The Essential Workbench
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ST WINTER 2003/2004 3 Round dog holes, ⁄4 in. Square dog holes, made to fit The Essential dia., are aligned with dog metal dogs, tilting 3° toward holes in front vise jaw. end vise and 6 in. o.c., are Workbench aligned with dogs in end vise. Front vise jaw, 3 in. thick by 6 in. wide by Front apron, 3 18 in. long; inside face 1 ⁄4 in. thick by 1 beveled ⁄8 in. top to 6 in. wide by bottom 75 in. long Workhorse bench combines the best of the old and the new BY LON SCHLEINING his latest attempt to design a woodworker’s bench is built on the foundation of the dozens that have graced the pages of Tthis publication, starting with Tage Frid’s in the fall of 1976 (FWW #4). His includes a built-in tool tray, a shoulder vise on the left, and a tail vise on the right, with a single row of dog holes 7 along the front apron—much different from the bench seen here. Dowels, ⁄16 in. dia., Roundover chamfered on tip Frid’s bench is a classic northern-European design that traces its on trestle roots back centuries before the introduction of electricity. Frid’s members and vise jaws, 1 bench and Frank Klausz’s very similar design a few years later 2 ⁄8-in. radius 3 (FWW #53) have influenced modern bench builders for decades. Stretchers, 1 ⁄4 in. thick by 4 in. 5 Several Fine Woodworking editors and I recently collaborated wide by 50 ⁄8 in. long overall 1 ANATOMY (includes an extra ⁄16 in. on each on designing an essential workbench for today’s woodworker, one tenon for trimming after wedging) that is straightforward to build without compromising perfor- OF A WORKBENCH mance. This bench was designed to be a tool—more workhorse This bench consists of (and than showpiece. We did not include traditional components simply Tenons, 1 in. thick construction proceeds in this order): 1 by 3 ⁄4 in. wide by for history’s sake, and we took advantage of modern innovations. a trestle base joined with mortise- 1 3 ⁄16 in. long We also wanted this bench to be a project that most woodworkers and-tenons; a thick top laminated could build using tools found in an average small shop: tablesaw, from boards set on edge; and front portable planer, crosscut saw, router, drill press, and hand tools. The and end vises, both with wood jaws. 38 FINE WOODWORKING Drawings: Bob La Pointe 1 3 78 ⁄2 in. 27 ⁄4 in. 1 2 ⁄2 in. 1 34 ⁄2 in. 32 in. 1 Top slab, 2 ⁄2 in. thick by 26 in. 3 wide by 73 ⁄8 in. long overall 51 in. 28 in. 3 4 3 Tongue, ⁄ in. thick End caps, 1 ⁄4 in. thick by 11 Slot 16 3 by ⁄ in. long 6 in. wide by 27 ⁄4 in. long, are glued to the top at the front and barrel-bolted at the center and rear. Wedges, 5° 1 ⁄2 in. Top dovetail is centered on slot. End vise jaw, 3 in. 5 Trestle top member, thick by 6 ⁄8 in. wide 3 3 in. thick by 3 in. by 27 ⁄4 in. long, are 3 1 wide by 25 ⁄4 in. long beveled ⁄8 in. top to bottom on the inside face. 1 Upper tenons, 1 ⁄2 in. thick by 1 1 2 ⁄4 in. wide by 3 ⁄16 in. long 1 (includes an extra ⁄16 in. for trimming after wedging) SOURCES OF SUPPLY PREMADE BENCHTOP SLABS Grizzly Industrial 800-523-4777; www.grizzly.com Trestle legs, 3 in. thick Lee Valley Tools 1 by 3 in. wide by 31 ⁄16 in. 800-871-8158; www.leevalley.com long, including tenons Woodcraft 800-225-1153; www.woodcraft.com QUICK-RELEASE FRONT VISE Woodcraft 1 Lower tenons, 1 ⁄2 in. 1 thick by 2 ⁄4 in. wide VERITAS TWIN-SCREW VISE 1 by 2 ⁄2 in. long Lee Valley Tools STEEL BENCHDOGS (SQUARE) Highland Hardware 800-241-6748; www.tools-for-woodworking.com 1 Trestle feet, 3 ⁄2 in. thick by 1 3 ⁄2 in. wide by 28 in. long ROUND BENCHDOGS Lee Valley Tools T OOLS & SHOPS 2004 39 BASE ASSEMBLY BLIND MORTISE-AND-TENONS ARE PINNED FOR STRENGTH The deep mortise- and-tenon joints are either draw-pinned or wedged to ensure decades of rigidity. First, assemble the trestles, then add the long stretchers to complete the base. The feet are pinned to the legs. Start by drilling the dowel holes in the feet, dry-fitting the joints, and transferring (left) the dowel-hole locations to the tenons. Then use a center punch (center) to offset those locations slightly on the tenons, creating the draw effect. Last, apply glue to all surfaces, assemble the joint, and drive home the dowels (right). only heavy-duty tool I used was a 3-hp tablesaw. Ripping lots of 8/4 The editors thought 2 in. in top thickness would be plenty, with ex- 1 maple puts a strain on even a large saw, so use a clean, sharp blade. tra thickness at the edges, but I made this top 2 ⁄2 in. thick because it wasn’t much more difficult to mill and laminate thicker pieces. A durable workbench requires beefy parts However, if you start with a premade bench slab, the standard 3 Avid woodworkers themselves, FWW editors regularly visit shops 1 ⁄4-in. thickness offers plenty of mass and solidity for serious hand- across the country, and they see a wide array of workbench con- tool use, especially after adding the thicker apron and end caps. figurations. Like all woodworkers, they know what they like and Gluing up the slab allowed me to machine the square dog holes don’t like. In the end we all compromised a bit, but we reached a before the pieces were assembled. Round dog holes might be a solid consensus. My own involvement arose from having spent the better option for a premade slab because square ones are best cut last year researching and writing a book on workbenches (look for while the top slab is in pieces. it in the fall of 2004 from The Taunton Press). I was commissioned to finalize this design, write the article, and build the bench. Heavy, rigid base—I wanted the benchtop and base to be nicely proportioned. Many benches I’ve seen look like top-heavy slabs A thick, solid top—We decided on an overall size of 28 in. wide on spindly legs. Also, it was important that the bench not rack or by 6 ft. long. Add a few inches for vise jaws, and it’s a nice, big top. skid across the floor under heavy handplaning. A thick trestle base, A jig makes easy work of mortises There are 16 mortises (and tenons) in the base but only two different sizes. Make two mortis- ing jigs to speed up lay- out and guide the chisels. The jig is made from three blocks glued and screwed together, with a fence Locate and lay out the mortises. Drill out most of the waste. The Chop out the rest with chisels. Re- 1 attached on each side to With the jig, this job should go quickly. layout lines will guide you. For the move most of the material with a ⁄2-in. hug the workpiece. blind mortises, set the drill chisel before switching to a wider one. press’s depth stop. The jig will guide the chisels precisely. 40 FINE WOODWORKING joined with pinned or wedged mortise-and-tenons, guarantees sta- bility. I laminated 8/4 lumber to make these thick members (and the top slab) because 8/4 is readily available in most regions. THROUGH-TENONS ARE WEDGED Splitting the stretchers, two high and two low, leaves a perfect opening for a future cabinet with drawers. The traditional single, wide stretcher would have saved some time, but it also would have blocked this natural storage area. Innovative vises—Hundreds of woodworkers probably would say they could not get through a day without a conventional tail vise, which is designed primarily for clamping things flat on the benchtop between dogs. Others would say the same for a shoul- der vise, which offers the capability of clamping workpieces be- tween its jaws without interference from guide bars or screws. The Veritas Twin-Screw Vise incorporates some of the capabilities of both types, allowing long boards or large panels to be clamped with benchdogs as well as clamping an upright board up to 15 in. wide for operations such as dovetailing. The two screws are con- nected with a chain, preventing the jaws from racking no matter where a workpiece is located or which row of dog holes is used. I’ve always loved the look and performance of thick wooden jaws Wedge the top members and stretchers. The slots in the tenons are on a front vise but found it tedious to crank the long screw in and angled 5° to match the wedge angle. A hole is drilled at the base of out constantly. I was tempted to install a cast-iron, quick-action each slot to prevent splitting. Apply glue to all surfaces, including the wedges and slots; assemble the joint; and drive home the wedges Record-style vise, until I found a German-made quick-action vise (above), using a block of wood to protect them from direct blows. Last, screw and guide bars at Woodcraft. That allowed me to design a connect the two trestles with the upper and lower stretchers (below), wooden front jaw to match the one I made for the Veritas end vise wedging their tenons in place.