My first neander-bench is well on its way after three weeks of devoted shop time. After reading about so many styles of benches, English, Roubou, 21st century, new-fangled, just to name a few, I decided on a hybrid of English and French that would give me a few options I feel are useful. I previously asked for comments about using solid-core doors and plywood, mdf, etc and decided to take the advice of so many and build a solid wood top. The bench is all southern yellow pine (SYP), abundant and cheap in the Gulf South. I hand selected the best boards of 2x construction lumber for the project and found the 2x8 and 2x12 stock suitable the day I visited the Big Blue store. I stashed the lumber in the shop loft, stickered and clamped, in September for some warm weather drying.
Fast forward two months, I had to mill the lumber to flat and square and found that a plywood sled was invaluable for the first straight edge, passing more than half the ripped boards back through the table saw, non-neander, of course. I basically wanted 5" stock for layers in the legs and front stretcher and 3" + stock for laminating the top, side stretchers, etc. I also found my lunchbox planer very valuable to get the lumber into shape. I designed a few mortise and tenon joints into the glue-ups so I would not have to "chop out" later. This meant, for example, using the same thickness in the first and second laminations for the legs as I did for the top so that the leg tenon going into the bench top would fit properly and the front edges would be flush. This was true for the French side of the bench; The English side of the bench does not have tenons into the bench top, but rather relies on an "apron" to stabilize to legs. On the English side of the bench, I needed to be sure to use the same finished thickness for the front layer of the legs as I used for the wide apron, so I simply added the third (outer) layer after the apron was in place.
I don't yet have a "style" so I thought a hybrid bench would give me options. I've planned to build some sort of bench for a couple of years and collected the two quick release vises I thought I'd need when bargains presented themselves. One was a craigslist Wilton and the other an open-box Eclipse from the amazing online etailer. Just about six weeks ago, a quick-release vise from a big R woodworking supply company found me on craigslist for another $20. Who am I to say no? The first couple of days I thought I'd have to choose two of the three and then the hybrid idea kicked in. I t is not unlike a student's bench with a face vise on each side of the bench, but one side has a tail vise as well.
Going forward with this project, I basically had a shop loft that had some decent SYP, a healthy respect for a lot of bench builders before me including the most practical Brit I know of, Paul Sellers, not to mention the three vises that cost me $150 total. I liked the idea of the apron, not just for apron's sake but perhaps more that it would allow rolling "stuff" to be stored under the bench. I'm really into the wheel and have all my shop tools on mobile bases. The French half of the bench has tenons all the way through the 3" thick top as well as a lower front stretcher that is mortised into the legs that are 35" apart. I really like the idea of a tool well because I AM THAT GUY who will focus so much on the project piece as I move it that my plane, saw, and or chisel will be knocked off the bench onto the concrete floor. Bob Lang's 21st century workbench article solves some tool well shortcomings by filling the well with three removable boxes that facilitate clean-up and tool storage.
I am nearing the home stretch and, as always, the finishing up is slow as I'm trying to be oh so careful. I have one coat of Danish oil on most bench surfaces since I was anxious to provide some sealing of the wood after flattening the top this week. I started with hand planes like I used on the leg and stretcher assemblies after glue-up then I switched to a router sled with a 1.25" mortising bit to finish the top off. I hand sanded to 80 grit only since I want a flat top that is not slick. I installed the end vise and the vise chop and have yet to make the chop for the English face vise. The face vise for the French side is a massive Eclipse 10" made like an old Record vise. I have not yet mounted that vise and I'm not sure if my original placement idea, just outside the left leg, is a good one. I do not plan to mortise the rear jaw into the bench and will simply add a layer of plywood to the underside of the bench top and lag screw the vise there. This puts the material in the vise a bit outside the plane of the bench edge, an idea that Paul Sellers is sold on. I see a board jack in my future, if not a sliding dead man.This Eclipse weighs 39 lbs and I'm wondering if I should install it just inside the leg instead of just outside the leg. This places the vise 21" from the bench corner (instead of 6") but perhaps in a more stable location, between the two legs. I'm not sure if I would notice the difference with a 3" thick top. The bench overhang is a generous 16" so even a brace that returns to the bench leg is a possibility just to assure that end is rock solid and remains that way. Besides the vise mount, there are dog holes and holdfast holes to drill into the top. I laid out a generous pattern of 3/4" holes for the apron then only drilled half of them when I needed to use a holdfast to support one of the rails for the router sled when flattening the top. It has been a rewarding project and a good tune-up for me before I begin building furniture for a "sun-room" that we added to the house over a decade ago.
Reply With Quote
) I like the tool well - I have mine at the back and it tends to accumulate odds and ends rather than being a tool well. I'll go look at Lang's bench for ideas there. I really like your casters - don't really have room to move my bench off the wall but it would still be nice to have. I think it was clever to have a French side and an English side. Give it a year or so of use and it would be interesting to see a post describing how well that works for you.
