I’ve been tinkering with the idea of starting a business selling workbenches for a little while now and am about to jump into it soon. My targeted audience are woodworkers who want a really usable workbench but when they see the time and cost involved, they would rather buy than build (some people like working wood no matter what its for, some people would rather spend what little time they have for their hobby building furniture, boxes, etc.) I’m a hand-tool user and it became apparent that the bench I wanted didn’t seem to exist commercially. The commercial makers all seem to make the standard face-vise and tail-vise style bench. We have these where I currently work, and the face vises work well for holding 3-6″ wide boards on edge, but thats about it. I built a Tage Frid bench and I’m a big fan of the shoulder/tail vise combo, although I would have preferred to make the legs flush with the top and include a sliding deadman if i could do it over again (I’ve gleaned this from Chris Schwarz’s Workbenches book, which I highly recommend). I’d like to offer a couple of different models, a massive bench and a more affordable one that is lighter in weight/materials but still fits all the criteria for proper work-holding and rigidity. Obviously a shoulder vise complicates the design and would be more expensive to build, but worth it to those who like shoulder vises. Twinscrew vises and leg vises are another option and seemingly more simple to incorporate. I want to offer semi-custom benches, based on a similar platforms, but with adjustable dimensions, length, height, and possibly different species, hard maple, white oak, southern yellow pine. Basically a workbench for woodworkers that isn’t designed solely for ease of manufacture but more for functionality.
So tell me, what is important to you in a workbench. What vises do you like and do you like tool trays. Metal hardware, or would you like to see wooden vises incorporated? I want to build benches for woodworkers based on what they need, not what I think that they need.
Replies
First thought: Did you really NEED to post this in a dozen different spots? OK, we see your post already!
Second Thought(s): Anyone can buy some pretty nice workbenches from a number of sources. You'll need to differentiate yourself from those. Unfortunately, what most people these days look at in terms of differentiation is price first, quality & features second. Your market will likely be 50+ yr old men wannabe woodworkers, who have more money than time available to pursue their hobby. You know, guys with a $50K shop that has never been exposed to more than a few grains of sawdust. (Anyone else will simply make their own bench.) You'll need to provide enough "Custom Made" goodies and glitz that it will overcome the branding of the commercial outlets, without pricing yourself out of the market. My hunch is that this sort of customer won't know enough about woodworking to be able to tell you what s/he wants that isn't available from the store-bought sources. You'll need to sell this pretty small customer base on why your bench is better even tho' it costs the same or, preferably, less. Your only other option will be to offer a bench so unique (and possibly impressive to behold) that the buyer cannot build one himself, like a hand-built plane/work of art.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
"My hunch is that this sort of customer won't know enough about woodworking to be able to tell you what s/he wants that isn't available from the store-bought sources."
That's an interesting Catch-22: The people who are most likely to appreciate the availability of various custom features are precisely the people who are most likely to build rather than buy.
-Steve
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