Replies

1. 
   chairmake1 | Jan 23, 2003 10:07pm | #1

   Hello-

   You did'nt say what material you will be using, but I will give you a description of my bench-

   I made a Euro type bench close to the one Frank Krause's detailed in The Workbench Book by Scott Landis. I changed a few things to suit me and I suggest that you get your hands on this book and study it well.

   I built my bench with maple - 8/4 for the framing and 12/4 for the top. Width at the rear is 18" and at the front vise is 28" -

   lenght is 7' with a dog run on the front vise side and no tool tray.

   I got the front and tail vise hardware from Woodcraft. Thge front vise opens to 13" and the tail vise is 22" long.

   I did not see the reason for a wide top because of the type of work I primarily do but, when I do need a wide area I put a pc. of 3/4" ply on the top and away I go-

   Benches are a very personal piece of equipment and are built for the kind of work you intend to do and if you use a lot of hand tools or power tools - if you make cabinets or one off custom. Also consider how tall your are and the space where you will put the bench.

   Hope this helps.

   Robert

1. 
   BG | Jan 23, 2003 11:45pm | #2

   Steve,

   As Bert mentioned, the workbench is personal and a very important tool for some of us.  Perhpas as important as the TS.  If you do a Goggle on Bob's Benches hopefully you'll find a great little article that describes his decision process and the evolution to his final bench design.   One important aspect to keep in mind is that your first bench will probably not be your last.  For instance, like Bert, I put one row of dog holes in the front of the bench.  A few weeks ago I was making some raised panels from white oak....needed that second row to plane with the grain...live and learn. 

   It is also important to remember that for every decision there are tradeoffs..so perfection is not really possible...don't drive yurself crazy

2. 
   dirtstirrer | Jan 24, 2003 03:04am | #4

       Thanks for the help guys!  I've got a few more ideas now.  I'm going to find that book too. 

       I have a question concerning tail vises though.  I was leaning in the direction of a Scandinavian bench, as illustrated on page 57 of this last FWW Tools & Shops edition, but just using a face vise instead of a dogleg vise.  That would use the twin screw end vise with two rows of dogs and no tail vise.  Am I going to miss not having a traditional tail vise if I use this approach?

       I think I'll use maple for the whole thing if I can find a good supply of it here.  I live in the treeless praires of Nebraska, about 200 miles from a decent wood supplier.  Does anyone use anything besides maple with good results?

       My woodworking is mostly furniture building with a little cabinet making so I'm thinking that I don't need an extremely wide bench, but I have a large space for one if it might be useful.  Bert's coments about the making the bench wider with a sheet of ply make a lot of sense.

       I haven't had this much fun planning a project in quite a while! 

2. 
   KurtAllen | Jan 24, 2003 12:39am | #3

   I've got the Veritas Twin Screw on my bench.  Works great, doesn't bind and I've never had a problem with it. 

   Like all Veritas stuff it seems to be first class.

   Kurt