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The
Work Bench--the Heart of the shop!
My bride bought me my first
Lie-Nielsen plane and after months of
frustration trying to clamp boards to the old bench I had, this
sparked the desire to build a bench with vises.
This bench is essentially the Heavy-duty workbench from
Shopnotes issue 65. I modified my bench in a number of ways.
First, the top is 31¾ X 70”. My version is wider and shorter.
Second, rather than a modern bench with a double row of dog
holes, I prefer the “traditional” or European style with a
tail-vise and tool cubby. Four layers of MDF glued and screwed
together, banded with 8/4 Ash make a VERY heavy and solid work
surface!
Lastly, don’t forget
floor mats, I have one on both sides of my bench. It your
shop floor is like mine, concrete, standing for long periods of
time at the bench can be really fatiguing. Mats can be a great
help.
I purchased a
Tail-vise screw and
regular
front vise from Lee Valley.
 The first thing I needed to do was figure out how a tail-vise
worked. Since mine was only using a screw, rather than one with a
support plate, I decided to simply put a couple grooves in the
sides of the tail vise and have the vise supported by a couple
runners (picture on the right). It works slick. You may be
wondering about the small shoulder on the right of the vise.
(above)
This is great for small pieces—it really has some serious
clamping power!
The
plan calls for Lee Valley’s bench bolts, but I am too cheap to
spend $20 on four bolts! I decided to use regular nuts and just
wedge them in. Not as elegant as the barrel nuts, but not nearly
as expensive!
A couple round Veritas bench dogs complete the holding power.
The holes are about 6.5” apart, a double row at the front vise
end (above right).
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