Replies

1. 
   roc | Feb 09, 2009 01:29pm | #1

   Hey Andyfew322,

   My birthday is March 10. I mention that 'cause I looked up to see what kind of woodworking you do. That is what you need to go by.

   You may have an extra concern to take into consideration. You may want to make your bench base so you can raise it in case you get taller.

   I do almost all hand tool work and so I say build a traditional Klausz cabinet makers bench that is low enough to do heavy hand planing. Then if you do power tool routing etc. build another bench for that or a bench that you put on top of your Klausz. See FWW mag there is at least one example.

   I have more than one bench so you to may need more than one. If you do almost no hand planing or hand mortising then raise the hight and make a simpler bench.

   Be sure to look at the work bench books by Landis by Schelining and the latest by Schwarz also the beam and horses bench by Joshua Finn in the previous FWW issue #202. I use this style bench also; just not for scrub planing or making drawers. I built my Kluasz on a beam and horses bench jammed in the corner of my shop. That is how I know it isn't worth a darn for scrub planing or making drawers either.

   I like purple heart for the bench top. Hard, stiff, heavy, strong, has a nice surface with nothing on it, isn't too slick because resin oozes out of the grain to a very small degree.

   The down side is the learning curve to work this nightmarish wood is steep. Resin gets on power tool blades, burns if blades are not in perfect shape, tears out with hand planes, dulls blades etc.

   Once you master it you will love the stuff.

   Put it in the sun it turns brown. Keep it out of the sun it is a cool purple. I like the color of my bench. It was not why I chose this wood though.

   I could go on and on about the details but I think it is more important for you to read up and decide what you like. As I have said here before; find the wood workers that do the same style of woodworking you want to do and build your bench like theirs.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
1. 
   flairwoodworks | Feb 10, 2009 05:12am | #5

   Nice signature Watson.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   roc | Feb 11, 2009 12:09am | #7

   >Nice signature Watson.<Ah there you are !Chris,You mistake me, sir, for another.
   Perhaps my friend and colleague one John H. Watson. Since he married Mary Morstan I must say I rarely see him.I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in his debt. It may be that he is not himself luminous, but he is a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   Edited 2/10/2009 4:11 pm by roc

1. 
   guitar_builder_92 | Feb 11, 2009 07:38am | #8

   I am also coming up with a design for a workbench that I will make soon. I am planning on making the base out of 4x4's with a large shelf underneath and drawers underneath the top. The top will probably be a bunch of jointed and planed 2x4's glued up on side with a replaceable mdf. It will also have a tool tray in the back and a good vice. It's all preferences I like a replaceable top so I can screw jigs into it all the time and just replace it when it's full of holes.

2. 
   flairwoodworks | Feb 12, 2009 06:44am | #9

   "Growing up/high school my best friend and bike racing partner's last name was Watson. So of course I was Holmes"Oops, wrong partner.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   RalphBarker | Feb 09, 2009 06:06pm | #2

   Roc makes a good point about reading the available books and FWW articles on the subject to get a sense of what appeals to you, personally. One suggestion I'd have is to make it modular, so you can move it conveniently in the future.

3. 
   Tom7 | Feb 09, 2009 10:54pm | #3

   Chris Schwarz, editor of Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine, is as close to a workbench guru as I could find.  His book on workbenches is wonderful.  He has published two superb articles on workbenches - the Roubo and Holtzapffel benches - in Woodworking Magazine.  You can download the issues on the Woodworking Magazine website.  Also, check out the workbench blog on the Woodworking Magazine website.  It has lots of information that I found invaluable.  Finally, a recent issue of Popular Woodworking had an article on the "21st Century Workbench" which could be helpful.

   I recently built the Holtzapffel bench with 3" x 24" x 96" hard maple top.  It is superb and I love it.  It weighs about 400 pounds and is solid as a rock, mych better than my old Tage Frid design bench.  Chris' construction drawings and writeups are terrific.  Chris also responds to e-mails and answered numerous questions I had.

4. 
   Lataxe | Feb 09, 2009 11:52pm | #4

   Andy,

   You may find summick in here:

   http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=44681.77

   Lataxe

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/9/2009 5:35 pm ET by Lataxe

1. 
   roc | Feb 10, 2009 10:41pm | #6

   >This is life as a human - itchin' & scratchin'.Also taking big piles and sorting them into little piles and then taking the little piles and making one big pile.: )
   rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

5. 
   rdasilva | Feb 13, 2009 08:33am | #10

   I second Tom7's recommendation for Christopher Schwarz new workbench book. It's the first one I've found that really investigates and discusses the 'why' along with the 'how'. It straightened me out on many preconceived notions I had about workbench construction. I've gained much respect for Mr. Schwarz for his ability to look at building a workbench from a purely practical perspective... joining essential elements and eschewing gimmicks; yet never reinventing the wheel.