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Thread: workbench base design? Thinking of finally building one

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Lau View Post
    I'm sort of tempted to just buy a Lee Valley cast iron leg set, or a Noden adjust-a-bench set.
    They both have great feedback, and minimal mucking around.
    I have maybe a few hours of workshop time each month.

    However, I've learned that all I really need is something fairly simple.
    I could probably mock something up with screws, and slowly change it to something with proper mortise and tenons...I'll likely need to build a workbench inside my bedroom as well...to work on the workbench.

    Can you guys post pictures of your benches?
    Matt I bought a Noden bench a few years back. I bought it because of some disabilities. I wasn't sure that it would provide an answer. It definitely does. After using it for a while I would do it again even without the disability problems. Changing the height for different processes is great and has become just routine. The bench is pretty stable, not like a Roubo but steady enough for most work.
    Jim

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Lau View Post
    I'm sort of tempted to just buy a Lee Valley cast iron leg set, or a Noden adjust-a-bench set.
    They both have great feedback, and minimal mucking around.
    I have maybe a few hours of workshop time each month.

    However, I've learned that all I really need is something fairly simple.
    I could probably mock something up with screws, and slowly change it to something with proper mortise and tenons...I'll likely need to build a workbench inside my bedroom as well...to work on the workbench.

    Can you guys post pictures of your benches?
    Matt,

    Simple is good for whatever kind of work you do, Over the years as I've built and replaced benches each has become simpler. Simple makes an easier build and a more flexible bench to work on. You asked for photographs, here are some I've found:

    This was my first bench build, it has served many functions over the years, the last as a sharpening bench.

    sharpeningBench20131027.jpg

    The first bench build when we moved to Tucson. Made of SYP imported from Houston and was a complicated overly fussy bench with leg vise, tail vise and sliding dead man.

    workBenchSYP20131027.jpg


    The next build was much simpler with only a English QR face vise.

    workbenchFinal.jpg

    I later added a apron to make the final French/English work bench.

    shopMainBench151101.jpg

    I've built several more benches for friends but the last build was a portable work bench that is now my sharpening bench.

    As a work bench.

    moravianBenchFinishedFirstProject170826dscf1996.jpg

    As a sharpening bench.

    sharpeningBench170928dscf2030_1.jpg

    Hope these help.

    ken

  3. #18
    Matt,

    Your last post prompted me to join this thread. Until then, I felt that my comments would be an unwelcome buzz kill. You said that you have but a few hours a month for woodworking. You are interested in making guitars. You might buy cast iron legs. You sound like a practical guy. Here is a drawing of a workbench that will not rack. It cost about $200 to make out of KD Douglas Fir. It took about a weekend to build. The top is birch plywood laminated on a second-hand solid core flush door. If I had not been lucky enough to find the used flush door I might have bought a (damaged) hollow core door and used it on sawhorses as a flat base for laminating sheets of plywood or building a torsion box. Workbench2014.jpg

    I do agree with earlier comments that a workbench is the most important tool in your shop. It must fit you (physically) and suit the work that you do and plan someday to do. But, it is only a tool. For most of us, a 350 lb. solid beech medieval French reproduction that takes a year to build on the weekends is the woodworking equivalent of commuting to work in an Aston Martin. Lots of fun, lots of prestige, but overkill for most people.

    I have used this workbench for about 4 years now and it is entirely satisfactory. I had to add a board jack for edge planing very long boards. I had a similar workbench to this one for 50 years. It served me very well.

    I have a writeup on constructing this bench. If you are interested send me a PM with your email address.

    Doug

  4. #19
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    Howdy Doug,

    How does that bench do using holdfasts?

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

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Howdy Doug,

    How does that bench do using holdfasts?

    jtk
    Hi, Jim.

    I have 3/4" round dog holes in the bench and use steel holdfasts from Gramercy Tools. They work fine (1-2 whacks), except in one hole that I somehow drilled a skosh too big. So, the top is thick enough to hold a holdfast securely. I think a thicker top might be more tolerant of that one mis-sized hole. I was confident in this design because my previous workbench top was thinner (2 x 6 larch laid flat) and even it would securely hold the holdfasts. I also have a few dog holes that don't go all the way through the top. I can't use steel holdfasts in those, so I use Veritas Surface Clamps in them.

    Doug

  6. #21
    This design may look familiar: my shameless knockoff of the Lie Nielsen bench. If you lack free time: think about buying one of their benches: they are excellent.

    IMG_3022_zps97252e83.jpg

  7. #22
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    Dec 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Fretwell View Post
    Paul Sellers bench as a quick starter bench is fantastic but the videos of his school in the Welsh castle showed the room littered with Scandinavian benches.
    Actually, and just for clarification, I think you may be recalling a Paul Sellers video where he was doing a workshop at someone else's shop. The workbenches in both his workshop at the Welsh castle (Penrhyn Castle) and his new workshop at Sylva Wood Center near Oxford contain only the English joinery workbenches as designed by Sellers. These are themselves a classic design workbench that have preven themselves over hundreds of years, just as are the Scandinavian, Roubo and others. Here's a clip from one of the videos at Penrhyn and all the benches are the English joinery benches.
    Sellers Workshop at Penrhyn Castle.JPG
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyDeCmSsebE at 7:39
    Last edited by Rush Paul; 10-01-2017 at 4:52 PM.

  8. #23
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    Here's a clip from one of the videos at Penrhyn and all the benches are the English joinery benches.
    Those benches do not have any dog holes. At least there are none to be seen.

    One point the OP made was:

    Holdfasts a must!
    The front apron doesn't seem to have any way to support a long piece.

    One feature works well for me on my bench. It is the vise being flush to the front. This makes it easy to use a hold fast in a dog hole on the apron to help support and secure long pieces being worked. Mr. Sellers likes his vise out a ways from the front. It seems if one wanted to join the edge of an 8' piece the vise would leave an impression on the work if it was tightened enough to keep the work from slipping. Without some kind of extra holding the board would likely oscillate a bit while being worked.

    One must remember that just because a bench works for one or even many persons doesn't mean it will meet the needs of another.

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

  9. #24
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    Thanks for that, the benches are all painted the same so clearly belong to the school. The video I saw certainly looked like his Welsh castle location but clearly had very different benches. Yes that bench is a classic design (not sure about the paint!). It is quick to make and very useful. Part of the reason is the big steel vise, those were made in England for a very long time. The bench lends itself to that vise. My father had a small version of that bench with such a vise.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  10. #25
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    Very solid bench Phil. I notice your dog holes don't run the whole length of the top which seems strange. How far from the front edge of the bench to the edge of the dog hole? That was a challenge for me, pushing it to 2" and keeping the screw as close to the line of holes as possible to minimise wracking. It ended up working fine even without the back brace of the traditional vise attached. I did attach it of course!
    I also notice you have some smaller feet under the main feet as they don't sit on the ground. I imagine that will mark the tile over time.
    I have the same rubber mat after dropping a Japanese chisel on the concrete and badly chipping a corner.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  11. #26
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    There are simple work-arounds for hold downs. Clamping a piece of wood at an end to mimic a dog can work very well as it can made to match your work piece better than a dog. Using a spacer on the front apron to clamp a long piece. Not always as convenient but it can work. The big plus is how quick & easy such a bench is to build.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Colorful Colorado
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    I have a smaller workbench that is about 2 1/2' x 5 1/2'. I used Douglas fir "construction" lumber with 4x4 legs and threaded rods set in grooves in the 2x6 stretchers to keep everything snug over the years. It is been rock solid stable for what I do.

  13. #28
    Kevin,

    I would stay away from splayed legs I just see them getting in the way. I don't think there is anything better for a workbench than a traditional trestle type base and there is a reason why almost every workbench is made this way (sorry, yes this means pinned or wedged through mortises). You will have a rock solid bench and never worry about racking with this type of construction.

    For light use like guitar making, a 2" hardwood top and a base with 3x3 legs would be adequate.

    Way more massive than you need, but here is one of my benches just to show how the base is made. The long stretchers are attached with bolts:

    Shop bench 1.jpg

    My attitude about benches is "build it once, build it to last".

    Hope this helps.

  14. Lots of great insights in the previous comments. Couple of additional thoughts as you start. Whatever bench type and features/functions you choose, they need to match your methods of work, techniques, and style. Not everyone needs a Wagon Vise (I do), not everyone wants a Patternmaker's Vise (I wish!), and a Leg Vise isn't always the right choice.

    With respect to horses, the Japanese have used them successfully for several millennia. My bench top sat on similar horses to those in the picture (from Popular Woodworking 04/08/2008) for about 6 months. Never had a problem with racking or sliding/skidding. Massive weight is generally overrated. But it can make up for dull tools and poor methods. Best of luck I your choices, elections and build.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  15. #30
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    As William notes, there are work-arounds for holding material, but Paul Sellers works out of his face vise almost completely, so this certainly fits his working style. He has demonstrated adding dog holes and an end vise should one prefer these. And one can certainly drill holes for holdfasts if they meet your preferred work style. He's also demonstrated extensively how he prefers to work using clamps and the face vice. These Nicholson (English) style benches are quite rigid and very versatile. Richard Maguire uses a very similar bench without a face vice and using only holdfasts and batten, as does Mike Siemsen. Sellers' variation on the Nicholson design is to use a laminated top and H-frame legs that are dado'd into the insides of the apron and then fixed with a wedge so the bench can be disassembled for moving while adding continuous strengthening/tightening of the leg assembly for rigidity. His YouTube series on building one of these benches in his backyard using only a limited set of hand tools is a classic. So, just another variation on workbench design. As William says, it is relatively quick to build using inexpensive materials, yet is very sturdy.

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