Thread: Scandinavian Workbench from Skokloster Castle museum outside Stockholm

Originally Posted by DustyBuilder

Screenshot from 2023-07-18 21-28-27.jpgScreenshot from 2023-07-18 21-28-30.jpg

This is one unusual end vise! It has been speculated by Chris Schwarz that the end vice could have been used to pinch wide boards between the small dogs for face planing.

From the Lost Art Press Blog: Workbench Curiosities at Skokloster – Lost Art Press

Edit: I notice that the square dog holes have essentially been laminated to the side of the thick portion of the bench top - the square recesses have been cut into a separate board/slab/whatever you would call it which has then been attached to the workbench.

Also tool wells - a good idea? Or a dust/clutter catcher and waste of time?

That end vice is great. At first quick glimpse I thought it may have been a chair makers vice that's been built into the bench but its thread running through the moving block like that makes it not so good for tenon cutting like how a chair makers vice works. It still could have possibly been for that use though. The chair makers vices Ive seen are all loose and get clamped to the bench for use. Same as the Mitre Jack which did similar things for tenon cutting I believe. Building one on the end like that would be a good idea though. This vice type was not just for chair making , it suited cabinet makers as well . Or anyone who needed an easier way of cutting clean accurate shoulders.
Here's a chair maker vice.
Perfect Shoulders | Popular Woodworking

The way the square dog holes are cut into the front piece and then the front piece is fitted is how its mostly done . I did mine the same Its a perfect join though and glued on as well so the join disappears.

Tool wells are essential for some work . They allow the clamping of larger work pieces to the front of your bench by having a flat place at the rear to have the clamps holding. They are not a waste of time and I reckon mark a line between the hobby bench and a fully equipped bench . They also give a space to shove every thing out of the way quickly when something else needs to be worked on. That keeps the work moving faster than putting everything away only to have to get it out again. They do collect stuff/ mess that needs to be sorted which gives them the messy tag but most of the professional talented woodworkers workbenches that Ive seen, the bench is a complete mess when they are in the middle of a job.

Rob

Sounds like there's a reason why most (nearly all?) traditional workbenches have the tool well! I think I'll make me new workbench with one!

And a good point on this possibly being a chair makers vise. Chairs don't normally survive, but people in the past would have had just as many of them as we do today - and for the exact same reason! Why stand when you can sit?

Also, these are from the same museum:

Dog 1.jpgDog 2.jpg

Notice that the rounded faces of the dog have been sharpened!