Traditional European Workbench Build

[Kris Cook]

Hello - I joined the site yesterday and posted in the general forum. I thought I would post pictures of my workbench project here. I have been wanting a good workbench for many years. I finally have the tools and space to get it done. We shall see about the time component.

I was working out of town this past year and managed to score a bunch of hard maple (for $3.55/BF) which I hauled home. I also have some 8/4 Walnut that I am incorporating into the bench. I have the LN tail-vise hardware and I also have a vise screw from LV for the shoulder-vise.


I glued up the top in sections which I haven't connected yet. I used maple splines to help register the faces. I will drill some holdfast holes (while I can still get them in the drill press) before I glue the sections together.
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This is a rough mockup of the layout to make sure I have my dimensions correct for the trestle rails and feet.
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Here is a mockup of the shoulder vise to check dimensions.
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Mortises cut last night for the trestle rails and feet
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Cutting tenon cheeks
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Cutting shoulders
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Tenons rough cut. I will tune them up by hand to fit them to mortises.
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I probably won't go into this much detail for the entire build but I will continue to post pictures of my progress.

Kris

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks for the thread-

I have always wanted to build a bench in this style. I have one bench that is a smallish Roubo out of 12/4 Beech. Also another I am building a Holtzapffel style bench as a second bench out of SYP.

Would be very interested in what you think of this in terms of work holding in actual use when you have used it for awhile. I considered strongly building a bench like this but not sure I would like the front vise arrangement in actual use.

Nice work so far!

Regards,

Chris

[Robert Engel]

Looking good I built one too. It is probably the most difficult bench to build. I can tell you where I ran into trouble/what I would do different if it helps.

The tail vise was the most difficult part I build mine the traditional way.

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[Kris Cook]

Very nice Robert. I envy your wood floor.

I have done a lot of research and would never say I have it all figured out but if I run into a snag I will ask. The Lie Nielsen tail vise is essentially two blocks of wood - so none of the framing and end-cap business.

My biggest concern is the dovetails on the perimeter rails. I will probably make some kind of jig for the band saw and make some test cuts first.

Going to try and sneak away from work shortly to get some work done on it.

Kris

[Jim Becker]

A traditional or even non-traditional workbench is always a worthy project for any woodworker! I'm looking forward to your entire build.

[Kris Cook]

Got the main supports together tonight. I left the tenons a little over a 1/16" fat when I cut them with the tenoning jig on the table saw. That's probably about right but it took me a while to hand trim 10 tenons. I do enjoy working with this hard maple although the edges are extremely sharp after milling. I will relieve the edges when I get a little closer to done.


I did get to use two of my favorite tools: LN small shoulder plane and rabbet block plane. They are both a joy to use.
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Here are the trestle ends. I still need stretchers between the two main legs at each end. I also need to cut the mortises for the main stretchers that connect the trestles. Haven't decided whether to go with tusk tenons or some kind of bolt and nut/barrel. That is one of my unfinished chairs under the saw horses.
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Kris

[Robert Engel]

Kris,

Looking good so far.

Yes, that tail vise is difficult. IMO you made a good choice going with the LN hardware. If I had to do over (and I may do it over one day) I would spring for that.

I rough cut the tails on the band saw and used an angle block and file to fine tune. Check out the video by William Ng he makes a very simple jig for routing out those DT's.

Remember they do not need to be full thickness so they're not as bad as they look.

[Kris Cook]

Thanks Robert. I will definitely check out the video.

Kris

[Kris Cook]

I did look at the video today. It looks like cheating - and I like it. Thanks for the tip.

Kris

[Kris Cook]

I am wondering if anyone has installed the Lie Nielsen tail vise hardware. I saw some older threads on here but it seems like maybe this is a newer design?

The only 12/4 hardwood I could find locally is soft maple. Jaw will end up 15-3/4" long by 4" high by 5-1/2" wide. I planned to use two 2-3/4" by 4" blocks to make the jaw. The hardware is designed to be mortised in and anchored by machine-thread bolts that are tapped into the wood. The bolts are 5/16"-18 by 1-1/2" for the rails and 3/8"-16 by 2" for the slide assembly. The way it is set up the stress on the bolts would be mostly shear. I am not questioning LN's engineering here but I am wondering:

- should I tap the holes and then reinforce with epoxy?
- should I think about inserts?
- should I find a harder wood? I do have 8/4 hard maple but was hoping to avoid multiple laminations.
- go with the soft maple and not worry about it?

Any input would be appreciated.

Kris

[Patrick Walsh]

I have some 12/4 ash i have been saving for a bench build of my own. Something like 400Bf.

If you want or need a chunk i would be happy to send you a piece free of charge. Well you pay the shipping..

[Robert Engel]

I think the soft maple would be ok definitely use hard maple for the cap, tho.

You should be ok with just tapping the threads but I think lag bolts or wood screws would be stronger.

Laminating boards is also ok the two top planks for the top on my bench are actually 3 5/4 boards laminated together. I think this results in a more stable top then 2 thick 12/4 slabs.

Another suggestion if you haven't decided yet I would look at the LN steel bench dogs. I made mine of wood but in retrospect I would go with steel. You have to get them before you dado for the dog holes, tho.

Also, if you plan on using bench hooks you may have to consider how thick the slabs are. Mine ended up about 2 5/8 thick and I had to add a 1 1/2 block to get the hook to work well.

[Kris Cook]

Patrick- that is a very generous offer. Let me get a little closer to that stage and I will be in touch.

Again, thank you very much.

Kris

[Kris Cook]

Robert - thanks for the input.

I did get two of the LN steel dogs when I purchased the vise hardware.

When you say "bench hooks" I am assuming you are talking about holdfasts - yes?

I purchased two of the Grammercy holdfasts. My bench slab is constructed of strips that are about 1-3/4" wide by 2-3/4" tall in the back two-thirds. The strips in the front third are 4" tall (to marry up better with the tail vise height, and to provide more support for beating on stuff). I haven't finalized my hole locations but likely most will be towards the back in the 2-3/4" tall section. I understood from the Grammercy website this would be thick enough but I will do some test holes in scrap to see how they hold.

Kris

[Kris Cook]

I decided to use the soft maple I had for the tail-vise blocks. I think it is going to be fine. I was able to tap the holes and it seems pretty strong. Time will tell.


Because I am left-handed and it is a right-handed world I downloaded the color PDFs from LN's site and reversed all of the drawings on the computer to I could make sense of it.
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Routing mortise for slide assembly
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Slide assembly mortise in bench slab piece.
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Slide assembly test fit into bench slab mortise
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Mortise in vise jaw to accept slide assembly. Mortise could be prettier. I should have made a pattern and used a pattern bit but it will work and everything is square and flat where it needs to be.
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Top rail installed in jaw,and lower rail clamped in place with installation shims. The plans call for an "F" bit which is .257" - I used a 1/4" brad-point bit to drill the pilot holes for the tap. I can't imagine .007" makes any difference in wood, and I got good threads.
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Slide assembly and lower rail installed in jaw. This is all test-fitting at this point.
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Kris