LN Improved Workbench

[David Weaver]

to build a bench, all you need is an unfinished door, a couple of old discard file cabinets to put it on, and a 2x4 to affix to the door to butt it against a wall (so it all stays still when you plane on it). Anyone with a power jointer would only need the door without butting it. A bench, though, would certainly be easier, I'll concede that, but if you don't have one...

But just to illustrate why I wouldn't pay $2650 for the LN bench, and my comments prior....hardwood is cheap around here if you shop around. I figured I'd go out to CL and see what my luck would be if I was in the hypothetical position of being ready to build a bench and I just wanted to take whatever I could find for lumber on CL and not go to any of the local sawyers around here who will custom cut lumber for you at half or 3/4ths of market if you have time to wait.

There are about half a dozen ads for lumber, but this one wins, I think. You could have enough 8/4+ thickness to build the bench and vise faces for about $200, maybe a little less. I didn't include the link to CL, because I don't want to get my post moved, but the picture with the sale is really nice wood, it's just short. I personally would go with plainer vise hardware, too, in practice, I have an economy vise and I've never really felt like I needed to have extremely expensive hardware. The vast majority of time I'd really like to cut out has a lot more to do with moving materials around (off of the bench) and planning things. Anyway, here's the text of the ad. A little scouting for hardware, and I could probably get the whole thing built for $400 in a couple of weeks (yes, I'd use a power planer as soon as the boards were jointed well enough for it to go in one, and I'd probably use a CMS to get quick square ends on the boards).

Large quantity (approximately 1,000 bd. ft.) of Kiln-Dried Maple lumber in 2" to 2.5" thickness. All boards are 3 ft. to 4 ft. in length. Widths are random from 5" up to 14" (the majority of boards are 8" & wider). Private stock. Will sell in lots of 100 board ft. for $150, 500 board ft. for $600, or 1,000 board ft. for $1,000. Call __________ & leave name & phone number. Will return your call ASAP.

As for the over the top comment about people being rude something or other for suggesting a bench build, I guess the club you're in if you do it is the club of having an extra 2 grand to spend on other tools or lumber. I still don't think there's anything wrong with someone else buying that bench, but I sure wouldn't do it. I just don't personally see the value, but instead I see something relatively plain that costs a lot for what it is. And my rear wouldn't pucker nearly so much the first time I drove a chisel into a shop made bench or accidentally had an overcut that marked it up.

[Adam Cruea]

As for the over the top comment about people being rude something or other for suggesting a bench build, I guess the club you're in if you do it is the club of having an extra 2 grand to spend on other tools or lumber. I still don't think there's anything wrong with someone else buying that bench, but I sure wouldn't do it. I just don't personally see the value, but instead I see something relatively plain that costs a lot for what it is. And my rear wouldn't pucker nearly so much the first time I drove a chisel into a shop made bench or accidentally had an overcut that marked it up.

This is exactly why I built my bench. I've actually already got some marks on it from the saw, so whatever. The only rule is that if my wife uses it for a painting table, it gets covered.

Ikea stuff does that even without you building anything on it, so it's not your fault it wobbles. It was already wobbly on the way to your house after she bought it, it just didn't know it was supposed to wobble until it settled down.

Good point, good point.

[Tai Fu]

I have been building my workbench for the past month... Can't find anything that won't wobble in Taiwan (well they do have heavy tables that's 4" thick that's essentially one section of a log, that will probably warp like crazy in a few years, costs over 3000 dollars too) so I decided to build my own out of scrap floor boards... the top took the most time, but it's finished at 2.5" thick, 66" x 26". I made the legs out of some cheap maple I found, it's all 4/4 so I had to laminate them. Was actually able to utilize some sub-par wood (had wormholes all over it) by cutting out the bad part and gluing the good part together.

The whole bench will weight in at about 75kg.

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[Steve Meliza]

I had considered building a full woodworking bench, but I would rather spend that time building furniture. I have a small home made bench. Very heavy (good), but very short (bad), and with only one vise ((bad).

This seems to have been lost in the noise. He's got a bench he could use to make another bench and he's got the time, he just wants to spend his time building furniture instead of another bench.

Also note that in his part of the country the only maple he'll find dirt cheap from a local sawmill is soft maple, if hard maple is desired it must be purchased from a hardwood dealer which around here is about $5-6 bf (it is likely higher in CA). That's still cheap compared to buying a pre-built top or the whole workbench, but you can't assume we all have suitable hardwood resources on CL.

By the way, I am squarely on the side of building your own workbench and am in the process of doing just that using 100% hand tools to do so. My own view is shame on anyone that says a hand tool woodworker should built his own bench but allows the use of power tools or PVA.

[george wilson]

So,if we express our opinions politely,we are "rude fools". I think calling someone here a rude fool is pretty rude and foolish. That post was the only rude posting I have seen in this thread,Mr. Sanford.

[Michael Ray Smith]

George, you could build anything you darned well pleased, and it would probably be worth twice as much as the same thing made by the average craftsman.

[Peter Pedisich]

David, just an FYI if you don't want to wait... Hoffmann & Hammer workbenches are on sale right now at highland Hardware.

[Charlie Stanford]

Enjoy your bench. Alan Peters worked on a bought bench, at least he did for many years I do know that. People like Peters with bona fide chops have no compunction at all about buying a bench. In many instances it is totally a case of a nickle holding up a dime (building one that is) -- even if the woodworking you do is for yourself.

I worked on an old Hoffman & Hammer for a few years and it was sheer delight -- just the right size, just the right heft for furnituremaking. Not one of these insipid Roubo benches that you can't move without a floor jack or an army of helpers. I wish I still had the old boy -- burned up in a fire.

[george wilson]

But,Charlie,I have toe jacks and Johnson bars(wheeled long handled dollies) that can lift 5000#.

I had a Swiss made bench in the toolmaker's shop,bought from Garrett Wade for about $2000.00 in 1986. It looked about the same as the LN bench. I had to load the blasted thing with heavy lumber to keep it from walking when I planed!! Just not heavy enough. No such problem with my own bench. If I were to dump it off a tall cliff,It'd scratch up that cliff awfully bad.

We made our own benches in the musical instrument shop. Everything was 4" thick. I didn't want the weight of a violin to crush it!!!

[John Sanford]

But just to illustrate why I wouldn't pay $2650 for the LN bench, and my comments prior....hardwood is cheap around here if you shop around.

You don't need to illustrate why you wouldn't buy, you've already firmly established here on the Creek that frugality with money is a paramount concern for you. That said, your illustration perfectly captures part of the perception problem. You're in Western PA, where hardwood trees are falling down all the time, sometimes assisted by a chainsaw, sometimes just keeling over. The OP is on the other side of the country, where hardwood isn't quite as common, to put it lightly. If he wants to build a hardwood bench, the wood is going to cost him quite a bit more than it will cost you. I've long dealt with a similar problem on vintage tools. "Just go to the flea markets, yard sales and antique shops...". Well, the problem was, I lived in Las Vegas, and pretty much everybody in Las Vegas offloaded their tools BEFORE they moved to Vegas, often at those flea markets and yard sales y'all enjoy. Pickin's were beyond slim, thus it simply wasn't worth the time.

As for the over the top comment about people being rude something or other for suggesting a bench build, I guess the club you're in if you do it is the club of having an extra 2 grand to spend on other tools or lumber.

I'll turn this around for you:
If you chase all around the countryside for cheap lumber and scour the flea markets, Craigslist, and yardsales for inexpensive vintage tools to build your bench, and then spend the days or weeks to do so, I guess you're in the club of having an bunch of extra time to spend on other projects.

I just don't personally see the value, but instead I see something relatively plain that costs a lot for what it is.

Like the Japanese chisels you're waiting for? After all, you CAN make your own chisels.

And my rear wouldn't pucker nearly so much the first time I drove a chisel into a shop made bench or accidentally had an overcut that marked it up.

Wellll, maybe you will pucker just as much when you accidentally drive your incoming new Japanese chisel into your shopmade bench, so I can understand you trepidation at working on a LN bench with the new chisels. Probably take you a week to unpucker! Anybody without knowledge of what you value would look at you like you're crazy. "So what, you hit the bench with the chisel. What's the big deal?"

btw, there's an easy way to get over the fear of "damaging" one's workbench. As soon as it's done/assembled/whatever, i.e. "ready to use", just take whatever tool is handy and whack it/slash it/chunk it a couple of times. Voila, no longer "pristine".

[Michael Ray Smith]

My first "workbench" was two pieces of 3/4" MDF on two sawhorses. I think I still have those horses somewhere. . . . . unless maybe I sold them at a garage sale. Then again, I used to be an engineer, and you know what they say . . . An optimist thinks the glass is half full; a pessimist thinks the glass is half empty; an engineer thinks the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

[Charlie Stanford]

But,Charlie,I have toe jacks and Johnson bars(wheeled long handled dollies) that can lift 5000#.

I had a Swiss made bench in the toolmaker's shop,bought from Garrett Wade for about $2000.00 in 1986. It looked about the same as the LN bench. I had to load the blasted thing with heavy lumber to keep it from walking when I planed!! Just not heavy enough. No such problem with my own bench. If I were to dump it off a tall cliff,It'd scratch up that cliff awfully bad.

We made our own benches in the musical instrument shop. Everything was 4" thick. I didn't want the weight of a violin to crush it!!!

As robust as need be:

http://www.workbenches.se/en/index.php

Not sure why you need(ed) that much weight to keep the bench from shucking across the floor George. A large part of the western woodworking world does not.

[David Weaver]

Ahh, there really isn't universal frugality for me. It's selective. If I can make something, and I can do it for a significant savings, then I will do it.

One thing that is absolutely and perfectly true, I can't make chisels that come remotely close to the quality of the japanese chisels. I have made some irons and some little cutting tools, etc. I'll never pay much for a marking knife unless it's forged. I can make anything that's not. But none of my cutting tools come close to japanese stuff. My wares are fine for marking tools and moulding planes, but I'll defer to the forgers for the chisels.

In this case, if someone dumped a 7 foot hoffman and hammer bench on my CL for a grand, I'd probably buy it. I'm still working with an inexpensive bench that's modified and weighted enough to make it tolerable, and I really don't like the idea of building a bench that much. But I like the idea of spending almost three big ones on a very plain bench a whole lot less than that, and if I can manage to break my lightweight 6 foot bench, I'll replace it with something long enough to do mouldings on.

If I was in the PNW, I would just build it with the hardest dry stuff I could find. If I was in vegas, it'd probably end up being made mostly of DF or SP 4x4s and clearance laminated countertop from lumber liquidators. There's always a way, and I'm definitely not attached the the idea that the entire bench should be musical grade wood all of the same type.

Everyone's got something they like to spend money on, even the folks on here who chide people for spending anything at all on anything. I'm not that frugal, just with things I can make myself, where as my mother says, I can be so cheap that I'd "skin a fart for a nickel".

[Jim Koepke]

Not sure why you need(ed) that much weight to keep the bench from shucking across the floor George. A large part of the western woodworking world does not.

Enough people have encountered the problem to inspire a few threads here on the subject.

Mine has a bucket with 60 lbs. of concrete holding one end down and it still has a bit of a tendency to walk.

jtk

[george wilson]

I am 6'5" and was pretty strong is why,Charlie. Or,maybe I'm just too stupid to know what I need in a bench,do you think?

I don't care for birch,and I wouldn't care to pay the shipping from Sweden. They make everything from birch,because birch is about the only hard wood they have. In Alaska,I found the same thing.