Thread: Wood Carvers Bench

Hi Steven
Iv'e been waiting for someone else to answer this post
just to see if there is such a thing as a carvers bench
I know a bunch of carvers and they all have benches
but mostly they are just the garden variety work bench.
basically you need a way of holding your work,
this is how I fix my carvings, maybe others will post
pics of their vices, (carving vices that is )
cheers underfoot

Hi Steven,
Here are a couple of links that may be of interest. Depends what sort of carving you're into, and the scale. I think I have a plan for carvers chops somewhere.

http://www.dentzel.com/construction/cach-3-4.htm
Plan of a bench & vice for carving rocking horses

http://www.woodworking.org/WC/GArchi...rincarver.html
Veritas relief carving bench, metal legs

http://diversify.com/wood/carving.html
Nice home-made relief carving bench

http://www.oldtoolsshop.com/enabling...ench/index.asp
A seated version, double ended carving horse

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...F.aspx?id=2138
Not a clear shot, but foot operated rope vice

http://treetops-studios.com/tour/tourws.htm
more or less a small cabinetmakers bench

http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.ph...on//sn/SJOSUMO
Relief carving bench, timber frame

http://www.rockinghorse.co.uk/cgi/sh...art_id=2823-66
A picture of carvers chops, no bench


Cheers,

Underfoot That looks like an early version of a triton super jaws with a bowling ball stuck in? what a great idea

Most of those links seem to be for relief carving from a sitting position. The bench I made, with help from a welder, many years ago, assumed a standing position, mainly for work in the round but good for relief also. Don't remember which book I got the plans from, but the principles were:

-tall enough to work at chest level;
-small enough to work from all four sides;
-heavy enough to stay still when you bang with a heavy mallet.

Which for me meant a heavy steel frame 380 x 740, 950 high topped with two 50 thick ironbark sleepers with a 15mm gap in the middle to allow for carver's screw clamps etc. Very simple.

Thanks for all the replies. Underfoot I like your homemade vise. I assume that is homemade. Andy Mac thanks for the links. Frank&Earnest that is more what I was thinking about. So I can work in the round. Do you have a picture of the bench by any chance? Cheers mates, as ya'll say.

Here it is, in its bare essentials (the top is actually 3", not 2" as i said).

Struth Frank, you could hide under that if there was a cyclone or an earthquake.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Here it is, in its bare essentials (the top is actually 3", not 2" as i said).

cool frank ,that would be great bench if the 3'' wood were jaws of a clamp ,l don't like bolting my work down, if l can l like to hold it in my hands so l can have a good look at it

A heave table to move around the shop ,other than that a very good bench as is underfoot's

Cliff: yes I could . Arty: I also like to hold the work in my hands, and have plenty of scars to prove it, but now I am older and wiser . I am not a fan of the clamp solution, prefer the ball/bolt a la underfoot, but the height of the triton super jaw kills my back - tried once, never again. A ball joint on top of my bench is my way to go. For small items that could be handheld I like this vice:

Having no vices, therefore being perfect, I find the old fashioned benchhook to be the most satiafactory tool for most of my style of carving. The back plate I adapt to the specific carving if neccesary eg. a rounded out block if it's a bowl and so on, the base can be lengthened for a longer carving etc.. The bench hook allows me to move the carving constantly to asses whatever damage I'm inflicting. As the carving progresses and the surfaces become smoother and finer, hence more likely to be damaged, I shift to one of those wheat bags sold at markets to heat up in the microwave and put on aching joints, the carving can be nestled into the bag, held firm and not damage the underside, when you have finished of course you can whack it in the microwave and freat yourself.


'It's never too late to have a happy childhood'

I'm not too keen on the bolt or screw thru the carving set up.
I hot glue my work to a piece of wood then fix that to the bowling ball
I also use a sand bag to hold the piece occasionally
one of my favorite gadgets is a profile gauge ,which I use to cut fitted
soft jaws for the triton super jaws . EPP (expanded polypropylene) works
well , holds job tight and doesnt damage it.
I posted sketches of the bowling ball thngo on another thread but can't
seem to find it.
Geeez Frank, thats not your workshop in that last pic?? Wheres the dust,
the chips, the mess, ??
cheers underfoot

Originally Posted by underfoot

Geeez Frank, thats not your workshop in that last pic?? Wheres the dust,
the chips, the mess, ??
cheers underfoot

Have you not worked out yet that I am all words and no action? Besides, I have noticed that the work/clean ratio is much more depressing than I expected... given that I do not like cleaning, my amount of working is going to be severely curtailed... building the shed and setting up the machines is fun, though

ETA: underfoot, your plans are in the thread "securing the job" here in "woodcarving".