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Thread: Workbench options

  1. #1
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    Workbench options

    I have a pretty basic workbench that I knocked up as I was beginning to get into woodworking, about a year ago. I have definitely discovered as time goes by and I am trying to get more done that the limitations of the bench are really bothering me - namely, workholding.

    I do not have any vises or holes for dogs/holdfasts, so I spend a lot of time messing with clamping workarounds that really don't work. Most of the work I have been doing is furniture such as bookcases and tables. I would like to start making chests, drawers and the like, and I know that my bench won't be up to snuff to that type of work. I also have not really gotten into hand planing much yet and would like to, as soon as I can get my planes tuned up so that they work properly.

    What might be the most appropriate options for the type of work I've been doing and would like to do? A leg vise appeals for its holding ability and versatility, but what other options might be best for my 'needs'? I'd appreciate all the advice I can get - searching for the web just adds to the confusion sometimes!

  2. #2
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    While I'm very new to woodworking myself, I would imagine some items that may be useful are:

    Bench dogs - useful for holding/stopping work while planing faces of boards
    Tail vise - used inconjunction with bench dogs (imagine dog holes on the top of the jaws), or for holding work on the end of the bench
    Sliding deadman - helps hold longer boards up when planing edges
    Face/Leg vise - holds boards for working on edges or ends, including dovetailing (I have read twin screw vises are best for dovetailing, if that's something you want to do often.)

    You can also use holdfasts to hold boards down, or Lee Valley Wonder Dogs to help hold boards for face work if you don't have money for a tail vise.

    Take all of this with a grain of salt, since I don't even have a bench built, myself. But I read most of this advice in Chris Schwartz's book on workbench designs. It seems like excellent information when building or improving a bench. I'm sure others will chime in with some great info from experiences for you, too.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam Stevens2 View Post
    I have a pretty basic workbench that I knocked up as I was beginning to get into woodworking, about a year ago. I have definitely discovered as time goes by and I am trying to get more done that the limitations of the bench are really bothering me - namely, workholding.

    I do not have any vises or holes for dogs/holdfasts, so I spend a lot of time messing with clamping workarounds that really don't work. Most of the work I have been doing is furniture such as bookcases and tables. I would like to start making chests, drawers and the like, and I know that my bench won't be up to snuff to that type of work. I also have not really gotten into hand planing much yet and would like to, as soon as I can get my planes tuned up so that they work properly.

    What might be the most appropriate options for the type of work I've been doing and would like to do? A leg vise appeals for its holding ability and versatility, but what other options might be best for my 'needs'? I'd appreciate all the advice I can get - searching for the web just adds to the confusion sometimes!
    I was in your situation a few years ago...best advise I have is to pick up the most recent version of Chris Schwarz book on benches, read it, ask questions, read it again then cherry pick what you like / need from each type of bench and create your own configuration.

  4. #4
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    Making workbenches is fun, and I have a Roubo in the works myself, but if your current bench is decently stout and stable you can make it function pretty well by just installing a cast iron vise and screwing down 1/4" thick strips of wood as planing stops. For my current (semi-temporary) bench I bought some 1/4" poplar at the home center and countersunk holes for some #8 screws. I can fasten them at the ends and sides of a work piece to keep it in place while planing the faces, with no clamps to get in the way of my plane. It is really versatile and doesn't distort the wood like a tail-vise can. It's worked so well that I keep putting off finishing the Roubo, ha. The downside is you are screwing into the bench, which is ugly and eventually will cause the top to need wear out (although I think that will take a LONG time, especially if you take care to re-use screw holes as much as possible.)

    Anyways, just a thought on a way to keep you going without dropping big coin and lots of time on a new bench (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

  5. #5
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    For a quicky bench I like Paul Sellers take on it. I'd add a tail vise of some sort, with dogs. And move the front vise more to the left and make it flush with the apron. Also make the front apron not so deep.

    I use the very inexpensive cabinetmakers vises from grizzly on my bench, a little difficult to install but work just fine once done.
    I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....

  6. #6
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    Adam,

    If possible some pictures of your bench might be of help.

    One consideration would be how much do you want to put into or spend on this bench?

    If there is an apron all around there are some low cost solutions.

    A crochet can be used for the edge work on boards. This would require some kind of support along the front of the bench. This is easy if there is an apron. A series of dog holes can be made for dogs to support the work. If the top is thick enough an apron might not be necessary.

    Here is one post about using a crochet:

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...8096-A-Crochet

    There is a thin apron on the ends of my bench. This allows for a board to be clamped to the end that can be used as a planing stop.

    With dogs and a clamp small pieces can be held flat on the top of the bench to allow planing.

    This page has an image showing a 'bird mouth' used with a hold fast, a clamp will also work:

    http://insidetheworkshop.blogspot.co...ine-stick.html

    You have to scroll down a bit.

    There are a lot of ways to use dogs as stops for planing. With two rows sometimes a couple of dogs in the inside row and a board between the dogs and my work keep it from sliding sideways while it is against an end dog. Round dogs are easy to make out of dowel stock if you do not have a lathe.

    Adding a vise is also a great option. There are many possibilities for both face vises and tail vises.

    Mine are just simple cheap ones that came with the bench, but there haven't been many challenges they haven't been able to meet.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
    Personally, i would start with a face vise. You can do a lot with it and it is the easiest to install. It is more versatile than a tail or leg vise, which i would only recommend if you do certian kinds of operations.

  8. #8
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    Face vise is easy to install and very useful, as Prashun notes.

    OTOH - the tail vise, with a long line of dog holes in front of it - gets the most use - clamp boards to work the face, hold drawer sides to work the dovetails, etc.

    Dunno how you install this gizmo on an existing bench - I guess you have to add 3 - 4 inches to he width of the table top.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  9. #9
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    There is only ONE WOOD WORKING BENCH

    This book has a lot of detail on that bench

    and yes I have read this book and studied it in great detail.
    And a whole slew of others.

    Nah dude, nah . . .
    build the Klausz

    PS: the last photo . . . I originally got all excited about the blue vise, what I now call a "rails in the way". I used it just long enough to make the Klausz with it and that was enough.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Winton Applegate; 08-13-2014 at 9:43 PM.
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  10. #10
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    Go to your local library and check out the Scott Landis book on workbenches as well. Also check out the Lon Schleining book, The Workbench: A Guide to Building Your Perfect Workbench. Search this forum for threads on "Show me Your Workbench" and "Workbench Photo Op"

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Judson,


    Your bench ideas are very similar to the one I am in the process of building. Mine is basically the Sellers bench with an Emmert mounted on the left front side. The left side of the vise will be flush with the left bench end when the vise is rotated sideways


    I will have to add some top wood behind the 8 2by top because the vise square center bar extends back 18”. Otherwise, that bar would come out into the well. The bench top will be an “L” shape and will also provide area for two rows of dog holes lined up with the Emmert dogs. This will make the well shorter also.


    For a tail vise, an old Craftsman version of the quick release Record or LV vise should do the trick. I already have that vise. One suggestion from a forum member is to use the LV Veritas Inset vise. This choice is still up in the air but either one wil enable a row of dog holes acros the bench front.


    Currently the two aprons are glued up, the legs are cut to size and i’m chopping two mortises into each leg for the leg rails. Lots of work!!!


    Adam, there’s lots of good information from the other forum members and it is confusing. Build the bench you think will work for you - that way you will learn which features you really need - you can always build another bench later.


    Don

  12. #12
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    Adam,
    I have recently been in the same place you are now and I can advise ...you do come out the other side. 'Finished my bench a few months ago and can recommend:
    1. The Schwarz and Landis books.
    2. Veritas quick release sliding tail vise (awesome!)
    3. Strong leg vise - I used the LN large vise screw and made a large chop to go with it.
    4. Sliding deadman
    5. Strong and heavy is best: I have 5" sq legs and a full 4" top. Made from Douglas fir.
    6. Bench dogs - whatever type you like
    7. Line the vise faces with thin suede or leather.
    8. Finish I used was mix of BLO, poly varnish and turps.

    Good luck.
    Peter widders

  13. #13
    I will offer advise that may differ from others.

    I've used leg vises, they work OK but are slow and a pain to install. I've had English metal vises installed flush with the face of the bench and set off, I prefer set off. I've had tail vises, metal vises on the end of the bench, and wagon vises, non work as well as just a stop with battens and holdfasts. Plus except for the metal vise all are a pain to install, the cost/benefit doesn't work out.

    My advise: if starting new, use construction grade SYP or DF to build a solid heavy bench with a metal face vise. Drill some 3/4" dog holes where needed, buy a couple of TFWW holdfasts, make some stops and battens and go to work. You can buy all the needed wood for about $100 USD. a vintage English face vise around $200 USD, I think the holdfasts run $40 USD a pair, the rest you can make from scraps.

    In other words....use KISS, keep it cheap, simple and build it fast. I built my last bench in less than 6 weeks while working full time, keeping Casa Chaos from falling down, and entertaining two big hairy Labs and the mad Scot. BTW, it is a thing of beauty :-)....take a look at the post a photo of your work bench thread if interested.

  14. #14
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    I built my take on a scandi-style bench and I am glad I did. It's not at the forefront of popularity these days (The popularity leader must be Roubo), but there is a lot about the Scandi bench that I find appealing. The shoulder vise is absolutely perfect for making dovetails by hand, which is a pretty regular thing for me on case goods and more. I can clamp any width of material in that vise and if it extends past my vise jaw I can clamp the remainder with a wooden screw clamp. It also has a built in stop for edge-jointing which is also a regular task of mine.

    I would make a few changes to my bench given the chance. Primarily I would make the top narrow (24" depth max) and make it a split top out of 12/4 material. That makes gluing up 12" wide sections fairly easy. I've been overboard on bench thickness before, but would probably stick with 2.75" thick with a 4" skirt. I used maple, but would use white-ash given the choice since it planes very nicely, much more so than maple.

    Check out Derek Cohen's blog, he has an entry on making a wooden screw with a router. It's something I would also strongly consider in conjunction with Scandi vises.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 08-14-2014 at 11:49 AM.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Salem County, NJ
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    16
    It might be worth waiting to see the bench that will be part of the "Naked Woodworker" DVD set that Lost Art Press will release any day now. From the information out there, it will be a Nicholson style bench with no vise, but plenty of dog holes. http://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/05...oodworker-dvd/

    I have a basic bench that I bought at Woodcraft, similar to the Sjoberg Hobby benchses they now sell, but with only an end vise. An end vise only is not a good solution for hand work. The screw or the support bars are always in the way of something, and with the dog holes only on the outsides, if I try to use just on pair of dogs, the vise racks terribly.

    If your bench is solid and provides enough weight (mine does not), then drilling dog holes and getting some of the Lee Valley accessories for the holes would be a good start. Another thing to consider is making a twin-screw vise to clamp on your bench. I made a cheap version (using lag bolts as screws, and 2x construction lumber) and it works pretty well for cutting dovetails and tenons. I think that the vise is presented in one of the Schwarz workbench books, and there was an article a couple years ago.

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