I build several benches a year. I have to consider the space for the bench, the stock on hand, the style of vise I am planning on installing, and also the type of work it will be intended for. The type of work I do is generally a smaller scale, and most of the time I am dealing with lumber that is broken down to 6′ or shorter by the time it is on the bench.

The space I have for a bench is limited, and I have found that if I only took space into consideration, I would end up with a bench that measured about 36″ long, 16″ wide. While this would be perfect for someone who only builds small boxes and a few smaller cabinets, it is a bit limiting for medium sized work, such as larger hope chests and cabinets.

So, keeping a basic bench style in mind, what I do is take the longest piece of casework I have built on the bench over the past year, subtract 2-4″, and then check my space. If it will work in the space I have, I proceed to the next step.

The next step is looking at the lumber I have set aside to build the bench. If the stock I have will easily fit the size I have come up with, I move on. If not, I mentally modify the bench to the length that the stock will allow, then try to find a way to bring the bench to as close to the planned dimensions as possible. If it is still just not working out to a length that I can deal with, I either find different lumber, or sigh heavily, build a shorter bench, and use auxiliary clamp on surfaces and supports to make up for the lack.

The one time I bought different lumber for the bench I was building, I planed it all down, discovered major defects that couldn’t be worked into the design, and ended up with a bench 1″ shorter than the stock I had originally wanted to use. As such, I tend to just work with what I have.

Now, the vises have to be considered. They have to work with the bench style, leg placement, bench width, and top thickness, as well as be placed with thought to the type of work to be done on the bench. Once I have that worked out, I start building.

The one consideration that I have that most people don’t is that I occasionally do woodworking shows, so I need my benches to be portable enough that they will fit in a truck, but heavy and large enough that they do not move while being used.

A quick breakdown of the process I use:
1. Come up with ideal size for work
2. Measure space for bench
3. Measure bench stock
4. Place vises
5. Build bench

The process may or may not work for everyone, but it is one that works for me.

The vices had the typical sag, and hadn’t been waxed in more years than anyone could remember, but they were still fully functional. Not bad for 100 years or so of use in a cabinet and furniture shop. . .

I have a few things to mention about the handles as well, but that will be the subject of another post.

These last two pieces have been delivered, with the promise of photographs from both customers, but for now, a few cell phone shop pictures will have to do.  Please try to ignore the clutter in the shop, and I will post better pictures when I get them.

Reclaimed oak barnwood entertainment center/stand

Walnut and Maple desk/writing table.

I recently refinished a billards and poker table for a customer, and did a built in entertainment center for him as well. Once again, I forgot to take pictures before stripping the game table down, but I did rember to snap a picture of the space the entertainment center was going.

The entertainment center was a simple, fun build, with crown topping it out. The greylite2 glass in the doors really made the whole unit come together once they were installed.

The Game table was rather tricky. While very well constructed, very little care had been given in selecting the wood. As such, once the original finish was removed, I counted no less than 6 different species of wood used, often right next to another. Cherry next to poplar next to maple next to soft maple next to. . .

It certainly did make it a necessity to use an analine dye stain rather than my more traditional oil finishes, since the customer still wanted the peice rather dark. Each section had to follow a different finish schedule to get the color right.

So, in between finish coats on some furniture, I eyeballed the three tired, worn out, frayed, chipped, abused baseball bats in the corner of the shop. Quickly snatching up a saw, I cut them to the appropriate lengths, and new life was breathed into several hammer heads. having a bit left over, I decided to turn down a few mallets.

Those mallets are lightweight, well balanced and perfect for keeping your hands away from the “whacking” action when doing longer chopping jobs. Also, being extremely well seasoned Ash, they have an impact resistance or shock resistance property that very few woods can boast. I find them a bit light for my tastes, but I tend to prefer a heavier mallet than most folks.

The bench construction was rather straight forward. Legs dovetailed into the top, with no tenon at the back, Breadboard style endcaps to keep the top flat, stretchers at the bottom lagged into the legs, with the Lags going into a pocket.

Dimensions where dictated by the stock I had. The bench ended up being 22 1/2″ x 44″, and 32″ tall

These dimensions work very well for smaller work, but if you do many larger casework items, you may want to increase the bench length by a foot or so.

It was made from poplar, except for the vice chops, which are maple.

Round dog holes (3/4″), split top construction, Shelf beneath bench was simply cut and screwed on.

Pictures:

Then, I was reorganizing the stacks of lumber, and had a few minutes.  My curiousity got the better of me when I took a closer look at the dirt, grime and greyout on the surface.  Just barely visible were some wavy undulations, with some hints of figure.  Thinking I might as well break into the board and find out what sort of figure it had, I started milling it down.

I use a lot of poplar.  It is one of my go-to  woods for basic cabinetry, jigs, fixtures and shop furniture.  I have never had a piece of poplar with this much figure to it though.  Sure, a little bit around a knot, or some in a crotch, but never  this much, consistent throughout the board.  I knew it had to go into something a bit more specialized.

After careful consideration and some failed attempts to get another wood that it would match up with, I decided that a pair of Moxon style vises would be the best use for this particular board.

Small Moxon Vise: $300 (Shipping $20 to the USA)



8.75" between screws, 4.5" clamping depth, 7" tall chop, 27" long overall, Kentucky Coffee Bean Screws

Large Moxon Vise: $350 (Shipping $25 To the USA)

17" between screws, 4.5" clamping Depth, 7" tall chop, 34 7/8" long overall, Beech Screws

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