I am surprised to hear anyone talk of the Sjobergs as not being suitable for hand tools
My guess is armchair woodworkers are the ones making those claims.
My main modification to my small Sjöberg bench was to add 80 lbs of concrete in a bucket to the tail end to stabilize it when planing long boards.
Mortising is one of the more forceful jobs in hand tool woodworking:
Starting 1X2X3%22 Mortise.jpg
Chopping a 1X2X3%22 Mortise.jpg
The age old wisdom of chopping a mortise is, when possible, place the work above a leg.
My Shöberg may have skinny legs but they are able to stand up to this.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)