helps understand how to get the most out of the machines when being efficient.