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Scandinavian BY BILL RAINFORD Modern hardware and techniques update this Tage Frid-inspired bench.

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 30 11/29/16 9:59 AM candinavian- or Continental- “Take a piece of – , it’s well-suited for workbench building style are the vinyl sand, and oil it, and you will fi nd it and relatively plentiful in New England, SLP records of the woodworking a beautiful thing. The more you do where I live. Buy your wood well in world. These iconic benches have never to it from then on, the more chance advance so that you can bring it into left the scene. A few are classics and oth- that you will make it worse.” your shop, sticker it and allow it to ac- ers are the fl avor of the month. Some Tage Frid (1915-2004), climate to your shop for at least a week. benches in this style are masterworks Danish-born woodworking teacher, While the wood acclimates, gather and some are poor approximations of furniture maker and author all your hardware and , and note an archetypical form. The trick is fi nd- any changes you need to make to your ing the workbench that hits all the right y or de sign to fi t your hardware. notes for how you work so you can go I was inspired by Frid’s bench – but I Once the wood is acclimated, plane, rip on to create your own opus. also listened to the criticisms. Some and buck the pieces close to their fi nal folks complained about the relatively sizes – but leave them a bit oversized What’s Old is New Again short length, which was designed for and again sticker them for a couple of Much as how Roubo and Nicholson a modest cabinetmaker in a classroom days. (If you have a moisture meter, benches have re-surfaced in recent setting, and the fact that larger folks you can monitor the wood as it reaches years and have their merits – they were aggressively could potentially equilibrium.) products of their times, the needs of the move the middle-weight bench around I built the bench in three major as- craftsman and the availability of wood if it wasn’t bolted to the fl oor. Others semblies: the benchtop, the trestle legs and hardware – so too has the Scandi- suggested that the joinery for the tail and the vises. navian style of workbench, most popu- was too complex, and some noted lar in the late 19th and 20th centuries. t hat t he hardware Fr id used is no longer Benchtop & Dogs This newer style of bench made use of available. I started with the large slab that makes a changing landscape and scarcity To address some of those issues, up the majority of the top surface (it of wood, and often required a higher I made several design modifi cations fi nishes at 13⁄4" x 121⁄4" x 741⁄2"). You’ll level of skill and/or mechanization to and incorporated some new hardware want at least two 8/4 boards for this. produce. All of those forces are still to build a bench that I am very happy If you can’t fi nd wide clear stock, you present in our modern world, where with. I have, however, used the same or can use three narrower boards to make we want to conserve natural resources, similar part names, listed in the same up the blank. Make sure that the grain mix old and new techniques and tool- order, as Frid did in his book (in case is oriented in the same direction for ing and build something that is both you wish to view them side by side). handplaning during the fi nal fl attening. functional and aesthetically pleasing. Here are the highlights of my revised Joint the boards, thickness plane When Tage Frid wrote about work- bench: them to 1⁄32" heavy, then rip a little benches in the third volume of his ■ It is almost 2' longer t han t he or igi- wider than needed. I used my iconic “Tage Frid Teaches Woodwork- nal, coming in at about 7' long. ing” (Taunton) he described a state of ■ It is a few inches wider (making it time (1948) wherein a good workbench perfect for my armspan). could not be obtained in this country. ■ I incorporated modern hardware His solution was to design and build a – a Dieter Schmid shoulder and tail bench similar to the one he was trained vise (Lie-Nielsen Toolworks has simlar on. Almost 70 years later, things are not vises), square metal bench dogs, the much better on t he ret ail front, w it h t he Veritas Bench Bolt Kit, slotted washers majority of mass-produced benches and more. lacking in heft, design and quality. ■ The traditional joinery – dove- Thankfully we’ve had a resurgence in tailed vises and skirt board, wedged traditional woodworking and have a tenons, etc – cut by hand. much wider variety of , hardware ■ I beefed up the stretchers to add ad- and literature, making today one of the ditional weight, and decided on larger best times to be a woodworker since shoulders to further stiffen the trestle World War II. legs to resist racking. (The thicker stretchers also allow me to conceal the Design Considerations bench bolts for a cleaner look.) Slightly off. With a simple , you can rout My formal training at the North Bennet then repeat for a matching row of dog holes angled at 4°, then square the corners with a Street School was on a German work- Supplies & Raw Materials . My holes are 13⁄16" from side to side at bench in a classroom setting, so when it I took my time to select nice, dense, the top, and 7⁄8" front to back – but measure came time to build my own workbench, clear and straight-grained hard ; yours off your dogs.

LEAD PHOTO BY DOUGLAS LEVY (@DOUGLEVY); DOG HOLE JIG PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMEEL ABRAHAM; ALL OTHER STEP PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN PESSELL FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL popularwoodworking.com ■ 03

30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 31 11/29/16 9:59 AM plane to further true up the edge(s) that The 8/4 piece is oriented so it will be engage the wood you’re holding and w ill be glued up. At almost 2" t hick, t he in the inside of the joint and receive less fi nicky than round ones. (If you edges provide plenty of glue surface, the ; the 5/4 piece makes up the prefer round dogs, you can always add but I used some biscuits to aid in lining exposed face of the piece. Make sure a few well-placed 3⁄4" round holes to up the pieces and reinforce the joint. the grain is going in the same direc- your bench for them and for holdfasts.) Once the glue dries, cut the slab to tion for ease of planing and try to pick I chose 8/4 stock and used a shop- its fi nal length, making sure to leave clean, clear grain – this will show in made template and plunge to suffi cient length for the tenons for the the fi nished bench. rout the square holes, which are angled end caps. I’ve worked on benches with square 4° to the right off vertical. Note: The For the end caps and left vise (the dogs, round dogs or a mixture of both. slot s in the tail v ise lean 4° to the left – stationary block through which the vise I prefer square bench dogs because the opposite direction to those on the screw rides), I laminated an 8/4 and a they’re in my opinion stronger, taller, benchtop. Cut these two runs from 5/4 board to get the required thickness. have more surface area on the face to the same board (with plenty of waste

23⁄4" 23⁄4" 1" 741⁄2"

51∕2"

163⁄8"

121⁄4"

321⁄2" 27⁄8" 17⁄8"

7 5⁄8" 22 ⁄8" 8" 23⁄4" 23⁄4"

23⁄4"

555⁄8" 20" PLAN

82" 9"

4"

351⁄8"

61⁄2"

16"

443⁄8"

3 7 2 ⁄4" 1 ⁄8"

ELEVATION

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 32 11/29/16 9:59 AM Scandinavian Bench NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS T W L

❏ 1 Benchtop 13⁄4 123⁄4 741⁄2 Hard maple 5⁄8" tenon both ends ❏ 1 Cap piece 5⁄8 4 555⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Left doghole strip 17⁄8 4 555⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Left end cap 3⁄4 23⁄4 321⁄2 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right end cap 4 23⁄4 163⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Back apron 1 4 771⁄2 Hard maple ❏ 1 Tool tray 1⁄2 7 731⁄2 Maple ply ❏ 2 Tool tray ramps 13⁄4 13⁄4 51⁄2 Hard maple ❏ 2 Stretchers 11⁄4 61⁄2 443⁄8 Hard maple 3⁄8" tenon both ends ❏ 5 *Legs 17⁄8 27⁄8 311⁄4 Hard maple 13⁄4" tenon both ends ❏ 2 Base right 13⁄4 23⁄4 213⁄4 Hard maple ❏ 2 Base left 13⁄4 23⁄4 321⁄2 Hard maple ❏ 4 Foot pads 3⁄8 23⁄4 6 Hard maple ❏ 2 Filler blocks 13⁄4 21⁄4 181⁄4 Hard maple 1⁄2" x 6" notch one end ❏ 1 Left vise fi ller block 13⁄4 73⁄8 83⁄4 Hard maple 3⁄8" tenon both ends & left side ❏ 1 Left vise 23⁄4 4 20 Hard maple ❏ 1 Left vise jaw 1 5 16 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right doghole strip 17⁄8 4 227⁄8 Hard maple Cut at same time as top strip; reverse jig ❏ 1 Right vise cap 5⁄8 4 227⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise long jaw 23⁄4 4 12 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise short jaw 23⁄4 4 53⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise large fi ller 15⁄32 31⁄8 171⁄4 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise top fi ller 7⁄8 27⁄8 187⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise small fi ller 7⁄8 31⁄8 23⁄8 Hard maple ❏ 1 Right vise bench fi ller 21⁄4 57⁄8 211⁄2 Hard maple L-shape; can make from 2 pieces

*Four legs get 1"-wide x 5"-long stretcher mortises centered across width, 113⁄8" from top shoulder

1 147⁄8" 11 ⁄4"

4"

13⁄4"

311⁄4"

7 7 13" 7 ⁄8"2⁄8"

13⁄4"

1 3 32 ⁄2" 21 ⁄4" 3⁄8" LEFT PROFILE RIGHT PROFILE; END VISE REMOVED

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 33 11/29/16 9:59 AM Slice it clean. Make sure to engage the nicker on your plane Keep it square. As you glue on the dog-hole assembly, be sure to attach when starting this joint and retract it before the joint reaches its full it square and level to the benchtop. depth (so as not to cut the fi bers in the tenon and weaken the joint).

the that form the tenons on the ends of the benchtop blank; that was easier than trying to muscle this large assembly onto machinery. The result was a nice crisp joint with no tear-out. Work carefully and test-fi t as you go to make sure the end caps fi t nicely. At the front of the bench is a spacer block – what Frid called the “left vise fi ller” – that supports the shoulder vise. To cut the groove for it in the front of the benchtop, after laying out the loca- tion with a and , I Knife then cut. Use a cutting gauge and knife to lay out the stopped for the left vise fi ller, removed the material with a mortising then chop it out. chisel, then cleaned up the stopped dado sides with a wide chisel and the Hip to be square. bottom with a . There will be a lot of Next, cut rabbets to form 3⁄8"-long pressure on this left vise tenon s on bot h end s and t he left side of fi ller block, so you want clean tenons on both the fi ller block. Orient the grain front ends and the left edge. to back so t hat when t his piece ex pand s and contracts, it does so from left to right, thus expanding into open space rather than into the joint. The front of the shoulder vise – a 23⁄4"-thick x 4"-wide x 20"-long block, which Frid calls simply the “left vise” – is connected to the left end cap via between) and simply fl ip the jig for the it to the benchtop. (Here again I used one massive dovetail (pin on the cap, tail-vise portion. biscuits to help line everything up.) socket on the vise). I laid that out with For the 5/4 cap piece that is glued Make sure to remove any mill marks a 1:7 ratio and cut it by hand. on over the dog holes, choose a clean from the cap. After dry-fi tting the dovetail, cut a piece and be careful during your glue- Once the glue is dry, rip the assem- stopped dado in the back of the left vise up to avoid getting glue into the slots. bly, at the back edge, to final width for the spacer block, then fi ne-tune the I used a pneumatic nailer to shoot a (151⁄4" for me) and clean up that edge fi t (shape the profi le on the right end couple of nails into the waste on each with a handplane. later, after fi tting the vise hardware). of these blanks to help ensure things Now up all the pieces you’ve did not move around during clamping. Benchtop Joinery cut for the benchtop so far: shoulder Once the glue is dry, cut the waste off I used a router bit in a router table to vise arm, fi ller block, main benchtop the end of the blank that will be affi xed cut the grooves on the end caps. But I slab and both end caps. to the benchtop and glue and clamp turned to my skew rabbet plane to cut Lay out the three bolt holes – one on

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 34 11/29/16 9:59 AM either end and one through the shoulder initial hole started, you might want to (If you go this route, fi le off any rough vise fi ller block – that will eventually remove it from the bench and use a edges because this frozen nut will be secure these parts to the benchtop (see press or doweling jig to ensure the hole visible from the front of the bench.) the illustrations on pages 32 and 33). goe s st raight t hrough. This hole need s Re-assemble the benchtop and test Take the end caps and shoulder vise to pass through the fi ller block into out the fi t of your bolts. arm to the drill press and use a brad- the dado slot in the bench and into the To cut the top to accommodate the point bit to drill the through- bolt holes, benchtop. (Make the hole in the fi ller tail vise (and save my back), I used a then drill shallow counterbored holes block a little wider than the bolt to ac- track , then fi nished up the inside with a Forstner bit to accommodate commodate wood movement; you can corner of the joint with a handsaw and the bolt heads and washers. Make sure correct for a little bit of being off when cleaned it up with a chisel. these holes go through the center of the this hole without affecting the The rear skirt board is made from dados on each of these pieces. Then strength of the joint.) 5/4-thick maple. After it to size, re-assemble and re-clamp the pieces. From the underside of the bench- remove any tool marks with a hand- Using a 3⁄8" brad-point bit and the top, lay out the Forstner-bit holes that plane, then use it as a to hole in the end cap as a guide, drill will accommodate the square nuts and make sure the end caps terminate at with a hand drill as far into the top washer used to secure the ends of the the same point (as they must in order as you can. Remove the end cap and bolt s. To make sure t hey are dr illed per- to fi t the tool tray). continue the hole using a longer drill pendicular to the bench bottom, I used The 1⁄2"-thick tool tray bit with some tape to mark the depth, a portable drill guide with a depth stop. bottom gets rabbeted to fi t into a 1⁄4"- and drill the hole a little deeper than the I was not able to find a bolt long wide groove on the inside of this skirt, max length you expect the bolt to enter enough to go through the shoulder vise and is secured on the underside to the the benchtop. (Note: You’ll need a long support arm, through the support block bottom of the benchtop with panhead 3⁄8" bit or bit extender for these holes.) and into the benchtop, so I had to make screws (in slots to accommodate sea- When drilling through the shoul- my own from 3⁄8"-threaded rod by usinf sonal changes). Lay out and cut this der vise fi ller block, once you get the t hread locker to secure a nut to one end. groove (on my bench, it’s 13⁄4" from

Access holes. The size of the holes on the underside of the bench doesn’t really matter – they just need to be large enough to ac- commodate attaching and securing nuts and Know your depth. Test the hole depth with a bolt taped off at the max washers on the ends of depth you expect it to reach, given the depth it will be into the end cap. the bolts.

Bolt stretcher. I used LocTite Threadlocker Red 271 to permanently (I hope!) affi x a nut to the end of my threaded rod. The break point for the thread locker was suffi ciently high that I could really cinch things down. Use a torque set lower than the break point of the ThreadLock- er and you’ll be fi ne.

On track. A track saw or with a guide makes quick work of removing the waste where the tail vise goes.

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 35 11/29/16 9:59 AM Pin layout. When laying out the half-blind Screw it. Pan-head screws dovetails on the rear skirt, make sure the Test-fi t. Use a scrap to test the fi t of the tool tray bottom to in slots secure the tool tray groove for the tool tray falls in a socket, where its rabbet. Once you have it dialed in, you use a shoulder bottom to the underside of the it will be covered by a tail. plane to fi ne-tune the joint. benchtop.

the top edge), then lay out the dovetail ential between the top of the leg assem- hole (and expansion washer) securing joint, burying the end of the groove in blies and the underside of the benchtop. the block to the rear of the benchtop. a socket. Each 13⁄4" x 21⁄4" x 181⁄4" piece gets a I used Kreg heav y-dut y 2 1⁄2" pocket- Make the saw cuts by hand, then 1⁄2" x 63⁄4" notch at the back end to fi t hole screws to secure the top to the remove as much waste as you can with under the tool tray bottom. After cut- fi ller block s because t hey were t he only a Forstner bit before fi nishing off the ting the fi ller blocks to shape, mark large panhead screws I could fi nd in joint with a chisel. out their locations, making sure the leg the length needed. (You don’t need the Transfer the pin joinery to the skirt assemblies beneath won’t block any of heavy-duty jig, just the screws and a board and cut your tails. Strive for tight, your dog holes. Leave room for the top #3 square driver for this application.) clean joints. This skirt board will be to expand and contract – this means Using a standard pocket-hole jig, I used held in by tight joinery and some pocket lateral space between the fi ller block two 3⁄4" pocket-hole screws to keep t he screws – but no glue – in case you ever and the tray bottom and an elongated rear skirt fi r mly att ached to t he bench. need to disassemble and repair the bench.

Tool Tray The bottom of the 1⁄2"-thick plywood tool tray is 7" wide x 731⁄2" long. Cut a 1⁄4"-thick rabbet on the top rear edge to fi t the groove in the skirt board. (I recommend using a plywood scrap to test your tooling setup and fi ne-tune the fi t before cutting the rabbet.) The view from below. On the other edge of the tool tray Expansion washers and bottom, saw a series of slots for panhead screws secure the fi ller screws that will secure it to the bottom blocks and allow for of the benchtop and allow for seasonal seasonal movement. wood movement. From some benchtop cutoffs, I made Tail vise fi ller. I used two clean-out ramps (one for either end the offcut from the vise recess to block in the of the tool tray); screw them in place edge of that recess with from underneath, leaving enough of a 21⁄4"-thick pieces in gap at the ends for seasonal movement an L shape – that beefs of the benchtop. up the opening to the same thickness as the vise to come. I glued Filler Blocks it and pocket screwed The two “fi ller blocks” are simply cross- it (just in case the glue members that fi ll the thickness differ- ever fails).

08 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE

30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 36 11/29/16 9:59 AM Specialty hardware. The 6"-long bolts go into the middle of the stretcher and are secured Know when to stop. The saw kerfs Beat the clock. Use liquid hide glue to give yourself the on the backside of the stretchers with brass for the should stop about long open time needed to get everything together. My barrel nuts. 1⁄4" above the shoulder. 21⁄2"-long wedges tapered from 5⁄16" to nothing. SUPPLIES Using a piece of the benchtop waste Forstner bit to drill out as much waste Dieter Schmid Fine Tools from the tail-vise cutout, make a fi ll- as possible before fi nishing up with www.fi ne-tools.com er block for the tail vise hardware. a chisel and router plane. (Note: The 1 ■ Bench screw (Note: This piece does not appear on fi fth leg supports the shoulder vise and #300659, $62 Frid’s bench; it’s my modifi cation to needs no mortise or bolt hole.) 1 ■ Tail vise, large accommodate the modern tail-vise Using a chisel and a planemaker’s #300650, $132 hardware.) It’s secured with glue and fl oat, I tapered the top and bottom edges Lie-Nielsen Toolworks pocket screws. of the mortises a little bit to allow room lie-nielsen.com or 800-327-2520 for the wedged tenons to expand and 1 pair ■ Metal bench dogs Trestle Base lock into place. #1-MBD-Pair, $75 Mill the four base pieces to size (a With the joinery cut, now you can 2 ■ Wooden vise handles matching pair of each), then cut the round over the edges. #1-WVH, $45 each 1⁄2"-wide x 27⁄8"-long through-mortises For the large radii on the ends of the Lee Valley Tools for the leg tenons in the top and bot- four base pieces, I laid out a pleasing leevalley.com or 800-871-8158 tom pieces before shaping the ends and curve using a and , cut 1 pkg. ■ Veritas Special Bench Bolts edge s. Dr ill a hole, 8" from t he front, in off the bulk of the waste at the band saw #05G07.02, $29.50 each top piece for the lag screws that and cleaned off the mill marks using 1 pkg ■ #10 Expansion Washers will affi x it to the benchtop. Now mill fi les and . I eased the bottom edges #50K35.01, $5.80 the leg pieces to size, cut and fi t the of the top pieces, and the top edges of 1 ■ *Shoulder-vise screw tenon s on bot h end s and mark each to the bottom pieces with a 1⁄4"-radius #70G01.51, $31 match its mortise. Cut two saw kerfs on roundover bit in a router. 1 ■ *Handle, 05G12.03, $8.50 the end of each tenon to accept wedges. Before assembling the bases, do a *Lower-price alternatives to Dieter Now lay out 1"-wide x 5"-long x 1⁄2"- test-fi t to make sure you have all the Schmid vise screw & Lie-Nielsen handle deep mortises on the inside of four legs necessary clamps and supplies ready to General Hardware for the stretchers. On my legs, the mor- go. You’ll need to work fast in order to 2 ■ 3⁄8" x 5" lag screws tises begin 113⁄8" from the top shoul- assemble this joint and get the wedges 4 ■ 3⁄8" x 6" machine bolts der; your location will vary if you’ve driven before the glue sets. Once the ■ 3 " x " adjusted the leg length for a bench of glue sets, fl ush the wedges to the base 1 ⁄8 14 threaded rod a different height. pieces. 3⁄8" nuts & washers Drill 3⁄8" bolt holes through each of The stretchers on this bench – which 1" Kreg pocket screws those four legs, centered left to right are thicker and wider than on Frid’s – 2.5" Kreg heavy-duty pocket screws and top to bottom in the mortises. To employ a fully housed tenon (that is, Prices correct at time of publication. remove the mortise waste, I used a there’s a shoulder on all sides) and Lee

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 37 11/29/16 9:59 AM Left end cap

Left doghole strip

Left vise fi ller

Cap piece Left vise jaw

Left vise

SHOULDER VISE – EXPLODED VIEW

Valley’s “Special Bench Bolts.” Mill the With the hardware fi t, you can dress stretchers to size, then cut 1"-thick x 5"- up the right end of the left vise to suit. wide x 3⁄8"-long tenons on all four ends. I used a skew rabbet plane to create a Now lay out and drill 1"-diameter fi llet, then cut an ovolo on the band holes on the backs of the stretchers, lo- saw and refined it with rasps then 1 cated 3 ⁄4" on center from the shoulders, . Shoulder vise screw. After drilling a clearance and centered top to bottom. These need Remount the left vise arm and bolt it hole, use that to locate the plate of the screw to be just deep enough to accommodate in place, then insert the Acme-threaded hardware, and trace around it. After removing the bench bolt’s large brass barrel nut. screw and its handle. Put paraffi n wax the waste to inset the plate, screw the plate in place. Clamp the stretchers in place and on the screw threads to make sure it use the same technique you used on turns easily. the end caps to accurately bore 1⁄2"-di- Cut a paddle-shaped 1"-thick x 5"- part that rubs wood to wood). Then ameter, 6"-deep holes centered in the wide x 16"-long wooden face for the mount the jaw hardware to the front stretchers. shoulder vise – the left vise jaw (Frid’s of it so t hat it can be removed. The long Screw footpads to the bottom of Part X) – notching it top and bottom tail on the face will keep the jaw from the leg assemblies to fine-tune the at the left end to form a 51⁄2"-long tail falling out, and the fl exibility to swap bench’s final height. Note: My pads that fi ts between the benchtop and top in a customized face for curves or jigs are 3⁄8" thick; yours may vary to help of the trestle legs. (Wax any moving is a nice option to have. keep the base stable on an uneven fl oor, for example. Right vise cap Use lag screws (with a washer under Right vise the heads) to attach the base assemblies short jaw to the fi ller blocks and let the bench stand on its own for the fi rst time. Right vise small fi ller Right doghole strip Shoulder Vise Hardware Right vise top fi ller Drill a 11⁄4"-diameter clearance hole for the Acme-threaded rod of the shoulder vise to pass through the left vise (the dovetailed piece in front). Then, using that hole to orient the fi xed nut, trace the outline and screw holes for the nut Right vise Right vise long jaw bench fi ller onto the support arm. Drill a larger hole to accommodate the body of the fi xed Right vise large fi ller nut. Then, using a chisel and a router Right plane, set the fi xed nut so that it is fl ush end cap with the inner surface of the left vise, then secure it with screws. TAIL VISE – EXPLODED VIEW FROM REAR

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30_1702_PWM_FridBench.indd 38 11/29/16 9:59 AM handle and make sure the vise moves easily.

Final Details Flatten the benchtop (I use , jointer and in that order, and Right vise use a straightedge to identify any high long jaw or low spot s), making sure to keep the top perpendicular to the front skirt. Break any sharp edges with a block Right vise top fi ller plane and clean up any rough spots with some sandpaper. Right vise large fi ller An easily renewable oil fi nish is ideal Right vise for a workbench. Linseed oil or tung oil Right doghole short are good choices. I fi nished my bench strip jaw with a tung-oil on the legs, underside of bench and skirt, and pure tung oil on the top, as I don’t want it to be too a surface to work on. The tried-and-true combination Tail vise. Shown here is the vise on its backside. Note the dados in the back of the “Right vise of a shoulder vise, square dogs and large fi ller” to accommodate the metal plates of the tail vise hardware, and that they are not all tail vise is a great setup for traditional the same. Cut dados to fi t your particular vise. woodworking. By building this sort of bench, you are joining the ranks of Tail Vise Hardware Mount the fi xed plate of the metal many classic woodworkers including For the tail vise jaws, the right dog- vise to the cutout in the side of the Tage Frid, Frank Klausz and count- hole strip and the right vise cap, lay benchtop (the sliding carriage rides less craftsmen that came before them. out and cut large half-blind dovetails on this plate), and mount the sliding And as Tage wrote, “Now your bench (I recommend using the same layout carriage to the wooden vise assem- is completed, and looks so beautiful as for the back skirt, for appearance). bly; wax the screw and the areas where that you hate to use it. If you take good Drill a hole in the right vise cap for the the carriage rides along the plate. Also care of it, working on it but not into it, vise screw. Cut stopped dados in all make sure you hog out just enough it should stay beautiful for years.” PWM three of those pieces to accommodate wood from the left cap to allow you to the top fi ller block and leave room for get the tail vise on and off as needed Bill Rainford is a traditional joiner, woodworking seasonal movement. (see “Home stretch” below). instructor and author of the forthcoming Lost Art Press book “Go, Go, Go: The Life, Woodworking and Use pocket screws to keep it fl ush Secure the large Acme screw to the Infl uence of Tage Frid.” with the dog block. Add additional fi llers moving portion of the tail-vise assem- as needed to shim the tail vise carriage. bly and mount it to the bench. Insert the ONLINE EXTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: Home stretch. Adjust ■ popularwoodworking.com/feb17 the screws on the car- riage (the piece on the BLOG: Read about the author’s Tage Frid-style Remove just deadman, for use in the tail vise. vise assembly) until the enough wood tail vise slides smoothly to allow for vise WEBSITE: Read more from the author – along the fi xed plate on removal including his article on how to make face- the bench cutout. mounted clamps for this bench, on his blog at rainfordrestorations.com.

MODEL: Download a free SketchUp model of this bench at the Popular Woodworking SketchUp Warehouse.

IN OUR STORE: “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use” (revised edi- tion), by Christopher Schwarz.

TO BUY: “Building the Portable Moravian Workbench” with Will Myers. Our products are available online at: ■ ShopWoodworking.com

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