Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Doreen
    Age
    42
    Posts
    103

    Default Studley workbench build

    Gday

    Starting plans on a new workbench. the old pine and mdf bench has lasted me for many years, but its time to finally get around
    to making an "heirloom" bench (one far to pretty to work on :P)

    after many nights of googling benches, flicking through my woodworking library and oggling the amazing work of others, i have figured that if im going to make a bench, why not replicate the (in my oppinion) best and reproduce the H.O.Studley bench!

    the bonus for me on this bench design is the ability to sit at it like a desk. I do alot of art aswell as woodwork so a multi purpose bench was a big tick in the pro column.

    a few questions that you wonderful people may be able to help me with while im in the planning process.

    Does anyone have any pictures of the carcass construction? ive managed to find a pic without the top on, but would be interesting to know if it was made as seperate units and connected, or made as a one piece. IE: could i make 2 draw units and a seperate middle cupboard and connect them, or would there be a reason to purposely make it as one piece?

    the ebonized frame and panel. i may try and match this look identically or i may just do a simpe frame/panel, unsure 100% yet. would these be added to the face or built into the panel? they have little screw/bolt/pin on them so possibly just some thin board connected to faces and made to look pretty?

    for the top. im considering a sheet of 18mm birch ply lined in american walnut. truly beautiful and already flat/defect free. i could build a hardwood top of around 40mm and place the ply on top for the face. run some actual walnut strips around edges with the 10mm ebonized corner strips.
    would this work as a top or should i look at something more solid?

    any suggestions on timber choices? i have access to most any species in melbourne through mathews timber in knoxfield, or urban salvage in newport, and im not skimping on this. but the choices between a stained ash, or an oiled walnut has me umming and ahhing.

    the only main differences to his bench ill be making are the vices. will probably fit something like this to front https://www.timbecon.com.au/clamps-v...ont-vice-screw
    instead of the style he has. mainly because benchcrafted vices are rediculously expensive to get into australia, and i dont like the look of the ships wheel :P

    some of these questions are purely a choice thing, i know :P but i have aspergers and when im faced with 2 similar choices i cant make a decision. relying on the advice of knowledgeable people like yourselfs really helps

    any thoughts or advice while im in the planning stages will be greatly appreciated!

    cheers!!studley_bench_img_0307.jpgIMG_3479.JPGcIMG_2359-267x400.jpgcIMG_2316-400x267.jpgcIMG_1517-400x300.jpg747a6f61399568aab4f106a23d297499.jpgstudley_bench_img_0307.jpgIMG_3479.JPGcIMG_2359-267x400.jpgcIMG_2316-400x267.jpgcIMG_1517-400x300.jpg747a6f61399568aab4f106a23d297499.jpg

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Age
    2010
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,810

    Default

    It will come down to the type of woodworking you do. While interesting, mainly for the symmetrical round vises at the front, the Studley bench would not work for me. I build furniture, and I need an end vise and better work holding both at the face and on top of the bench. All those drawers look helpful, but they are frustrating when a work piece obstructs access.

    Don't forget that Studley was a piano restorer, and his needs were very specific.

    Also, he made this and his tool cabinet in the twilight years of his career. They were built as a testament to his skills, and not as a working tool.

    I hate to throw water on your enthusiasm. If you want a bench that honours Studley, then build it exactly - don't change any details. As soon as you begin to hold it up as the "best", as a model to copy, then I feel I must point out that it is not the best - there are so many styles of bench, and each has its pros and cons. I use a Roubo with legvise and wagon tail vise, dogs at the edge of the bench and holes for holddowns, and this suits my needs perfectly. Others has designs that are adapted to their needs.

    For art I would want a proper drawing board, not a bench. A bench is flat and a drawing board is tilted. I would keep this separate from a working bench to avoid clutter.

    Here is mine ...



    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Doreen
    Age
    42
    Posts
    103

    Default

    gday derek!

    i was reading up about your bench on an old thread this morning before i posted mine.
    in regards to "best" again, that was just my oppinion and perhaps what i consider "most beautiful" would be a better phrase.
    on my bench currently i have the cheapest available bench vise from bunnings, mounted under an 8x4 sheet of MDF. with this over the past 7 years i have made everything from krenov style cabinets, adirondacks, tables and chairs, full kitchens, toys, and countless other.
    my style has always been 'how can I make what I have work' and ive never had to the luxury of a proper bench.

    ive used a drawing board in the past, didnt like it. prefer to work flat for my drawings/sketches and i also paint miniatures with tends to be better on a flat surface aswell. having a dual purpose bench is also an exercise in space saving as my 2 car garage is full of all sorts of crap :P

    i love the leg vise, i bought the shaker workbench plans from benchcraft and was planning on just making that for the past few years. changed my mind as my time spent in the shed is more paint, less dust nowadays.

    and theres no water thrown on enthusiasm. sound advice based on years of experience is why I post here!

    Also, I have a picture of your bit-brace bluetacked to my wall! been there for several years

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,810

    Default

    Hi TP

    Thanks for the kind words.

    I built my Roubo after 20+ years building furniture with handtools on a very basic bench (in other words, cheap and modified to work). I had spent many years before this using power tools, and really did not know back then that a bench for handtools needed different attributes.

    One does not need fancy tools to do good work, just decently reliable ones. My early vises were from Carbatec WA (before they became Carbatec), and later replaced with a vintage Record - that was an eye opener. There is no substitute for a well made vise. Do your homework here. The genuine Record worked so much better than the Record-knockoff. I built many of my own tools. That was both fun and educational. I still build many of my tools.

    The Roubo bench was a good choice for me. I would, however, not prescribe for others - I hope that was clear before. The leg vise cost nothing (the wooden screw was a gift) but I splurged on the BenchCrafted wagon vise. I have not regretted this. The timber for the bench came from recycled roofing rafters (the Jarrah base) and I got lucky buying in the European Oak for the top from a sale. A heavy bench for my needs was important - having said this, my previous light bench worked very adequately when bolted to the wall. Try and make yours as heavy as possible - tools in the drawers helps. Heavy timber helps. Using the nice Birch ply may work for you, but it would not for me - the advantage of a solid top means that I can plane away any damage or when the top is no longer flat (wood moves, and an 18mm thick ply top will rely on the support for stability and stiffness).

    As to the construction of a Studley bench, it is essentially a beefed up desk. Look for construction details of desks with drawers. Use thicker dimensions.

    Yell out for ideas and help. Everyone here is keen to offer their experience.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    back in Alberta for a while
    Age
    68
    Posts
    12,006

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by timberpassion View Post
    Gday

    Starting plans on a new workbench. the old pine and mdf bench has lasted me for many years, but its time to finally get around
    to making an "heirloom" bench (one far to pretty to work on :P)

    after many nights of googling benches, flicking through my woodworking library and oggling the amazing work of others, i have figured that if im going to make a bench, why not replicate the (in my oppinion) best and reproduce the H.O.Studley bench!

    the bonus for me on this bench design is the ability to sit at it like a desk. I do alot of art aswell as woodwork so a multi purpose bench was a big tick in the pro column.

    a few questions that you wonderful people may be able to help me with while im in the planning process.

    Does anyone have any pictures of the carcass construction? ive managed to find a pic without the top on, but would be interesting to know if it was made as seperate units and connected, or made as a one piece. IE: could i make 2 draw units and a seperate middle cupboard and connect them, or would there be a reason to purposely make it as one piece?

    the ebonized frame and panel. i may try and match this look identically or i may just do a simpe frame/panel, unsure 100% yet. would these be added to the face or built into the panel? they have little screw/bolt/pin on them so possibly just some thin board connected to faces and made to look pretty?

    for the top. im considering a sheet of 18mm birch ply lined in american walnut. truly beautiful and already flat/defect free. i could build a hardwood top of around 40mm and place the ply on top for the face. run some actual walnut strips around edges with the 10mm ebonized corner strips.
    would this work as a top or should i look at something more solid?

    any suggestions on timber choices? i have access to most any species in melbourne through mathews timber in knoxfield, or urban salvage in newport, and im not skimping on this. but the choices between a stained ash, or an oiled walnut has me umming and ahhing.

    the only main differences to his bench ill be making are the vices. will probably fit something like this to front https://www.timbecon.com.au/clamps-v...ont-vice-screw
    instead of the style he has. mainly because benchcrafted vices are rediculously expensive to get into australia, and i dont like the look of the ships wheel
    If you truly want to build a copy of Studley's bench, I strongly suggest you obtain a copy of the book Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley by Don William; Lost Art Press 2015.
    Along with a complete description of the tool chest and its contents, one chapter covers Studley's bench.

    In answer to your questions, the original base of Studley's bench is "lost in action". The best guess is that it is being used as a dressing table in a US New England house. Any pictures of the base that you might find on-line are interpretations based on shadow marks on the underside of the top. Given that you are free to adopt your own interpretation of construction.

    The bench top itself is something a little more substantial than 20mm. Don Williams writes that it consists of 4 layers face glued together, which were then edged to produce a top 75 mm thick.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Doreen
    Age
    42
    Posts
    103

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ian View Post
    If you truly want to build a copy of Studley's bench, I strongly suggest you obtain a copy of the book Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley by Don William; Lost Art Press 2015.
    Along with a complete description of the tool chest and its contents, one chapter covers Studley's bench.

    In answer to your questions, the original base of Studley's bench is "lost in action". The best guess is that it is being used as a dressing table in a US New England house. Any pictures of the base that you might find on-line are interpretations based on shadow marks on the underside of the top. Given that you are free to adopt your own interpretation of construction.

    The bench top itself is something a little more substantial than 20mm. Don Williams writes that it consists of 4 layers face glued together, which were then edged to produce a top 75 mm thick.
    Gday to Canada!

    my copy of that book is well and truly worn out :P spent hours upon hours staring at it to the point my wife has asked me not to bring it to bed :P

    the idea with the birch ply was to laminate it to the top of a 40-50mm hardwood top giving an overall thickness of around 60-70mm. i had thoughts of being able to flip it at some point after may years of use and having a second clean face to use. i also love the idea of the top being visually one piece of wood, rather than lengths laminated together. being this bench in part is mainly a show piece this would add to the effect.

    rather than try for an authentic 100% reproduction I will probably go for close is good enough. visually similar and same style, yet vice choice and mouldings/inlays etc will be different. i may also change the quantity of draws either more or less depending on what i plan to put in there. i do not have the ability to hang tool cabinets on the wall, so might chose to store everything in the bench (or build a free standing wardrobe style tool cabinet to match, still undecided).
    the dogs dont suit me. i have seen some youtube videos recently of popup dogs using door push latches, I like that idea and would like to put something similar into it. a bench dog for me has always been a piece of scrap screwed to the bench wherever i felt like, a dirty habit im trying to break :P

    as derek said, the base of the bench is basically a desk beefed up and, this will be my next point of research to finding some similar construction plans. ive built chests of draws in the past like this, but so far in the past im having trouble remembering what i did

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Doreen
    Age
    42
    Posts
    103

    Default

    after looking at several options, decided to make carcass out of furniture grade tas oak. its available locally for good price (still alittle ouch :P) wich means i remove that 2hr drive when i need 1 stick :P I will not be colour matching exactley, still darker panel fills but the studley if more of a red? i dont like red :P
    as ive done full size set outs and memory sticks, and talked to my father (an amazing joiner) i think the finished product is going to end up
    'studley inspired' rather than carbon copy. changed some dimensions to fit me, and added some personal touches.
    still intend to finish up with something to be proud of, even if the road there takes a few turns

    pics in a few weeks when i start buying the matreials

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,501

    Default

    Don Williams also built a Studley bench copy and documented it on his website.
    The Barn on White Run | Search Results Studley bench

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Doreen
    Age
    42
    Posts
    103

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hiroller View Post
    Don Williams also built a Studley bench copy and documented it on his website.
    The Barn on White Run | Search Results Studley bench
    gday hiroller.
    i think he just replicated the top to display the vises? been through his website top to bottom and havent been able to find pictures of the base being assembled. thank you for the link

Similar Threads

  1. Roubo workbench build
    By NathanaelBC in forum THE WORK BENCH
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 1st January 2017, 07:40 AM
  2. A temporary workbench to build a workbench on
    By doug3030 in forum THE WORK BENCH
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 23rd October 2016, 07:46 AM
  3. New Workbench build
    By Dazm in forum THE WORK BENCH
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 2nd January 2016, 07:29 PM
  4. Studley Workbench
    By Bushmiller in forum THE WORK BENCH
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 22nd December 2012, 03:09 PM
  5. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 15th September 2012, 08:51 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •