A Planemaker's Bench, Tail Vise News

Infill plane maker Ron Brese has been spending his evenings these past couple months working on a new Shaker-style woodworking bench. Before Ron began making planes for a living he was a full-time custom furniture maker, working mostly in American period styles.

Ron is one of those craftsmen you read about who builds incredible furniture with a modicum of tools. His previous bench was a slab of plywood on a basic cabinet, outfitted with a couple small iron vises. Nothing special. When I visited him and saw the half-dozen or so f-style clamps, none no longer than 12", I asked where the rest were. He said, "that's all of them". A few iron pipe clamps rounded out the selection, but that was it.

As I was fitting a certain part on Ron's bench during that visit I asked to use Ron's shoulder plane. He didn't have one, and said he never found the need. Another time I asked him about how he assembles frame and panel doors, and specifically how he planes the rails and stiles flush after assembly. Yet again I was amazed at the answer.

"I fit the joints and assemble them so there is basically zero leveling to do after assembly. It takes longer, but in the end it speeds things up since it doesn't leave much to do afterwards."

His work speaks for itself. The layout of every piece of furniture (9 out of 10 built by him) in his house (which he built from the ground up) was thought out and planned before he started framing the walls. This kind of forethought and planning contributes a great deal to the excellent results Ron gets when he builds a plane.

Being a full-time plane maker has understandably had an impact on Ron's shop. His previous bench has been serving double duty for too long according to Ron. So late last year he decided to draw up some plans for a new, Shaker-style bench featuring Benchcrafted vises. Last week I visited Ron (and pitched in a bit) as he finished up his new bench. Ron may not need a fancy bench, or even a well-outfitted one to accomplish excellence, but as any woodworker knows, finishing a new bench is always an exciting moment. Ron tells me that he's looking forward to putting his new bench through its paces as he works on some long-overdue personal furniture projects (we all have them, right?!)

In the coming week I'll be postings some more pictures and info on Ron's completed Shaker bench.



Tail Vise news.

Several customers have inquired about installing the Benchcrafted Tail Vise in tops less than 4" thick throughout. While visiting Ron Brese I snapped some pics of the underside of Ron's bench. This shows the simplicity with which the tail vise can be installed in this situation. It's a quick and easy process and eliminates a lot of the routing required for a solid, thick benchtop. More details about this will be available soon.

A few customers have also noticed that our ordering page is missing the "add to cart" buttons. As stated at the top of the page, we are indeed taking a break. But unfortunately we're not sipping cocktails from a hammock on a beach in the Caribbean (don't we wish!). We're actually taking some time to streamline and update some of our processes. The end result we hope will mean quicker lead times, and a better vise. If some of the ideas we've implemented this past couple weeks come to fruition the Benchcrafted Tail Vise will have greater capacity, a more robust structure (as hard as that is to imagine!), a simpler design, be much easier to install, more ergonomic, and will leave more of your bench top intact, in effect strengthening the bench top. Stay tuned for more updates. We are also on-target for stated lead times, a bit ahead of schedule in fact. So for those expecting vises, our little "development vacation" will not affect your order.

First Split-Top Roubos

Last week Kelly and several die-hard alumni spent several days building 6 old-school workbenches at Kelly Mehler's School of Woodworking. Kelly was one of the first to snatch up our Split-Top Roubo plans along with vises back in late November. We delivered his vises just in the nick of time, literally the day the class got rolling. Whew! Kelly dropped me a line earlier this week raving about the success of the project.

In only 9 days Kelly and his crew built six Holtzapffel style benches and two Split-top Roubo benches, using several Benchcrafted vises. These two benches are the first Split-top Roubo's to be built using the plans. Thanks to Kelly and his crew for choosing Benchcrafted vises and plans to outfit the school. We're very excited to have our vises in use at such an excellent school as Kelly's, and we wholly support educational woodworking facilities like Kelly's.

If you're thinking that this is the year you're going to finally build yourself a real honest-to-goodness serious bench, get some inspiration and take a look at a slideshow of the bench building party here.

Ripping on Roubo

A few weeks ago we blogged about Jim Tolpin's new Split-Top Roubo. Since we released the plans for this bench we're getting some good response and woodworkers around the country are starting to build their own Split-Top Roubos.

Update on Vises: For those waiting for their vises to arrive, we've just completed a large batch of vises and will be shipping some of these this week. The Holiday season always means delays, and we thank everyone who ordered for their patience.

Back to ripping on Roubo. Jim Tolpin has taken to using his Split-Top Roubo for ripping boards. He jumps up on the bench, holds the work with his Gramercy Holdfasts, and uses the open slot to rip boards. Jim reports:

" You know, I thought at first this was just a gimmick...but other than having to hop up on the bench, its by far the easiest, safest, most hassle-free way I've found so far for ripping large boards...and I do have a massive, classic saw bench at 20-in height that I usually use. I wonder if I'll use it as much now."

Roll Out The Barrel Nuts, New Stuff!

Our latest product is the Benchcrafted Barrel Nut.

Our Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Bench is built with a knockdown base featuring these new fasteners. These are so nice we thought we'd offer them in solo form. They will work for making really sturdy knockdown joints in benches, shop furniture and even in modern furniture.



The Barrel nuts are made from solid steel. They are a few thou under 1" diameter so they fit easily in a 1" diameter hole. Zinc-plated to resist rust, they are 2-1/8" long and are tapped to receive a 1/2-13 bolt. They are designed to work with 1-3/4" stock (thinner or thicker stock will work--you just have to space things correctly), so when the bolt is centered on the thickness of the stock the nut protrudes past the inside face of the rail, exposing the V-groove grip so you can assemble the joint without tools. You hold the nut in one hand, insert it in the hole, and adjust it while turning the bolt head with your other hand. You can easily feel when the bolt starts threading into nut. Grab a socket wrench and finish the assembly. Easy!



Getting the hole for the bolt to line up with the Barrel nut hole is easy. Here's the procedure.

1. Layout center lines and center points for the bolt and the Barrel nut locations on the leg and rail. Drill the hole for the Barrel nut, making sure not to drill clear through the rail. You can drill clear through, but it looks nicer from the outside of the rail if you make a blind hole.

2. Using a drill press, drill a countersink (if desired) for the bolt head and washer, then drill clear through the leg with a 1/2" bit. The hole will blow out on the bottom side, but it doesn't matter, it will be hidden inside the mortise.

3. Assemble the mortise and tenon and clamp the joint together. Using the hole in the leg as a guide, place your bit inside the hole and drill into the end of the rail. We use a hand brace and auger bit for its long length, but a power drill and hex-shank auger bit will work too. Drill as deep as you can.

4. Disassemble the joint and extend the bolt hole to the Barrel Nut hole if need be. These are long holes, and getting them dead straight is not easy, since the bit tends to follow the grain. We make life easier and simply enlarge the hole in the rail to 9/16 or even 5/8. It doesn't affect the strength of the rail much, and it makes installing the hardware effortless.



Four Benchcrafted Barrel Nuts, with four, 8" hex-head bolts and washers is $40. These are also available as part of our Benchmaker's Package, pictured above (minus vises).



The Benchcrafted Skraper is also now finally available!

We've made a few subtle improvements to the tool since we first offered these earlier this year at the Woodworking in America Events. Most notably, the blade is a tad longer than the previous
version and offers a little more versatility in use. We've also branded the handle with our name and logo. This will be more durable than the dome label we used on the previous version. Price is $34.

An update about vise availability. We've been a bit behind over the holidays and we apologize for any delay in vise orders. We've had to push our lead time to 4-6 weeks, but that won't last too much longer. We just finished up a batch of vises this week and should be ready to begin shipping orders the first full week in January.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish everyone a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Jim Tolpin's Split Top Roubo

A month ago we posted about Jim Tolpin's Split-Top Roubo build.

A couple days ago Jim emailed us with news that he had finished his bench! And what a beauty it turned out to be. Jim's bench was a collaborative effort. As we were finalizing the Split-Top Roubo plans, Jim graciously accepted the role of guinea pig. We sent Jim rough sketches of the bench along with the final versions as we finished them. We built the top (in hard maple) while Jim prepared the base, made from locally cut douglas fir. (Jim's bench is a great example of using materials that are common to your area.) We installed the Benchcrafted Tail Vise and Jim installed the Glide Leg Vise. The Glide's chop (hard maple), parallel guide (quartersawn white oak) and deadman (hard maple) were milled to rough dimensions and sent along with the top to Jim's shop in Port Townsend, WA.



Once the base was finished the tops were joined to it and flattened by hand.



Jim customized some aspects of the Split-Top Roubo to tailor it to his own needs.



Jim installed a Frank Klausz-style flip stop at the right end of the bench.



Jim also milled a pocket in the back of the Glide's chop to hide the roller bracket. This makes for a clean look at the front of the bench.



Jim also included a wide rail at the rear of the bench to further discourage any racking. When we first saw Jim's base we thought there was only one way to make the bench more rigid. Bolt the tops directly to an old Sequoia stump!

Jim reports the base is made completely by hand:

"All the framework is air-dried Douglas fir, harvested here on the Olympic Peninsula. Some of it was old growth--very high density. No glue, no fastenings (except for some traditional square nails driven in to hold cleat for bottom boards (which were held in hand-cut rabbets)). All joinery hand cut, tenons are secured with draw bore white oak pegs. All dimensioning and surfacing done with hand planes. The finished height came out at 32-in...just right for me for most planing tasks, and it turns out just right for light duty crosscutting using the flip stop and a small panel saw. The legs are 5 1/2-in. square. Overall a fun (and somewhat aerobic!) project.

Thanks for your part in making it happen!

Jim"

Jim teaches hand-tool centric woodworking at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in Port Townsend, WA.

Holtzapffels and Roubos

This past October several students at Kelly Mehler's School of Woodworking gathered to build the Holtzapffel bench featured in the Autumn 2007 issue of Woodworking Magazine. The plans call for a Record-style cast iron vise for use in the tail vise position, but several students opted to upgrade to the Benchcrafted Tail Vise. Kelly also installed our tail vise in his own Holtzapffel bench at the school. Here are some photos of the class, and the happy students installing their vises. Take note that due to time constraints some students opted for a bolted-on end cap using captive nuts. This is a quick, strong way to build the end cap if you're pressed for time.















Lastly, take a look at the latest Roubo bench produced by Richard Maguire, this one featuring both Benchcrafted vises. Beautiful old-school benches!

Split-Top Roubo Plans--Now Available

What more can I say? The Benchcrafted Split-Top Roubo plans are finally done! We're absolutely thrilled to be able to offer these incredibly detailed plans that incorporate our vises. Draftsman Louis Bois and the Benchcrafted crew spent many many days (and some long nights) getting these plans completed in time for the Christmas season. We've already sent out some vises that are headed for that magical place under the Tannenbaum, so for those wishing for something special this season you'll have to be content with the awesome Split-Top Roubo plans. We're a bit backed up on vise orders after we received Best New Tool in the December issue of Popular Woodworking. Nevertheless, we think our handsome, old-school cardboard tube stuffed with rolled prints will make a great Christmas gift.

We started drafting these plans back in August after we took this bench to the Woodworking In America Conference in St. Charles, IL. Everybody loved the bench, and when we told them we weren't taking orders for benches just yet, the next question was, "so when do the plans come out?" Well, we're tickled to say, right now!

Stray over to the Plans Page and take a look.

We're also offering Benchmakers Packages with everything you need to build the bench except wood.

Have a great weekend!

Updates!

First off, Happy Thanksgiving! We love this holiday for all the obvious reasons, and of course for the more meaningful ones, like showing appreciation for things and more importantly, people. But instead of writing a big mushy paragraph that you'll probably just skim over, I'll cut right to the chase. Thanks for supporting Benchcrafted and buying our products over the past year! We appreciate your patronage!

News.



The new Benchcrafted Split-Top Roubo Bench plans are officially done! Draftsman and CAD wizard Louis Bois has done a phenomenal job. The plans are over 40 pages long! Lest you think we went overboard with the minutiae--(we do like overkill when it comes to benches)--here's what the plans will include:

- 15 pages of 8.5" x 11" measured drawings in printable pdf format with exploded views of the base and tops, as well as 3-d views of the vises and other parts. The measured drawings make it easy to see exactly how the bench is designed, but also how the Benchcrafted vises fit in.

- 25+ pages detailing the construction process, history of the design, construction notes and techniques, and pictures of the completed bench in maple.

- 3-d E-drawing of the complete bench with vises. This CAD drawing can be rotated and viewed from any angle. You can even make parts invisible or transparent to see exactly how the joinery works or the vises are installed. The e-drawings software you'll need to download to view the 3-d drawing is available for free from SolidWorks. A Sketchup version may be available at a later date.

- 20" x 30" large-format prints of the measured drawings, showing the details in larger format for easier viewing away from a computer. Printed on 20-lb. bond paper and shipped rolled (nobody liked creases!)

- Both Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise and Tail Vise installation instructions will be included for convenience (they are also free to download from the website)

Originally we had planned to offer the plans in DVD form. Instead, we've decided to make the video portion of the plans completely free! We've started a YouTube channel and have already posted some content. These videos will be directly linked on the new bench plans page (look for this in a week or so), and we'll be adding new videos in the coming weeks.

If you're on our notification list, expect an email in a week or so announcing the availability of the plans.

Bench Builder's Package

We are also working on a bench builder's package which will include everything you need to build the Split-Top Roubo except wood, for a special price. The package will tentatively include:

- Benchcrafted Tail Vise
- Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise
- Split-Top Roubo Plans
- Benchcrafted Barrel Nuts knockdown base hardware
- End cap hardware
- Two Gramercy holdfasts

Jim's Bench

This past summer I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Tolpin at the Woodworking In America Design Conference in St. Charles, Il.

Wait, let me back up a decade or so. I'm mostly a self-taught woodworker. Just after high-school, and a short stint at a local University (where I studied Russian, High-school algebra and Mortal Kombat--no, not the Asian martial art--the video game) I started getting seriously into woodworking, and with the help of the local public library, I started reading everything I could on the subject. My favorite's were by far the "Techniques" books by Taunton. Essentially back issues of Fine Woodworking arranged by subject and bound into a hardcover book. But it was Jim's approach to cabinetmaking that eventually led to me building two complete kitchens, one for for my own home, and another for my brother and his family. Jim's "Toolboxes" was on the bench when I built my first wall hung tool cabinet.

So when I met Jim it was a bit of a strange experience. Almost like meeting a celebrity (I met Jerry Lewis in a Las Vegas health club once, and that was not as much fun as meeting Jim) But as soon as I shook Jim's hand all the awkwardness went away. Jim's soft-spoken style and mellow demeanor appealed to me immediately, and we had a great conversation during a short lull in his busy schedule that weekend.



It turns out that the author of "Table Saw Magic" has taken a decidedly non-powered turn in his woodworking the past few years. As a co-founder of the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in Washington State, Jim teaches hand-tool centric woodworking, focusing on the joy and practicality of using hand tools for the home shop furniture maker. His approach makes a lot of sense, especially nowadays. I'm referring here to the blossoming of top-notch hand-tool manufacturers in the past decade or so. For the first time since well before World War II, fine hand tools are being manufactured once again and made available to the general public. This presents an excellent opportunity for woodworking enthusiasts to set up shops void of the majority of noisy, dusty, dangerous and expensive machines. Replacing them instead with hand tools produced with modern technology and processes that in most cases render them far superior to even the finest tools produced during the height of hand tool production of the past. Tools which give the traditional experience of woodworking and connect the woodworker with the material in a way which far surpasses the experience of simply running wood through a machine. Surface finish, joint quality and the overall aesthetic produced by hand tools can surpass those produced by a machine. I would challenge anyone to disagree that a few passes of a razor-sharp hand plane, accompanied with that satisfying sound and shimmering, slick surface is a far better experience than donning the dust mask and ear-muffs and firing up the vacuum and random-orbit sander.

In fact, Jim told me at WIA that he's sold off most of his stationary machinery and portable power tools and set up a hand-tool centric shop instead. And this is where Benchcrafted came into the conversation. As Jim analyzed our Split-Top Roubo he came to the conclusion that this would be the bench for his home shop. So he and I developed a collaborative plan where Benchcrafted would supply the two finished tops complete with the Benchcrafted Tail Vise and he would build the base in Port Townsend, installing the Glide as he finished the base. As work progressed, I couldn't help but be reminded of the work on the International Space Station, where different elements were manufactured in various countries then assembled in space for the first time. Okay, we're talking some slightly looser tolerances here. It made sense though, especially since hard maple is quite expensive in the northwest (Jim wanted hard maple tops) and as such, Jim has easy access to massive Douglas Fir timbers, with which he is building the base. The base parts on Jim's bench are not laminated. They are all cut from solid timbers and will be joined with drawbored mortise and tenons. With the hard maple Glide chop and deadman contrasting with the warm glow of the fir, this is going to be a gorgeous bench. Not that we care about the looks of a bench, we're all about the function (yeah, right!)

Jim tells me he has some pretty exciting things planned for this bench and the shop it will reside in. I for one will be eagerly awaiting what develops from Jim's endeavors. Being one of the most successful woodworking authors, I don't think he's going to disappoint.

Waterdog

In the process of sending our bench specs to Louis Bois, the draftsman preparing our bench plans, I made a quick drawing of the bench dog, specifying ash be used for the spring portion of the dog. I neglected to specify the species for the dog itself (not that it matters), so Louis took some liberty and chose a material for the dog on his own. I couldn't help but chuckle when I opened his email. Louis is a whiz with CAD software, and this quick image is basic stuff, but for a CAD dummy like me, I can't help but me impressed.