Workbench 2.0

[Prashun Patel]

Really beautiful. Love following your threads, CG.

[Chris Griggs]

Really beautiful. Love following your threads, CG.

Thanks Buddy! You are too kind.

[Tom Vanzant]

Beautiful bench Chris.
With your leg to bench edge configuration, I'd lean toward a board jack instead of a sliding deadman. If you need to build a lower track 4" out from the stretcher and would park the deadman in front of the leg, that's no different than having flush legs and stretcher, right? Even if you remove the deadman, you'll still have the track at or near flush. OTOH, if you add a drawer unit, pull out a drawer to support the free end of the workpiece.

[Chris Griggs]

Beautiful bench Chris.
With your leg to bench edge configuration, I'd lean toward a board jack instead of a sliding deadman. If you need to build a lower track 4" out from the stretcher and would park the deadman in front of the leg, that's no different than having flush legs and stretcher, right? Even if you remove the deadman, you'll still have the track at or near flush. OTOH, if you add a drawer unit, pull out a drawer to support the free end of the workpiece.

Almost like having flush legs BUT...and this is the main reason I set the legs back....flush legs get in the way of dog holes and occasionally in the way of clamps (though I typically rely on holdfasts). It seems like a small thing , but I can't tell you how many times on my other bench the flush legs got the way of clamping and to much greater extent how many times I wished I had dogs holes where the leg was. I don't have any issues with the idea of the track sticking out a little, and I really like that a deadman will have some of the advantages of the big flush apron/flush legs I have grown used to, without the things about them that get on my nerves some times.

That said, I still could go either way, as far as the jack vs deadman is concerned. I'll probably use the bench some before I make up my mind and before I build either, I'd drill some holes in the front edge of the top. That alone with let me work edges well enough (albeit a little too high)

Thanks for the comments Tom!

[Judson Green]

Way to go Chris and Paul, my back's a little sore just looking at it... I'm sure you guys had a few sore back relievers, aka beers.

Looks good Chris I like your front vise not just the edging detail but also how you let it in.

[Frederick Skelly]

Looks like a million bucks Chris! Ill bet shes going to be sweet to work on.

Love the low profile handle and the molding!

Fred

[Archie England]

Hey Chris, what a bench!!!!!!

Awesome job! Glad I finally read through your build series.

Blessings,

Archie, near NOLA

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Judson. I actually just inset the vise to eek an extra 1/2" of opening capacity out of it it, but I agree it did create a cool visual effect. Yeah, that thing was a pain to get down the stairs!

Thanks Fred! I'm really looking forward to working on it. I drill some peg holes in the front last night so I can edge joint with it now. I really need to drill the holdfast holes and make at least a coupe dogs so I can start using it.

Archie! Thanks for commenting! Hope NOLA's good these days. I miss our shop hang outs. Hope you are well!

[Brian Holcombe]

Looking good Chris! The table is right at home.

[Jeff Ranck]

Hi Chris:

I'm interested in the details of your tail vise. I've been thinking that I want a tail vise and not a wagon vise. I know you said you used Tom Nelson's design from Landis' book. I don't have the Landis book, so could you tell me what hardware you used? It looks like it might be the LV tail vise hardware (not the quick release one but the other one with the metal frame and plate). Is that what you used?

Jeff.

[Chris Griggs]

Looking good Chris! The table is right at home.

Thanks Brian!

Hi Chris:

I'm interested in the details of your tail vise. I've been thinking that I want a tail vise and not a wagon vise. I know you said you used Tom Nelson's design from Landis' book. I don't have the Landis book, so could you tell me what hardware you used? It looks like it might be the LV tail vise hardware (not the quick release one but the other one with the metal frame and plate). Is that what you used?

Jeff.

Hi Jeff. Yes I used the green hardware that LV sells: http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/pag...36&cat=1,41659

I just painted it black, becasue I didn't like the green.

[Jeff Ranck]

Thanks Brian!

I just painted it black, becasue I didn't like the green.

I hear that! IIRC, someone here had one of the green screw hardware kits and stripped the green off and did an baked oil finish on it. If I end up using that hardware, that is probably what I'll try.

Great bench btw, making me jealous. We've just moved into a new place and I now have a shop. A bench is my first order of business - as soon as I can figure out where to get a bit more 8/4 ash.

jeff.

[Chris Griggs]

I hear that! IIRC, someone here had one of the green screw hardware kits and stripped the green off and did an baked oil finish on it. If I end up using that hardware, that is probably what I'll try.

Great bench btw, making me jealous. We've just moved into a new place and I now have a shop. A bench is my first order of business - as soon as I can figure out where to get a bit more 8/4 ash.

jeff.

Yeah I saw that tail vise makeover. It was pretty neat. I definitively considered doing it, but ultimately didn't care enough to go through the trouble of stripping it. Black paint was good o' nuff for me.

Moving into a new place and getting a new space is great! I worked for several years without any dedicated shop space and then with a dedicated but impermanent space which is why my previous bench is a 5 1/2 ft long knockdown bench. Wife and I bought out first home about 9 months ago, and that meant it was time for a BIG BOY bench.

[ian maybury]

Hi Chris. Coming in late and am just (after a couple of years of looking at the material) starting my first bench myself. Re. your stepped back legs there's pics in a few places in the Landis book 'The Workbench Book' of sliding deadmen (?) with the lower rail stepped back in under the bench top - pages 32, 39, 103 - in some cases possibly to create foot room when the deadman extends more or less to the floor to maximise the space above for cabinets. The deadman doesn't have to be a flat board - they use either a curved return on the lower end (like a J), or a simple block attached to the rear of the main board to pick up the lower rail. Done right it has the potential to be the basis of very nice feature actually.

Possibly a way to combine a sliding deadman with your stepped back stretchers?

PS There's a phot of a nice example in post 226865 here by a guy named Rogacien - about half way down: http://www.lamortaise.com/forum/outi...i-traditionnel

[Chris Griggs]

Hi Ian. I know the exact picture and benches you are speaking of. Those benches (along with Michael Fortune's) are more or less what I based the design of mine on. Yes, something like what you describe is exactly what I have in mind.

The Landis book is a fantastic book!