Lets talk workbenches

[Winton Applegate]

(though my lumber guy has a ton of it in 8/4)

It's a sign Zach.
Go with it.


No really. What have you used in the past/now and what don't you like about it ?

[Zach Dickason]

I currently have a nice cache of power tools, and a small but growing compliment of hand tools. My assembly work is done on saw horses and a large 6'x4' mdf torsion box table. I have no vices to speak of and all of my work holding is accomplished with clamps. The small work I do is crafty stuff with barn wood and license plates but everything else tends to be larger furniture (sideboards, bookcases, etc). I'm also in the process of trimming out my house room by room in craftsman trim. I usually build the architraves above the doors/ windows in one piece. Some of them are 6-7' long.

[Jim Koepke]

I have no vices to speak of

That is good. For a woodworker a vise or two is always welcome.

There are ways to hold work without a vise.

Typical on a Roubo bench is the crochet. Someone recently showed how they attach theirs using bed frame hardware.

Here is a post about an easy to make device seen on The Woodwright's Shop:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...Without-A-Vise

Lots of other ways to hold things still while working on them.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Steve, good point. Can't say I have any complaints with my bench in maple, I've sharpened saws in it without any remnants remaining to scratch my furniture. Generally I avoid using it for metal work however.

[Graham Haydon]

I've found a pine Nicholson to be great. You can spend the time and money you save on wood and making things. However enjoy whatever choice you make. If made well any workbench will be just fine.

[Chris Hachet]

I've found a pine Nicholson to be great. You can spend the time and money you save on wood and making things. However enjoy whatever choice you make. If made well any workbench will be just fine.

The nicholson design is easy on the eyes also....I certainly wouldn't kick one out of my shop! Ideal for edge jointing....

[David Linnabary]

Although I went for it and built a hardwood scandi bench first, I have to agree that I've wanted to build a 2nd bench ever since. I build my Frid style bench in left hand, the design has a somewhat small footprint so as I got more into hand tools I realized that I wanted to build a right hand version for my son who is right handed. I'm a bench in the middle of the room kinda guy and I realized that I could back the second bench up to my first bench like partner's desks or even end to end to give me more surface area and a more comfortable venue for developing my right hand planing skills. My only regret is building the second bench and knowing that I'll one day see it walk out of my shop with my son. Oh well, a third bench then!

David

[Pat Barry]

First post, I need some advice.

I am settled (as most do) on building either a Roubo or Nicholson. This will be done mostly by hand. My local lumber shop has some very dry 16/4 poplar. There are wide enough pieces that I could make a Roubo top with two slabs (1 glue line). The ease of construction by only using two joined pieces for the top attracts me but I wish it was a harder species and not poplar.

Interestingly enough he also has 8/4 wormy soft maple (ambrosia maple) for barely more per board foot than the poplar. This stuff is obviously much denser and heavier than the poplar and priced lower than anything else besides poplar. I was thinking it would make a georgeous Nicholson bench.

Here is my dilemma: should I build a Roubo from the poplar, a nicholson from the maple, or should I bite the bullet and rip the quartersawn wood from the maple and laminate several boards into a Roubo top. Or should I come to my senses and save money and just buy box store pine and build either of the bench styles from the cheaper stuff? Thanks for any advice.

You must favor one design over the other. Make that decision. Now for the wood choice - folks have used all conceivable materials and still do. If you want to make the top from teak or walnut or pine go ahead and do it. There is no right answer to any of these questions. Everyone has an opinion - you do to. Design the bench to satisfy yourself and get to work.

[Brian Holcombe]

Although I went for it and built a hardwood scandi bench first, I have to agree that I've wanted to build a 2nd bench ever since. I build my Frid style bench in left hand, the design has a somewhat small footprint so as I got more into hand tools I realized that I wanted to build a right hand version for my son who is right handed. I'm a bench in the middle of the room kinda guy and I realized that I could back the second bench up to my first bench like partner's desks or even end to end to give me more surface area and a more comfortable venue for developing my right hand planing skills. My only regret is building the second bench and knowing that I'll one day see it walk out of my shop with my son. Oh well, a third bench then!

David

I built a modified Scandi bench basically on Wintons advice and some research and have really enjoyed it. I found a photo of one that must have been around 100 years old in a Carl Hansen catalog and that sealed the deal.

My deviations were that I used a Lie Nielsen tail vise and that I made the top much deeper than a typical Scandi reason being that I do a lot of casework and tables.

If one were to go this direction I'll offer some advice;

I made the shoulder vise on mine to accommodate about 5.5" of travel, this is unnecessary. I could reduce the travel to 3.5" and never miss it.

[Winton Applegate]

In order of importance . . . okaaaaaa . . . as I see it . . . (but I’m right so there) these are the top work bench books. Can probably get them from the library but if you are like me you need to write in them, improve the indexes into something useful and just generally, to use one of my Mother’s phrases, “wool them around”. (so you may want to buy them).
#1 Book

#2 Book

and finally
#3 Book

Which I enjoyed reading from a historical perspective but fail to appreciate the benches in use.

And purple heart is THE ONLY good wood to use :
No knots to speak of
much really straight, stable , but boring, grain,
Has surprises in it like fantastic chatoyance that comes out with only a bit of finish planing and burnishing with shavings no finish needed.
Super tight pores/ nothing gets imbedded in it
really heavy
smells like dirty feet when you work it (wait strike that)
drives some people crazy that it is called “purple” and that it is, in some lighting, very purple in deed. See photos of two light sources on the same area of the bench. Can easily be turned brown though with exposure to sun light.

OK so none of the cool guys built their benches from purple heart.
What do they know anyway ? ! ?

I’m right, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

PS: got to have the tail vise for drawer making. With a bench slave.
Period

PPS: some say a light colored bench is the only right way to go. Maybe some body can point out my grand folly in that respect; dark wood seems fine.

[Chris Hachet]

Winton, your bench is very inspirational.

Chris

[Brian Holcombe]

Winton, I just added some dark wood to my bench. The bolt which passes through the shoulder vise was pulling through the maple side grain, so I cut out about 1.5" of it and dovetailed in some walnut (endgrain facing out).

I have you in one aspect, the tusk tenons on the base of mine are fitted with Honduras rosewood pins. The heartwood is like steel, my plane starts to shiver with nervousness around it.

[Winton Applegate]

Winton, your bench is very inspirational.

Ha, ha thanks
I would say listening to Frank Klausz or reading his old articles is truly inspirational.
My bench is merely the result of the combination of a lack of personal creativity on my part, one track minded pig headedness and the supreme luxury (for which I am grateful for) of having the time to build it without the pressure of needing to put food on the table by using it.

Really though if it had been pink zebra stripe I would have used this wood (well maybe not) . . . I chose the wood from a spec list of wood attributes. As if I were selecting a particular alloy of stainless steel.

It didn't matter a rink to me what it looked like. That appreciation came after I bought the pile of planks and started working it and looking at it.

Ha, ha, ha, ha,
Once that took hold I got pretty crazy for a while there and almost went "full retard"
and considered putting a zebra wood layer on top of it.
Pretty porous , and expensive, though . . .
luckily an error checking algorithm cut in just in time and prevented me from doing that.

What I am saying is . . .
That the zebra wood layer would be soooo COOL with the purple heart base !
I stole the zebra wood photo from here.
it is never too late . . . I could still do that . . .
error/error/error/. . .
. . .
REBOOT SEQUENCE INITIATED
PLEASE WAIT . . . . . . .

[Brian Holcombe]

Gaboon ebony perhaps?

Or....Gaboon ebony with a zebrawood base.

[Winton Applegate]

Hi Brian,
Is there a photo of the area posted some where here ?
Hard to imagine, in my little brain, how the walnut could be near as good as the maple. Hard maple ?

Honduras rosewood pins . . . plane starts to shiver with nervousness around it.

I can imagine that though !
Some times I think Sam Maloof was kind of a non traditionalist hack. Skipped over the traditial WAY THINGS ARE DONE BY GOLLY . . .
Then I see or remember he worked a lot in hard rosewood and I want to cut out my tongue in shame.