Woodworking Bench II My Bench Now and Future

This is a guest post by Chris Adkins of High Rock Woodworking.  It originally appeared at highrockwoodworking.com.  Feel free to check back there for more of Chriss woodworking rambling.

My Current Workbench

Like many woodworkers my two-car garage is my workshop but unfortunately I have not convinced my wife to permanently give up her side.  So I have my shop bench and tools set up on one side and have to pull her car out to actually work.

Because of the space restrictions everything in my shop needs to multi task.  If I had space to designate an area just for my workbench I would really enjoy the process of building a traditional English style woodworking bench, although I would probably go with a more American style top without the tool well. 

But for now I have adapted my workbench to the few and what I consider necessities.  For my bench top I used a solid 2/0x6/8 birch door with 4”x4” steel legs held together by 1”x1” steel welded together to form the frame.

The top is mounted on the frame and I attached a birch skirt.  The steel frame is probably a bit of overkill but I wanted a solid base to ensure that I have no movement when working.  I have also installed a shoulder vice and bench dog holes. 

Shaker Style Woodworking Bench

Based on my workbench there are several things that I would do again and several that I would change.  I like the base and will probably use it again only needing to build a top when I “upgrade” my workbench.  I also like the width, you will notice most woodworking benches are narrow, I alchoices thought that I would want a wider bench but the 24” width I have now is perfect.  A wider bench would not allow me to work all around my work.

The solid core door has served me well but it does have its restrictions, I have to be extra careful as the top is a veneer and almost any liquids on the top can destroy the thin veneer. 

Tail Vice

As for change I would definitely go with a double screw shoulder vice, the single screw shoulder vice that I have does not provide even pressure when clamping on one end and I often have to use spacer blocks at the other end to even the pressure.  I would also add a tail vise as my woodworking develops I find that I spend more time jointing and planing my boards by hand.  A tail vise would allow me many more options for securing the boards and my work.  With my current top it was not feasible to install a tail vice but it is difficult to clamp long boards for planing.     

In the end I will close the same choice as I opened in part one of this series, the perfect woodworking bench is what works best for you and your situation.  If I had all the time, space, and resources I would probably have a woodworking bench that looked like something belonging to inspector gadget but for now I am happy to continue to improve on what I have and have fun doing it.

Keep on woodworking!

Chris Adkins

Read More..

The Ultimate Workbench

Last October, immediately following Woodworking in America (and some goading from Aaron Marshall) I began my bench build in earnest. I took the front-to-back stretcher panels I had previously made and begain to re-design around them. I also switched my intended front vice from a Veritas Twin-Screw to a leg vise. In order to make the leg vise, I bought a Lee Valley tail vise screw and an 8” cast iron handwheel from Grizzly. It took them both to a machinist I know and viola! They fit and work together.

Then it got cold and I put the bench achoice for the winter so that I could insulate the shop.

I’ve been working on the insulation since early November and my shop has been pressed against the non-opened up wall since then. In that time I’ve completely re-wired the shop and brought outside wall to R-40.

The Lee Valley Tail Vise Screw

The shop wall, today.

I’ve also learned that I can be productive without a fancy pants bench. In fact, when I was walking through Home Depot recently, I found an American made beauty of a bench and bought it on the spot.Why did I buy it? Many reasons. It beats all the shop made and high end benches I’ve ever seen on so many levels.

• No futzing with those hard to make mortise and tenon joints. This bench is even stronger with butt joints reinforced with two (2) cheap screws.

I dare you to find stronger, simpler joinery.

• A square edge for clamping and referencing? Not on this bad boy. The top has been rounded so that even silky smooth woodworker hands will love to caress it.

No splinters from that beautiful edge

• Does that big twin-screw of leg vise get in the choice, alchoices banging your thigh as you walk past your bench? Well who needs it? One of the most wonderful parts of this bench is that it pares down all the clutter of modern benches to the pure functional core. That’s why you’ll not find a face or end vise on this gem. Your thighs will thank you.

• The bench as a 3 dimensional clamping surface? Really? Who needs to clamp in 3 dimensions? Wood is only 2 dimensional, and so is my clamping. That’s why this bench is so great. Having its legs set back from the front apron and it’s leg attachment bolts set proude of the front apron make it virtually impossible to clamp to the front face.

Inset legs and proud bolts prevent the user from making any
face clamping mistakes.

• Apparently, heavy benches are all the rage these days with bench evangelists like Chris Schwarz talking up the benefits of a massive bench with a thick (but not too thick) top. Needing a massive bench is the oldest old wives tale in the woodworking book. All you need to do for any bench is stand on it while working and it won’t move an inch.

No stupidly thick and complicated top here!

• Deal with a complicated bench top glue up to only follow it by flattening the top by hand? Not with this beauty. A single piece of good old fashioned ¾” OSB is all the top you need. It comes dead flat from factory. In fact, just about the only choice to warp this top would be to stand on it.

• Are the pieces you build too big? Not with this bench. The convenient rear lip prevents pieces from hanging over the back. No longer will you be building those hideous, gianormous chests of drawers and tables.

There rear lip is so awesome, it intimidated the camera so much
the photo came out  blurry.

So now that my bench saga is done, I couldn’t be happier. I ended up with the perfect bench, it only took minutes to assemble and I only spend $70.00 on the whole thing.

Behold the majestic beauty.

Now, what should my next project be? Maybe I’ll pick up a laser guided circular saw and make some decorative boxes.

Edit: The original post date was 4/1/12.

Read More..

I love benches. I’ve ranted here before about how much I like them, I’ve written essays about my bench design ethic and I’ve been very excited that this winter’s Guild Build is a bench.Though my favored designs usually lean towards the Rouboesque and I’m a big believer in Chris Schwarz’s “the legs should be flush with the front edge” rule, I’ll freely admit that there is no right bench for everyone.Lately, I’ve been reading and re-reading John White’s article on his Wired Workbench from Fine Woodworking. It’s not what I would typically think of when a Workbench is mentioned, but the more I look at this bench for power tools, the more I like it.It incorporates very efficient (and cost effective) clamping, integrated dust control and holds the cords and hoses out of the choice (similar to my boom arm). I think it makes for a very functional power tool bench. I’m very temped to build one myself once I’m done with the Clockwork Workbench, but alas I have no room. Luckily my Dad’s shop is roughly the size of my house, so maybe he’ll make one.

I was hoping to embed the video here, but all Ive been able to do is link to it. Check it out on the Fine Woodworking site. So that Im not without image, heres a photo:

If that bench has wet your appetite, here are a few more recent blog posts about workbenches.Chris’s bench design essay I & II.Kari has a recent post about the benches of WIA11.Marc is building a split top Roubo with the Wood Whisperer Guild.Vic is posting all the time about his Split Top Guild Bench build.Shannon’s now classic Roubo build.Schwarz’s Petite Roubo Talk.My Petite Workbenches.Marc’s build or buy postKari’s joinery benchShannon’s joinery benchMorton’s Sourcing the LumberMy bench build postsI’m sure I’ve missed many a good post, so if you have a post about a work bench, or know of one, please share it in the comments.

Read More..

Real Men Dont Need Fingers

As I have tweeted on more than one occasion, I once watched my friend & co-worker cut off two fingers on a table saw.In honor (celebration?) of Woodworkers Safety Week please allow me to regale you with the tale. It happened like this:

Thankfully, I have all 5.

I was over his house, helping him build a gazebo for his hot tub. It was the start of the day and we were working on roof framing. I was up on the roof and he was almost directly below me making the cuts I called out and then handing up the rafters. The early cuts had all been cross cuts, made safely with a miter saw. Then it came time for the first rip cut of the day, and that’s when trouble struck.Allow me to diverge here for a moment. It’s helpful to know that while my friend was a very hand’s on DIYer, he lacked the professional experience of a full time carpenter or wookworker. He was also working with a typical DIY tool set.When that first rip cut of the morning came, laziness and ignorance got the better of him. For, why bother re-setting up, just to rip a single, 6” long piece of 2”x4” cedar? The bench top table saw had been configured with a ?” dado blade (a single wide blade, which on reflection may only have been an inner cutter from a full dado set) for making the window frames the previous day. Pushing the 2”x4” though, with the blade cutting the full 1½” height and ?” width didn’t seem to him to require a push block or feather board, as he was using the fence.While the scenario I’ve just described is making us cringe, it simply never occurred to my friend that the wider dado blade would make it harder to push wood through and that the short length of wood would make it less stable.You know what happens next. While I’m not sure if the piece kicked back or simply twisted on the saw, the result was his running into the house screaming (calmer than you’d think) “I cut off my fingers!”By the time we were at the 2nd hospital of the morning (better trauma unit) we learned that he’d completely taken off his pinky and ring fingers on his right hand at the first knuckle. He also partially separated his middle finger and took the tip off his index finger. Even though his wife found the finger tips, and followed us to the hospital with them, they couldn’t be reattached due to the wide section of finger that had been completely destroyed by the ?” blade. In fact, when the hospital emergency room staff heard that it was a dado blade, even they cringed.That was about 8 years ago. We’re still friends and he still works with me (being an office manager doesn’t require usable digits quite as much as other jobs may).While I wish I’d paid attention to what he was doing and had seen the table saw setup before he tried to rip the 2”x4”, I try not to regret it as he doesn’t. Through the entire episode he recognized and stated how it had been his fault. He turned down lawyers who though he should sue Craftsman by telling them that Craftsman were not responsible for his own stupidity.

My friends Manly hand.

After the accident it took me a good month to get behind my table saw again (a bench top model at the time). I’ve worked not to be afraid of the saw. As aI roofer who has seen more people fall than get cut on the table saw I personally believe that when you’re nervous you can get sloppy and that’s when most accidents happen. Respect and understand your tools and environment, but don’t fear them.Besides respecting the tools, the episode taught me to respect my friend a lot more too. Admitting his fault, acknowledging that he should have educated himself better about the tools and refusing to blame anyone or thing else for his own actions makes him more of a man in my eyes than two fingers ever did.My lesson to you, my dear reader? Man up (or woman up). Learn how you’re tools work, how they’re dangerous and what the best practices are before you put blade to wood. After all, the tool can only hurt you through a situation you put the tool in.Hopefully this lesson will help me keep my 10 fingers. How many do you have? Heres a link to Marcs Woodworkers Safety Week Link Pages. Not only is he nice enough to start the whole safety week thing, he even curates them for us.Safety Week Links #1Safety Week Links #2Safety Week Links #3
Safety Week Links #4
Be a Safety Hero

Read More..