The Moraivan Work Bench Base is Finished

[ken hatch]

If you get the itch, I'll happily take delivery of a Roubo

Ah, that's a nice idea for the softwood one. I feel you're pain in working with box store material, I've done it a time or two. The best so far I've experienced is green (literally wet) "cedar". It chops cleanly because it is wet, but of course then you have to dry it. I did that recently for my shoji frame (not the shoji or tracks, but the heavy framing), having accounted for the wood movement I was expecting. It does take a serious bit of planning to work around green material, but it can be an advantage as well at times. It works with great ease, I chopped the entire frame out in one half day by hand.

Brian,

Building ain't a problem, shipping is another story .

I've been rushed, working wet DF from HD, and all other excuses I can think of, that's my story anyway....In spite of that, bottom line the bench is rock solid, doesn't scoot, doesn't rack but damn it is butt ugly. When we get back from Oregon I expect this bench will belong to MsBubba and her ceramics studio and I'll build another for the Motorhome.

I finished installing the back of the vise this morning. It still needs the mortise for the parallel guide, hole for the vise screw, and the screw nut install but a good part of the vise install is done....Now I just need the screw.

Photo of bench with tool tray and vise back:

moravianBenchWithSlabAndViseBackA170813dscf1980.jpg

ken

[James Pallas]

Good looking bench Ken. It is hard to wait for ordered items to come in. Makes me antsy and sometimes causes me to rush the finish when the stuff arrives. I usually blow something up and cause more work. I want to see the finish, may have to replace my garage bench.
Jim

[ken hatch]

Good looking bench Ken. It is hard to wait for ordered items to come in. Makes me antsy and sometimes causes me to rush the finish when the stuff arrives. I usually blow something up and cause more work. I want to see the finish, may have to replace my garage bench.
Jim

James,

I'm impressed with this bench. I would have no problem, with slight changes such as a thicker slab, using it as a main bench. It is that rock solid. A great feature, even if there were no motorhome involved, is the ease of breaking it down into 7 modules and then putting it back together in minutes. As an example while I love my English/French bench if it needs moving I need help. With the Moravian bench you can take it apart and then put it back together where needed and not give up function. I wish I had found it years ago.

I expect over the next couple of years to build several more just for grins,

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

Looks nice Ken!! I'm pretty sold on the morovian, it's a neat piece and helps to get you to work more quickly than the Roubo's of late which are often monstrous. I can't help but enjoy the sex appeal of Roubo style benches however.

[ken hatch]

Looks nice Ken!! I'm pretty sold on the morovian, it's a neat piece and helps to get you to work more quickly than the Roubo's of late which are often monstrous. I can't help but enjoy the sex appeal of Roubo style benches however.

Brian,

Fashion is a funny thing...I've seen style of benches come and go over the years. Bottom line they almost all work and all have good and not so good points. But I must say the current Roubo fad of building it thicker and heavier than your neighbor's Roubo is a little much. It is like we are all back in Jr. High claiming to have the biggest in school. My English/French bench (Roubo bones with an apron and a QR metal vise) could have been made much lighter. I'll post in imperial because that is the way most on the forum think, The legs are 5"X6", the slab is 4" thick, and the stretchers are 5"X4". Every one of those dimensions could be reduced by at least 1" with no loss of function or stability. All that said, other than a PITA to move, it is near perfect for my use. If I were to build another main bench I expect it would be a clone of the current one but maybe a little lighter.

I can see building several Moravian benches for different functions like assembly, planing, or cutting joinery and keeping them stored disassembled until needed. It could open up the shop.

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

I completely agree, while the really hefty ones are cool in some ways I really have no trouble chopping on a 3" thick piece of oak. While 5" and 6" are something to behold, I can't imagine they're practically superior to 3" and 4" bench tops. I could see 4" thick bench tops as being practically important on a longer bench.

My highest preference for a bench top would be one that avoids a glue up! Beyond that I really wouldn't mind the details. I'm starting to see 20-22" wide, 4" thick and 9' long as being something of an ideal.

[ken hatch]

I completely agree, while the really hefty ones are cool in some ways I really have no trouble chopping on a 3" thick piece of oak. While 5" and 6" are something to behold, I can't imagine they're practically superior to 3" and 4" bench tops. I could see 4" thick bench tops as being practically important on a longer bench.

My highest preference for a bench top would be one that avoids a glue up! Beyond that I really wouldn't mind the details. I'm starting to see 20-22" wide, 4" thick and 9' long as being something of an ideal.

Brian,

My current bench is 8'3", another 9" would be nice but would crowd the shop. The top is a two piece slab with the working slab 14 1/2" wide plus 2" for the English style apron for a total working area of 16 1/2". I've never wanted more. The back slab is 71/2" with a 21/4" split & removable fill for a total working surface of 99"X261/2". It is a good size for my work and shop. If I were to build another bench I expect the design and dimensions would remain unchanged except I would lose the 'fill" and go with a 1/2" split with no removable fill. The split is handy for holding squares, chisels, and saws but the fill is never moved. The split also helps in the build, I can't conceive of working with a 99'X26"X4" hunk of Oak or Beech by myself.

BTW, my Moxon vise lives on the "off" end of the back slab and I never move it because it has never been in the way.

As I have posted before I kissed a few frogs getting to this bench and I think that is a necessary journey for any woodworker. There is no way to know what your bench needs until you work on one or several. That's the major reason my advice to new bench builders is build it cheap, fast, and strong. Then get to work making furniture, after a year or so make another bench cheap, fast and strong changing all the things that drive you bat poo crazy about the old bench. By the third or fourth bench make your dream bench, you should know what it is by then.

Rants over, back on my meds for now,

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

I think you're right on, that is excellent advice, I built my current bench thinking it would cover my needs permanently but don't consider it to be anywhere near ideal currently.

That is the big PITA with regard to full on Roubo benches, IMO, you need help in building them which is very hard to come by in some shops. I have a planing beam that is 12" x 3" x 72" white oak....it's not that heavy (about 60lbs) but given the awkwardness of moving it, it has proven to me that a giant bench top would be quite a challenge to deal with.

[Nathan Johnson]

Brian,

My current bench is 8'3", another 9" would be nice but would crowd the shop. The top is a two piece slab with the working slab 14 1/2" wide plus 2" for the English style apron for a total working area of 16 1/2". I've never wanted more. The back slab is 71/2" with a 21/4" split & removable fill for a total working surface of 99"X261/2". It is a good size for my work and shop. If I were to build another bench I expect the design and dimensions would remain unchanged except I would lose the 'fill" and go with a 1/2" split with no removable fill. The split is handy for holding squares, chisels, and saws but the fill is never moved. The split also helps in the build, I can't conceive of working with a 99'X26"X4" hunk of Oak or Beech by myself.

BTW, my Moxon vise lives on the "off" end of the back slab and I never move it because it has never been in the way.

As I have posted before I kissed a few frogs getting to this bench and I think that is a necessary journey for any woodworker. There is no way to know what your bench needs until you work on one or several. That's the major reason my advice to new bench builders is build it cheap, fast, and strong. Then get to work making furniture, after a year or so make another bench cheap, fast and strong changing all the things that drive you bat poo crazy about the old bench. By the third or fourth bench make your dream bench, you should know what it is by then.

Rants over, back on my meds for now,

ken

Per your last part, that's what I decided to do. Cheap SPF, a fairly simple design that allows for good clamping, and a metal front vise.

This Moravian design though has me thinking about one as a small second bench. Like, 40-some inches high as a dedicated joinery bench. Hmm.

[Mark Fisher]

I made the same bench. As a mechanical engineer I appreciated the angled legs as a way to get much more stiffness without a lot of material or weight. If you want a portable bench, this is a much better way to go as it is reasonably light yet stiff and sturdy. The only things I'd change is to make a smaller tool tray with a wider bench top and a hardwood bench top. It is really an amazing design.

[ken hatch]

I made the same bench. As a mechanical engineer I appreciated the angled legs as a way to get much more stiffness without a lot of material or weight. If you want a portable bench, this is a much better way to go as it is reasonably light yet stiff and sturdy. The only things I'd change is to make a smaller tool tray with a wider bench top and a hardwood bench top. It is really an amazing design.

Mark,

When I started building the bench I was looking for portability and not really expecting a bench that would be as good as a non-portable bench. As I got farther into the build I began to appreciate just how well the bench was engineered. My bench will break down into seven modules, non of which will weigh more than 50 lbs and all will fit into a single Motorhome storage compartment. The best part is it is rock solid, I've planed on it and have chopped mortises on it. While it is not as solid as my French/English bench it's close and weights about a third of the big bench.

You may not like my slab it is only 280mm wide and the tool tray is a good bit wider but I seldom have a problem needing a wider work surface. For my planed use it should be OK, the wider tool try is just 'because' .

Here is a photo of the newly installed planing stop and dog holes for the holdfasts. The battery on my Fujiflim X-Pro1 camera is dead so the photo was made using an iPhone. The dog holes really are vertical in spite of looking like they were drilled at 45 degrees in the image. All I need to finish the build is the vise screw, UPS says Tuesday for delivery, I hope so because time is getting short for the Labor Day Oregon trip.

Anyway here is a photo:

benchSlabWithPlaningStopHoldfast.jpg

ken

[ken hatch]

Per your last part, that's what I decided to do. Cheap SPF, a fairly simple design that allows for good clamping, and a metal front vise.

This Moravian design though has me thinking about one as a small second bench. Like, 40-some inches high as a dedicated joinery bench. Hmm.

Nathan,

Good on you, I hate to read about bench builds that go on for months or even years.

ken

[Stew Denton]

Ken,

The top really looks great! To me the bench would be pretty awesome as a main bench, so for a portable it is incredible.

How long and wide is the top, and of that width, how much is the tool well? In the photo, it looks like the plank is wider than the well, but if I am reading your previous post correctly, it looks like you are saying the well is actually wider than the slab.

I am looking forward to the photo with the vise installed, and hope it does come in on Tuesday so we can get to see the final product before you head out.

Are you planning to put some finish on it before leaving for the trip?

I am enjoying the progress a lot.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[ken hatch]

Ken,

The top really looks great! To me the bench would be pretty awesome as a main bench, so for a portable it is incredible.

How long and wide is the top, and of that width, how much is the tool well? In the photo, it looks like the plank is wider than the well, but if I am reading your previous post correctly, it looks like you are saying the well is actually wider than the slab.

I am looking forward to the photo with the vise installed, and hope it does come in on Tuesday so we can get to see the final product before you head out.

Are you planning to put some finish on it before leaving for the trip?

I am enjoying the progress a lot.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

Stew,

I can see this bench as a main bench if made with a 75mm (3") slab instead of the 50mm (2") one. The slab is 260mm (10+") wide X 1700mm (5'7" ish), the tool tray is 305mm (12") wide because that was the board on hand.

I seldom put anything on the top of my benches other than some oil.

Thanks,

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Ken:

It looks beautiful and very useful!

I'm not being critical, just seeking greater light and knowledge.

Questions:

1. The legs themselves are large, relatively rigid posts, that do not require midspan support to resist buckling. Is that an accurate statement?

2. In this case, since you haven't incorporated diagonal braces, spreading and racking forces are resisted by the 3 rails. Is that the plan?

3. 90 degree rails can only resist racking forces through their resistance to bending forces. Wider/thicker rails will naturally be stiffer and better resist bending forces than narrow ones. Why is the bottom rail relatively smaller and less rigid than than the others? Do you experience reduced racking forces at the bottom?

4. Racking forces (couple) are transmitted to the rails via the joints, of course, and the degree those forces are transmitted is directly dependent on the rigidity (resistance to rotation) of the joints at each end. The top rail uses a bridle joint which is relatively rigid. The middle rails uses an M&T joint, which is also relatively rigid. The bottom rail is secured with (pinned?) inlet dovetail joints, which do not resist rotation as effectively. Why not use M&T? Appearance?

Thanks,

Stan