work bench features + what makes a good one?

[miles_hot]

Whilst reading around some, mainly US, articles on bench designs there seemed to be a fascination with a couple of things:
1) leg vices - these seemed to be huge things and I was wondering what the specific benefits of a leg vice are and why benches have them
2) most of the designs don't seem to have shelves or under bench storage which seems really odd - is this just that people have large enough shops not to need the storage or does it get in the way of the mechanics etc
3) how useful are things like end vices etc?

What differentiates a good bench from a brilliant one?

If I should want to buy rather than make the next bench are there any makes you'd recommend?

I do some woodwork on my bench (more to come I hope) but also stuff to deal with all the other DIY (plumbing, wood filing etc). Would you recommend a separate bench for this sort of thing our should I just demount the engineer's vice when working on wood?

Many thanks

Miles

 

[George_N]

I do some woodwork on my bench (more to come I hope) but also stuff to deal with all the other DIY (plumbing, wood filing etc). Would you recommend a separate bench for this sort of thing our should I just demount the engineer's vice when working on wood?

Many thanks

Miles

I'm sure others will be along soon with lots of ideas about what makes a good workbench, this forum has lots of threads that describe everything from works of art down to solid core doors on sawhorses. Those that have built their own benches often say that the next one they build will be their perfect bench. In other words you probably have to build one and live with it for a while to find out what features you really need for the type of work you do.
One tip I have found really useful as regards an engineer's vice, is to mount it on a small board with a cleat fastened to the bottom so that it can be clamped in my wood vice when needed and very quickly removed and stowed under the bench afterwards.

 

[woodbloke]

Here's my recipe for a good bench:
Make as heavy as possible, with at least 75mm thick top all the way across. Decent QR vice at the front, vice of some sort at one end so that a single or double row of dog holes can be used. Three draw bolted rails, two low down front and rear and the other high up at the back, this helps to prevent racking. Removable bench well so that the rear of the bench top can be used to cramp to the surface. My bench has a shelf under for planes and a single drawer. Include in the surface a fitting for a Holdfast, preferably two.
The bench should be set at the correct height (user's inside leg measurement plus 50mm) and be dead level in both planes - Rob

 

[WellsWood]

Here's my recipe for a good bench:
Make as heavy as possible, with at least 75mm thick top all the way across. Decent QR vice at the front, vice of some sort at one end so that a single or double row of dog holes can be used. Three draw bolted rails, two low down front and rear and the other high up at the back, this helps to prevent racking. Removable bench well so that the rear of the bench top can be used to cramp to the surface. My bench has a shelf under for planes and a single drawer. Include in the surface a fitting for a Holdfast, preferably two.
The bench should be set at the correct height (user's inside leg measurement plus 50mm) and be dead level in both planes - Rob

All of the above and very very flat!

Also I think a tad higher than Rob says. I've been watching Rob Cosman's videos recently and his bench top looks to be just level with the bottom of his belt buckle - it appears to be a very practical height and about where I'll be aiming with my new one when I finalise the design :roll: . I guess it's one of those things that again you won't really know what's right for you until you try - you can always put blocks under the legs to raise it up, but it's not always so easy to lower a bench.

 

[andrewm]

I guess it's one of those things that again you won't really know what's right for you until you try - you can always put blocks under the legs to raise it up, but it's not always so easy to lower a bench.

Surely the opposite is true. Far better to have to cut two inches off each leg than to have to prop it up a bit with all the loss of stability that that entails.

Andrew

 

[miles_hot]

so given the advice so far - are there any one the market which I should be considering or is this really one of those things that you have to build yourself?

Miles

 

[joiner_sim]

On the workbench in the commercial workshop, I got fed up of dust, nails & screws gathering in the 'well' of the bench, so i ended up putting plywood straight over it all. I have one vice on the left hand side and for longer pieces of work i have a wooden batten under the bench (on the right hand side) that is grooved to allow it to slide out when needed and is tightened with a nut and bolt.

I also have a draw under the bench. The under that I have a brace holding the bench together thru the lenth in the middle. the back bit make a shelf for my power tools, sand paper and timber off cuts, and the front bit accomodates my tool chest.

.......Just wish my workshop at home was like this!!!

 

[Frank Drew]

On the workbench in the commercial workshop, I got fed up of dust, nails & screws gathering in the 'well' of the bench, so i ended up putting plywood straight over it all

I entirely eliminated the tool trough from the bench I built years ago; as far as I'm concerned it's a relic from the days when several craftsmen shared a workshop and each individual had to keep all his tool at, or on, his own bench. These days we can spread our stuff out a bit more, onto shelves and into cabinets, leaving the workbench for working on.

 

[miles_hot]

interesting that a number of you have removed the too well - this pretty much fits with my view as well - I think that I will move more into shelves and racks on the wall.

In terms of the "clamp from behind" needs - how do you deal with these? Hold downs?

Miles

 

[woodbloke]

I've found a pic here:

of the removable bench well...you can also see the top rail at the rear - Rob

 

[Losos]

On the workbench in the commercial workshop, I got fed up of dust, nails & screws gathering in the 'well' of the bench, so i ended up putting plywood straight over it all

I entirely eliminated the tool trough from the bench I built years ago; as far as I'm concerned it's a relic from the days when several craftsmen shared a workshop and each individual had to keep all his tool at, or on, his own bench. These days we can spread our stuff out a bit more, onto shelves and into cabinets, leaving the workbench for working on.

Yep, I built my bench nearly 30 years ago, it's still giving good service but I've covered the 'well' in the middle as it was just a pain in arse and no real benefit. :lol: As Frank says it stems from the time when all a cabinet makers tools had to be kept on his bench and in those days they didn't have many anyway.

I keep telling myself I'll build a better bench one day, but apart from the 'well' in the middle I've been happy with my old bench.

 

[MrJay]

I guess desirable qualities in a bench vary depending on what you get up to.

I've just the one big, open shelf under the bench onto which I sling bench hooks, shooting boards, wooden planes and stuff that I use lots and that isn't prone to rust. I'd end up pulling my hair out if my bench was filled with drawers and cupboards and things; but I might think differently if I was a power tool kind of chap and needed somewhere safe to store my collection of routers/bits/festoolery and so on. (hand tools are light and nearly all mine are hung on the wall behind the bench).

I did start out with a leg vice, found it fiddly and not ideal of holding stuff - it got replaced with a homebrewed twin screw vice. If you use hand planes to do edges and hand saws to cut joints then a big vice is the business; if you don't I'm not sure how much use you'd get out of one - a little record vice may be everything you want.

My bench top is about 5" thick. It doesn't move. Bench dogs, hold downs and front & end vice look after nearly all my work holding. If I did more power tool stuff I imagine I'd be using more jigs and would want a top that wasn't so thick you can't get clamps round it.

My bench is quite low - hand tool work can get quite physical and a low bench allows you to really bear down on stuff. If you use a lot of power tools you might find a higher bench more comfortable to work with.

End vices are all but essential if you do stock preparation by hand. You can always add one later.

DIY is not allowed on my bench. I have a bit of kitchen work top for that sort of thing. It runs contrary to the kind of thing most people get used to doing woodwork at school, but my bench is kept free of dings, knocks and spills and is planed damn near flat very six months or so. A flat bench can be used as a reference surface (admittedly not engineering grade - but good for checking boards and assembly) and my sharp edges are not in danger of being fouled by swarf and mess and bits.

 

[Karl]

Some good advice there from Mr Jay.

I don't have room for a separate "rough" bench, so have a replaceable hardboard top instead. Cheap and easy to replace when it gets a bit messed up (about every 4 weeks the way I work!).

Cheers

Karl

 

[woodbloke]

My rough bench is opposite the main one and acts as a take-off table for the saw and assembly/glue up bench as well - Rob

 

[miles_hot]

rough bench? Rats, I'm in the process of planning to remove one of the benches in the garage to make space for the lathe

I like the idea of having one, maybe I can use the workmate in some way for the plumbing jobs.. ah but that will not take the engineer's vice which is pretty useful.

Maybe I can have a removable cover which I can then store up in the roof when I'm not doing metal stuff? What would be a good way of fixing this to the table - bolts to T nuts?

New thought - could this be made of metal and only cover 4 foot of a 8 foot bench? Would this give the protection needed?
Miles

 

[Philly]

Miles
The perfect bench is an elusive and personal thing. Its form also changes as your needs change.
I recommend you build a new bench incorporating all the features you think you need today. Only by using a bench do you come to realise how it can be improved.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[AndyT]

Picking up on the point that you can't make a bench lower...

The easy way is to raise the floor in front of it, by putting down a piece of old kitchen worktop or whatever else comes to hand, for whatever reduction you need.

So build the bench to the maximum height you need and lower its (relative) height when you need to.

Andy