Good Day
I am looking to build a new bench. After a lot of research I have come to the conclusion that the Essential Workbench by Lon Schleining is the closest to the one I should build.
I have one major problem. The length of the bench. My limited shop space can only take a 5′ long bench if I want an end vise. Over the last few years my work has become more and more hand tool focused. My current bench is 6′ long MDF and only one front vice. I built it as a general workbench to support all types of projects long before I started loving hand tool work. I keep it against a corner. It is no longer flat and due to the construction (lots of screws and glue) I can not take it down to flat.
The new bench will come out into the middle of the floor, and the slab can only be 5′ long, with the end vice added that is as long as I can go.
Has anybody else made a shorter version of the bench? What kind of issues did you run into?
I was also looking at using the Lee Valley pre drilled slabs and cut then down to length. I only want to use round dog holes. I have a lot of accessories for them already.
Thanks
Replies
Careful, Will. If you make it shorter, the proper length for your workshop, the workbench police will be all over your, uh, end vise. ;-)
Will,
I have either a 5' or 6' bench, with face and end vises, due to space limitations. It has not been a problem but there are realities that need to be observed.
First, I need space on each end of the bench to wield the #7, so it won't work to stick it in a corner. Second, a bench always has some stuff on it and there is little space to spare, so I built storage just above the bench. Third, for most of my projects, a separate assembly area is required..it would drive me crazy constantly shuffling stuff around if I had only one table. Lastly, it needs weight to keep from walking...or sharp planes :)
Thanks
It will be in the centre of the shop area. My plan is to get the Veritis bench as a starting point. Cut off two files of dog holes from the slabs, 15 1/2 inches altogether, purchase some matching maple to fill the centre where the tool tray is. I am not wild about the tool tray in the centre. Then adjust the top to match Lon aprons. I like the hight of the aprons, I want to put a few dog holes on the front apron and one in the end of the end vice so that I can clamp virtical to the front of the bench. I like Lon's base better then Virtis so I will order the bench with cast Iron legs and use them else where. Also the Cast Iron legs seem to be easier to adjust to my new length. Untill I cn Build Lon type legs.
The one thing I have learned about wood workers that they are adaptive and inventive as the situation requires. 5' bench is all I can do. The old bench will become an assembly / junk bench.
The bench coppers will never take me alive!
Will
"The bench coppers will never take me alive!"That's the spirit, Will! Hold 'em off with your pneumatic nailer! ;-)
Will,You can probably order the slabs alone. Give them a call.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Yes I thought about that. But I need the front vice, the end vice, and material for the legs, by the time I add up all the bill of materials I start saving by starting with the Veritas bench. Note that the Essential Workbench uses the same vices as the Veritas Bench and is the same width, 26".
My priority is to get a bench working. The details I Like about Lons Essential Workbench are the solid top, without the centre tool tray on the Veritas, and the 6" Apron. The base is nice but not a priority to me. After looking at the two benches, they are very similar once you decide to use round dog holes throughout. It appears that adding a 4 1/2" centre slab to replace the tool tray and modifying to add an Apron as Lon has done is the cheapest approach.
Also the one thing that worries me is the spacing and position of the legs after I shorten the slabs by 15 1/2". The Veritas iron legs provide me with a more adjustable option that I can experiment with at a lower cost. And at a future date I can build a trestle base. The iron legs are good looking and can be reused in another project.
If this all works, I will have a 60 1/2" Bench that I need in my shop.
Will,Good luck with your bench. Sounds like you've got most of it figured out. Me, on the other hand, have spent the past - what, 10 months? building my bench. Turns out I didn't build the base beefy enough, so I need to rebuild it. Oh well, I'm learning a whole lot and enjoying it all!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Well, then don't read Chris Schartz's book.It will mess with your priority.Good luck!
No I have not read his book but I will try to find a copy. Having a good base is important. I used the a Veritas bench with the cast iron base. It is very good, and will serve until I figure out how I can adapt a trestle base to the shorter bench length, such as the one outlined in the plans for the Essential Workbench. That's all I met by my remarks.
"Having a good base is important"... Will
I agree.. I just went down and took 3 pics of the base design I have been building for the last 12 years or so. This particular one is 5' to fit my shop and the way machines have to be laid out as you might say my shop is fully loaded.
It uses a Veritas twin vise on the end so if you need 72" you open it and the vise face extends the lenght. I also have an assembly table the same height at one end.. so I get another 5' of surface by bridging as I often do some pretty long carcass work. This is irrelevant in your case but added to point out field expediency can win a day when the going gets rough. :>)
Through mortices rule and I use what I call my "whale-back" to gaurantee absolutely no rack. I laid on my back and took a pic of it underneath. My wife inverted the 3rd picture so you see the bottom upside down. The whale-back is 3" x 4" and runs the lenght of the bench from end stretcher to end stretcher and is tied in on each end with a bridal joint. It ties all morticed components together and ensures no-rack. It also supports any chance of table sag as it is centered underneath and supports the the underside at middle point. Once installed.... pretty much a life-time gaurantee.
Just some ideas if your still shopping ideas. I use solid 3" thick SYP tops and Doug Fir bases. Doesn't matter what you use if the joinery becomes your main focus as it is the key to no rack..
Good luck...
Sarge..
WillGraham2,Napie's pictures reminded me; when I built my bench I was concerned about the footprint(size, stability) of the base to accommodate the vises.
Yes that is my main concern too. And the main reason I want to start with the cast iron legs. I will try to maximize the stance
My main bench is only 60 inches long and 28 wide and it has never been an issue. As to the end vice I can highly recommend the John Nyquest style for both ease of construction and strength. Construction details are shown in both of Taunton’s workbench books.
I made a five footer for my shop borrowing a number of design elements from other benches. The base is a little different than Lon's design but it's solid as a rock. Sturdy SYP base with drawbored M&T construction. Hard Maple top 3 1/2" x 26" x 60" with full Apron. 36" Twin Screw face vise and 8" end vise. I wish I had more bench area but I also wish my shop was bigger too.
Edited 4/8/2009 1:42 pm ET by RJLII
I like it. Looks very solid. Bigger shop is always a bigger issue. How did you attach the aprons?
I ordered the LV bench this week, and plan on cleaning up the shop room to fit it in this weekend.
The aprons are 3/4 soft maple x 3 1/2 wide. They're attached to the sides with 1/4" lag bolts and washers. The holes are counterbored so the heads are recessed into the apron. Four of the lag bolts do double duty and extend through the benchtop into tenons on the tops of the legs that are mortised into the benchtop. Kind of like a removable drawbore. It locks the top on tight (as if the weight of the maple wasn't enough!)
really like this
rjlII - i'm thinking of making a very similar bench in size and vise use. only making 60 inches long, front vise as veritas twin screw 24" and an end vise. top will be 3 1/2 inch mapel and around 24-26 inches. i had a few questions for you. any issues w/ size of bench? still working well at "only" 5 feet? anything you'd change about vise choice? did the aprons get in the way of your vises at all? compromise their stability? thank you so much in advance!
-bill
Have you considered installing a wagon vise instead of a conventional tail vise? The advantage is that it can have several inches (even a foot or more) of travel, yet take only a few inches past the end of the vise. You can make your own inexpensively from scratch using nothing more than a shoulder vise screw, or you can spend quite a bit of money on a very nice one:
http://www.benchcrafted.com/vises.htm
-Steve
A'hem . . . if I may . . .
This is the bench police !
OPEN UP !
What I mean is you might want to spend some time over on Fine Home Building (or Fine Home Bus'ing A Hole Inawall ).
In addition pick up a couple of must have fine woodworking tools :
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-9750-Tiger-Reciprocating-Variable/dp/B0000ASDMK/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355685745&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Porter+cable+tiber
and
http://www.jackhammers.com/
Some thoughts on putting the bench in the corner/up against a wall as opposed to out in the room.
I have a parts cabinet at the end of my bench that keeps the end of the bench spaced away from the wall and solidly braced so run out with my jointer plane doesn't run into the wall.
I highly recommend bracing a bench against a wall at least one direction or two.
This keeps the bench from utching across the floor under heavy planing forces OR EVEN TIPPING OVER WITH A LITTLE TALL BENCH THING. Maybe I get more energetic with my wood working than most. I can't imagine doing heavy cross grain planing , for example, on a bench this small without bolting it to the floor or bracing it against a wall.
The wall brace totally stops any flex in the base which I can not tolerate, which can occur even when sawing.
This can be as simple as a strut over to the wall or pushing the bench up against the wall.
For comic relief , if that hasn't already exhausted it's self , you can just use a small bench and sit on it while you work; ties the oscillating muscle motion to the work to eliminate that PSBFAS "Pesky Small Bench Flapping About Syndrome".
See the messy shop photo of the two x fours bolted together. It has washing machine leveler feet, the screw heads into the top near both ends back out to act as planing stops, the oak strip on the side you run a hand plane laId on it's side for planing a square edge to a face, portable, can stand it in the corner out of the way while using the saw horses.
Your hold down / vice is your foot or your butt.
Do your yoga exercises WHILE you do your woodworking !
What's not to like ?
: )
Well since we are talking small wood working bench.
Free standing and all.
Why through bolts on such a small bench top ?
I call it "my over the top, excessive, obsessive, Ultra Mother, I like to machine the ends of the bolts to exact flush length even more than making this bench systems approach".
This may be the only bench where the base is worth way more than the top.
Those super stout things the top is sitting on are bubinga saw horses .
I think I do not exaggerate when I say these saw horses hold the record for the shortest as well as the strongest per square inch saw horses ever constructed from wood.
See systems approach above.
I can use them to space the portable top off the floor.
Also can use the eight foot planing beam shown standing against the wall on them.
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