Thread: Whats the best thing about your bench

Apart from a solid heavy construction. A wagon vice with dog holes- mine are the square type. My bench is in the middle of my room so I can acces all sides. On the back of the bench I have four carefully placed round dog holes in which I use some veritas hold downs. I us these generally for clamping timber for using plough planes. If you have very small pieces you use a 'sticking board' held by the wagon vice. Legs on the side of your bench with a face vice are also best if flush with the apron/top. An older model record 52-1/2ed quick release vice is also pretty good.

If you want tool storage then make a cabinet the width or slightly less than the distance of you dog hole ( front to back of bench if that makes sense)

For hand tool work heavy like others have said. Plenty holding options is also good. Storage is good but dont let it get in the way of holding work on the bench so leave room to use holdfasts and clamps.
Best source of info would be this thread.
SHOW US YOUR WOODWORKING BENCH - a summary thread

Regards
John

I actually was talking with someone earlier today about my bench. I'm in a position where I'm moving internationally soon and I've really had to give some thought to what is and is not worth paying to put on that boat.

It occurred to me that my bench is actually my single most prized possession. There are a few things with some serious sentimental value, but when you take the sentimental value I place on the bench and combine it with its practicality, there is simply nothing that comes even remotely close. If I was told I could only bring one item back from Australia, it wouldn't be my climbing gear setup, or any of my hand tools, or my laptop. It would be my workbench.

So your question is a tough one, but I think the answer would have to be the story. For me, the timber in my bench, all of which comes from Queensland, represents an important time in my life when I lived here and when I, in earnest, became a woodworker. I also have a tremendous amount of appreciation for the time spent making the bench and the things I learned while doing it.

So the answer is: The story behind the build and the materials which went into the bench.

But if I had to pick a second place favorite thing that provides a bit more of the answer I think you're looking for, it would be the traditional end vise with the square bench dogs. This combined system creates so many work holding options that I barely use any of the other workholding systems on the bench. I can't recommend it enough.

And close behind that would be the mass of my bench. Find yourself some old, dry eucalypt and make it out of that. As Christopher Schwarz says, "Always add mass".

Cheers,
Luke

I went with building one with the lot.

Face vice and tail vice , wooden threads . The best threads for Timber benches .
Dog holes
A well
A sliding board jack
Drawer storage taking up all the space under the top
Solid heavy timbers , Jarrah .

What I I couldn't do without are the two vices and dogs. The vices could be metal ones , I think the best metal ones are adapted Dawn types , large , with the quick release lever.
The Well
And the the board jack



Storage could be done on the cheap with boxes and good heavy construction out of Radiata pine with a hard timber face, 10mm glued on and at the front would do.

Rob

Thank you for the replies and links greatly appreciated looking forward to build my new bench until now I have always had benches along workshop walls with storage under a free standing bench will be a great asset.
Regards Rod.

I've always appreciated having a melamine shelf as the benchtop surface. I can dribble wood glue, varnish, paint, epoxy, etc, all over it. I just need to let it dry, run a paint scraper over the surface of it, and it all just comes off, leaving a nice flat clean surface to work on. I've always told myself it's easy to replace, and given 15 years of use, it's probably due for that soon, but after 15 years, it's still looking quite decent. I know you can sand hardwood benches back and refinish them, but that's a much bigger job than a quick scrape-off, or even a melamine benchtop replacement. Having said that, I'm planning to build a 'nice' traditional workbench sometime soon, and I'd love the look of a hardwood top, but I'm torn between the nice looking hardwood, and the practicality of melamine.

Originally Posted by Rod Gilbert

I am looking to build a new bench I want some tool storage,solid bench for hand tool work so what are the best features of the bench you have and what should I incorporate into a new bench build.
Regards Rod.

Hi Rod

my 2 cents ...

mass and possibly even more mass
A top that is easy to flatten
front legs that are in the same plane as the front edge of the top
some overhang left and right, but not too much
an under-structure that doesn't rack
inexpensive and relatively quick to build

no hamster nest -- AKA a tool

no tool storage, apart from for bench dogs and hold downs -- store your tools in separate carts, cabinets, etc. I can guarantee that at some stage something you have clamped to your bench will be in the way when you need to get something out of the under bench storage.

Originally Posted by surfdabbler

.....I'd love the look of a hardwood top, but I'm torn between the nice looking hardwood, and the practicality of melamine......

Surfdabbler, you can have your cake and eat it too, in this instance! All you need do is oil your nice hardwood benchtop and give it a good waxing every now & then. I do mine annually (every 3 or 4 years ), but it's enough that spilled glue/paint/whatever doesn't get much of a grip & is easily flicked off with a card scraper.

I'm on record as being a huge fan of tail vises, they are more versatile than the so-called 'wagon' vises which have become something of a fashion-statement in the last decade. If you regularly hand-plane, or do any operations which requires boards are held flat & securely on the benchtop, a tail-vise is unbeatable. The all-wood traditional type vise is not as difficult to make as many think, but if you shy away from that, there are several manufactured mechanisms that simplify the process (at greater cost, of course). If you are really too frightened of tackling a 'proper' tail vise, then the travelling dog system is a good start, but you'll do a lot more winding of the screw when changing between workpieces of different lengths, because you don't have the choice of 3 or 4 dogs on the moving part like you do with a tail vise. And you don't get a very handy set of jaws that are perpendicular to the bench front, either - can't tell you how many times I've found that a boon.

I have a tool well and wouldn't be without it.

I have storage under, but not for tools that are used all the time. As the others say, you always want something in there just as soon as you get a big job in the vise & totally obstructing your access!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by ian

no tool storage, apart from for bench dogs and hold downs -- store your tools in separate carts, cabinets, etc. I can guarantee that at some stage something you have clamped to your bench will be in the way when you need to get something out of the under bench storage.

In addition to what Ian said above, the day will come when you want to clamp an object to your benchtop but the under-bench storage will be in the way. A clear space under the benchtop is also easier to keep clean. drawers full of tools and sawdust does not appeal.

Cheers

Doug

The best thing?
Well I spent about 3 or 4 months planning it. I did two 3D Cad drawings of it, dreamt about it and did all sorts of research about benches. Then I had a wonderful week making the thing. And every time I go into the shed I love using it.

For what it is worth here is what I think a bench should have
1. You need to decide what you are most likely going to be using it for. I do mostly hand tool work so my bench is set up for planing and sawing with hand tools. The height is a bit lower so I can get a bit of downward pressure when I plane timber. Also I put a 12 mm gap right down the middle of the bench. I can put a bit of board anywhere along the bench, in the gap and I have a stop to plane against.
2. Weight and rigidity. I suppose my bench would weigh several hundred kg. Certainly, 2 strong men are required to move it anywhere and then with great effort. The top is 90 mm thick and the legs (6 of them) are 90mm by 130 mm. All the joints are draw-bored mortise and tenon. It does not flex and it does not move. When I chisel on it all the force goes into the work. The top does not give at all.
3. Flat. I made the top absolutely flat.
4. I also made the entire front apron a clamping surface.
5. Dog holes for stops and bench hold downs
6 A tail vice (the picture was taken before I added it)

It was made out of 90 by 45 MGP12 Pine. The timber in the top was oriented so that the grain runs vertically and it has proved extremely stable and resilient.

Originally Posted by chook

The height is a bit lower so I can get a bit of downward pressure when I plane timber.

If you are talking about a scrub plane then i can understand that, but ...

Work smarter not harder. The weight of the plane itself is sufficient to take a shaving as is proven here for finishing planing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJHrSmZQx10

I have a problem with my lower back and bending down is an issue for me. I therefore have my bench higher because I can put more pressure down on a scrub plane if the workpiece is higher rather than lower.

It is all an individual thing, no "one size fits all" solution.

Cheers

Doug

A scrub is one of the planes I use. But I had a higher bench and I made the new one a bit lower and I find it much better.

Doug's point about it being an individual thing really extends to many aspects. Some people want under bench storage and others swear by their tool well. Two of the main reasons for building my new bench were to get rid of the under bench cupboards/drawers and the tool well. My new bench has an open storage area underneath that can hold containers or loose items so they are always accessible, and things can be clamped down to it all round. It also has no tool well.

The bench itself is not heavy enough (thought it would be heavier) but the rails along the bottom store my bench-bench and various sizes of timber stock so it does not move easily. It is better to build in more mass though, and if I had known how it was going to turn out then the legs etc would have been thicker.

Other good things:
It has a good woodworking vice (compared to my old one).
Rigid.
Not too wide (previous 1 was just that bit too wide for me).

I love everything about my bench because it was actually the first thing I've ever built, if I was going to do it again I would probably put a place for a vice.
My bench is pretty simple and when I built it I put some extra cross braces under the top so I have somewhere to attach the drawers, but at the moment there is a shelf there where my drop saw , belt sander and circular saw sits. But I'm building a table for for my drop saw in the next couple of weeks once done I'll add the drawers to my bench.