Building a modern traditional work bench

Dave Black

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638
Location
Central PA
I got some hardware and some wood to build a bench but I haven't settled on a design yet. I am going to incorporate a leg vise and a twin screw end vise that I made, and possibly a shoulder vise of some kind. I was going to just glue together a bunch of 3" wide boards stood on edge to do the top. I want about a 30" top. In some of my research I see that some people have some problems with this due to the expanding and contracting causing the top to bow and such. I had an idea to make the top out of vertical and horizontal glue ups. One idea is to glue up 3 different tops out of 6" wide boards then laminate all of those together to end up with a 30" wide 3" thick top. My other idea is laminate 5 sets of 3 6" wide boards together then do a glue up of all of those. Would one of these methods produce a more stable top that is less likely to bow or warp with moisture change? Any thoughts for top construction or anything else for the bench.
 
Maybe you should have a look at the gluebo bench over at popular woodworking. They have all the info on it there and it was designed by the Schwarz.
 
I found it, I saw that bench before and I like that Idea, I want to make this out of stuff I have so I would rather not have to buy LVL to make the top. My main concern is it I will have major problems with the top warping if I do a traditional workbench top glue up, ie, 4/4 or 8/4 boards stood on egde and glued together. I suppose I should buy one of those workbench books and read it.
 
Hi Dave I picked up the book " The work bench, a complete guide to creating your perfect bench " by Lon Schleining from lee valley when i was designing my bench. It had some good ideas and different styles. What are you going to do with your bench and why do things certain ways. Very helpful. I have hopes of getting mine completed this year if I ever get the time. 3 inch thick maple top and I am putting two full banks of drawers under my bench with full extension 150lbs slides for tool storage and have built it on locking wheels for mobility (though it is heavy enough without the locking wheels to roll freely). The twin screw clamp on one end and a tail vise on the other. This Forum has lots of advice too and look at past posts for pictures of what has been built before.
 
Have you looked at Garrett Hack's bench in the recent Tools and Shops issue of fine Woodworking? He glues up the top with the boards laying flat. He made three layers and staggered the joints which results in a sort of tongue and groove assembly.
 
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Have you looked at Garrett Hack's bench in the recent Tools and Shops issue of fine Woodworking? He glues up the top with the boards laying flat. He made three layers and staggered the joints which results in a sort of tongue and groove assembly. It's his second bench. The first lasted 30 years and from what I understand, he had no trouble with the top warping.

Thats what I was thinking, I think I saw the bench but I didn't realize that was how he did the top.
 
Have you looked at Garrett Hack's bench in the recent Tools and Shops issue of fine Woodworking? He glues up the top with the boards laying flat. He made three layers and staggered the joints which results in a sort of tongue and groove assembly. It's his second bench. The first lasted 30 years and from what I understand, he had no trouble with the top warping.

I don't think his first bench was built that way (three layer top), as I have a couple of books which show his old bench. I will confirm when I get back home tonight, but I believe it was just a single plank thickness laid with the flat sawn side down (not on edge). I have been meaning to email him on his bench to ask about way he believes his new bench is better than his old. The article never really gets into it, it just says he believes it to be an improvement.
 
I'm looking for a book about benches, was looking at the Workbench: A Complete Guide to Creating Your Perfect Bench
and
Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use

any thoughts one over the other? I assume that both are good books but if one is better than the other I would rather get the better one.
 
Apart from what has been said, if I understood well from your first post you plan to have a leg vise, a shoulder vise and a twin screw vise?

If that is so you must be planning to have it standing alone in the shop and not against a wall otherwise you will not be able to reach one of the vises.

IMHO if you have a shoulder vise you will not need a leg vise, besides leg vises force you to adjust their lower part each time that you clamp a thing on them.

Chris Swarchz, rates the different types of vises in his book, pointing out their advantages and disadvantages pretty well.

I'm thinking about making another bench, but I haven't started yet because I haven't decided yet what desing I want. My present one had a leg vise and it served me well, a couple of years ago I subsituted the leg vise by a quick release metal vise with wooden jaws. It was a good change but still lacks the possibility of clamping deep pieces as you could do on a shoulder vise.

I hope this helps.
 
Apart from what has been said, if I understood well from your first post you plan to have a leg vise, a shoulder vise and a twin screw vise?

If that is so you must be planning to have it standing alone in the shop and not against a wall otherwise you will not be able to reach one of the vises.

IMHO if you have a shoulder vise you will not need a leg vise, besides leg vises force you to adjust their lower part each time that you clamp a thing on them.

Chris Swarchz, rates the different types of vises in his book, pointing out their advantages and disadvantages pretty well.

I'm thinking about making another bench, but I haven't started yet because I haven't decided yet what desing I want. My present one had a leg vise and it served me well, a couple of years ago I subsituted the leg vise by a quick release metal vise with wooden jaws. It was a good change but still lacks the possibility of clamping deep pieces as you could do on a shoulder vise.

I hope this helps.

Here was my thinking
I saw the benchcrafted leg vise and like the look of that, most of the time I don't think I would need to move the parallel guide pin that much, but when I do it shouldn't be a big deal. I already have a twin screw chain drive vise that I made and works well but it only opens 4 or 5 inches so that would be where the leg vise would come in handy. My father in law gave me an old vise screw so I now have an extra, so I thought I would add a shoulder vise, that may not be the right name, maybe wagon vise or tail vise??? The bench will not be against a wall so I have access to all sides. I just ordered Chris Swarz book on benches so I will read that before doing my design.
 
Dave, having been busy with my workbench as my primary project for months now, i would say you need to see this as a long journey. I realize now as I approach the end of this one, that there will be another and that one bench is not going to be the be all and end all of the workbench saga.

I have just finished my legvise. Will be posting soon to update my thread and what looks easy and logical is not that easy to achieve in reality.

I decided on the leg vise after reading Chris Schwarz book. Its an excellent book so you should enjoy it.

The most profound thing that i came to realize is the fundamental purpose of the workbench. Holding what ever you are working on and holding it secure and steady.

I do think though in the same way we upgrade our tools from time to time you will find that the workbench will need tweaking to the way and location you work in.

Toni has made some excellent points. I think we are all creatures of habit to some extent so my view was to make a bench as cheap as possible with a few bolt on extras and then go from there. Later i will make another once i have discovered my own personal likes and dislikes as well as what works for the size of projects i end up doing. So far i have to say i have only one huge regret and that is not making my top out of hardwood as opposed to SPF. But its not the end of the world. I would also like to have put more heft into it with thicker legs etc but then it would not have been a low cost bench.:D

Best of luck in the quest and journey. I dont see any amount of planning and research allowing for a single pass on this tool.:D
 
I read through Chris Schwarz workbenches book and I have decided to build the Roubo design, I like the heftiness of it and it was what I was picturing it in my head when I started to think of building a bench. I am still going go with a leg vise and I will also do a wagon vise and I think that I will put my twin screw vise on the end of the bench. I was originally going to make the top like garret hack did on his new bench but I think that I will just do a regular top like Chris shows in the book.
 
a somewhat different perspective....
my bench doesn't use a tail vice or leg vice, i do however have a pair of patternmakers vices on either end.
for holding large pieces i screw stops to the benchtop and use wedges or handscrew them to the overhang.
storage was very important to me when i designed so i incorporated nine drawers in the base.
the top is made out of 3-3/4" thick basswood so as to be softer than my workpiece, scars are to be expected unless you're really fastidious so in my opinion making a benchtop out of say rosewood would be more for show than go.
 
I've been reading with interest. I have been thinking about building a bench for 4-5 years. I did stick a pile of air dried hard maple in the shop 3 years ago and figure it is acclimated enough to make into a bench about now. The thing is I can't decide on which vices to incorporate. I will probably keep it simple. What really determines the top thickness? I have seen everything between 1-1/2" thick to 4" thick. I know the weight is important for stability and you would think a properly glued up top would be plenty stable. Flatness being important I wish the guy who poured my barn floor had put some re-rod in it to keep the cracks from spreading.:( I am concerned about how this will affect the finished bench. I figure to have to shim the legs to keep the bench from slowly warping to it's environment. I am also thinking about a lift/dolly system to move the beast when it's done. Maybe I'll just use the hydrolic floor jacks. It sure is easy to get sidetracked into all the questions!

My shop is primarily a pen shop so you would think a 3 foot square bench would be plenty.:D:wave: I'm kidding. I do occasional flat-work and have some very large projects in the works involving large heavy furniture. In fact a friend has offered me the use and assistance of his door/trim/furniture factory- but that's another story. I have to build some prototype furniture models in the next few weeks and sure wish I had the bench already.
 
I've been reading with interest. I have been thinking about building a bench for 4-5 years. I did stick a pile of air dried hard maple in the shop 3 years ago and figure it is acclimated enough to make into a bench about now. The thing is I can't decide on which vices to incorporate. I will probably keep it simple. What really determines the top thickness? I have seen everything between 1-1/2" thick to 4" thick. I know the weight is important for stability and you would think a properly glued up top would be plenty stable. Flatness being important I wish the guy who poured my barn floor had put some re-rod in it to keep the cracks from spreading.:( I am concerned about how this will affect the finished bench. I figure to have to shim the legs to keep the bench from slowly warping to it's environment. I am also thinking about a lift/dolly system to move the beast when it's done. Maybe I'll just use the hydrolic floor jacks. It sure is easy to get sidetracked into all the questions!

My shop is primarily a pen shop so you would think a 3 foot square bench would be plenty.:D:wave: I'm kidding. I do occasional flat-work and have some very large projects in the works involving large heavy furniture. In fact a friend has offered me the use and assistance of his door/trim/furniture factory- but that's another story. I have to build some prototype furniture models in the next few weeks and sure wish I had the bench already.

I think that the top thickness is determined by the type of bench you are going to build. In Chris Schwarz book he has designs for 2 different styles of benches, and english style has a relatively thin top but has massive side aprons to make up for the thin top. His french style has a 4" thick top and has no aprons or stretchers under the top, this allows very flexible clamping arrangements. The legs are mortised right into the top. After reading his book I would definitely recommend getting a copy and reading before building one. Theres lots of info in there and and he goes though most all woodworking tasks and rates what the best way to hold the wood for each task so you can determine what type of vise and setup you need for the woodworking you do. It got me thinking and I have a much better grasp of what I want the bench to do and how to go about doing it. As for moving the bench after its done he says he moves his bench a few times each week, I think the bench would be so ridgid that you could lift up one end and walk it around.
 
Dave you must be a gorilla! :D Us older folks have learned to use devices to move heavy things especially after having to have back surgery. I have a weld table that weighs around 400 lbs. I can sort of move one end but I usually call my young sons and sic them on it. Otherwise I put wheel on most things. (all this from a guy who got called "Donk" for packing 120 lbs. of elk meat up a steep mountain. I did feel a bit shorter after the task)

I do have a book on bench construction in my wood working library but I can't remember which one. That book you mention sounds interesting. Thanks for the thumbnail description.
 
Well Dave, You got me back on track in the bench department. I spent a good bit of time reading the book I had in my library. This is "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis. Lots of good reading. I have decided to go with a pattern makers vice for the side vice. Woodcraft sells one for $240. I am thinking about making a full width end vice with twin screws. 2 rows of dog holes. I might make one from old bicycle gears and chain. I do have access to a mill for machine work if needed. Otherwise I am leaning toward a 3-4" thick top of laminated 4/4 maple, kind of in the Shaker style but drawers only in the middle and an overhang all the way around. . I have to get a moisture meter to find out if it is dry enough. Otherwise I'll have to haul it to a kiln.

The wife wants a new Kitchen and bedroom set in the next year so the pressure is on. :D
 
Well Dave, You got me back on track in the bench department. I spent a good bit of time reading the book I had in my library. This is "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis. Lots of good reading. I have decided to go with a pattern makers vice for the side vice. Woodcraft sells one for $240. I am thinking about making a full width end vice with twin screws. 2 rows of dog holes. I might make one from old bicycle gears and chain. I do have access to a mill for machine work if needed. Otherwise I am leaning toward a 3-4" thick top of laminated 4/4 maple, kind of in the Shaker style but drawers only in the middle and an overhang all the way around. . I have to get a moisture meter to find out if it is dry enough. Otherwise I'll have to haul it to a kiln.

The wife wants a new Kitchen and bedroom set in the next year so the pressure is on. :D

I built a chain driven twin screw vise from scratch, it works well and was free. Here are some pics on my shop tour page.
http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15137&highlight=family+shop&page=3
Let me know if you have questions
 
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