How To View Our Bench Models in 3D

We're analog types. That's why we publish our bench plans on paper. These are far more quick to reference during a build than a computer. It's the same reason you see construction workers on site with a roll of blueprints under their arm and not a laptop. Unless that's a hoagie I've been seeing...

But our 3d eDrawing is quite useful for checking how certain components of the bench interact with each other, or for checking a dimension when you're in your office after shop hours. Here's how to do it.

First, download the Solidworks eDrawing viewer by clicking here. On this page, click on the download button. That will take you to a page where you can choose your download depending on your operating system (Windows/Mac.) What you want is the eDrawings Viewer. After a couple more questions (the usual user agreement stuff) you'll be downloading the software.

Once you install the software, download the 3d eDrawing of the Split Top Roubo or Shaker Bench from our Downloads page. They are listed under an image of each bench.

Open the eDrawings program, then open the file. Here's what you'll see:

You'll notice the Shaker Bench doesn't show a Crisscross. If you're building a Shaker Bench, there are instructions in the Construction Notes that cover this.

Navigating eDrawings is easy. The controls are fairly self explanatory. The hand tool lets you pick parts up and move them around. The tape measure lets you, well, measure things. Just play around with it and you'll learn it in just a few minutes. Don't worry, you can't screw up the model. If you've moved too many things around and can't get them back in place, simply open the file again and the model will reassemble itself.

If you're especially cheap frugal you could easily build the bench with this free software and model, without the printed plans. We've build many of these benches though, and always have the printed plans at hand.

Here's a couple videos on navigating eDrawings. The software version is a bit out of date, but the icons are pretty much all the same in the new one.

Holdfasts in Stock , Plate 11 Leg Vise Forged Parts

We again have our hand-forged holdfasts in stock. Price is $199 plus shipping (domestic shipping will be added in cart, for International please email us.  For more info on our holdfasts, see this.

These can only be bought here, we won't add them to our Store page.  SOLD OUT

We have two sets of iron parts intended for use with a Roubo Plate 11-style leg vise screw. These were made earlier this year by Peter Ross. They are typical Ross work. In other words, you couldn't get closer to the original if you were personal friends with H.G. Wells.

To make the rings easier to fit, we lightly machine the inside of the ring ferrule so it's truly round. If you've seen one of these, you'll be amazed at how little material needs to be removed. Ross makes these without any sort of form, just hammer and anvil with welded ends. They are gorgeous.

One end of the handle is removable. Simply tap out the taper pin, remove the ball, install on vise screw, replace ball and pin. Ross filed a witness mark across the ball and tenon so reassembly is easy.

We've only got two of these, and won't be making more. Price is $220 for the set of 1 ring ferrule, 1 handle. Shipping is extra.

If you'd like to purchase, send an email to info@benchcrafted.com and include your mailing address. We'll send you an invoice which we ask you to kindly pay promptly.

FORP Plate 11-style Holdfasts For Sale

We have a few leftover Plate-11 style holdfasts available. We made extras last year, but didn't sell all of them at the FORP. I think there are perhaps a dozen left.

These are not to be confused with the holdfasts that we produce. Rather, these are based off the Plate-11 engraving. An original "Plate 11" holdfast from Peter Ross was used as a prototype. Peter was having some issues with his elbow when we needed these, so he gave us the okay to make a few after his model in order to have them by the FORP. These are stamped with the Benchcrafted moniker.
Ross' prototype can be seen at the very bottom of the picture above. The holdfasts are made by our smith who also produces our standard hand-forged holdfast. They are excellent.

Important note. These are not a regular item, and we have no plans to produce them. If you want a Plate-11 style holdfast after these are gone, you'll need to commission Ross to make you one. These are his baby.

Price is $220, including domestic shipping. To purchase, follow these instructions:

Send a check for $220 to:

Wyatt Childs Inc.1598 Johnstonville Rd, Barnesville, GA 30204(770) 358-0501

Include your name, phone, and shipping address in the envelope, along with exactly what you want (quantities, in other words)and you'll receive your holdfast(s). The included shipping is for one holdfast. If you want more than one, you'll have to arrange with Childs.

You can try to call Wyatt Childs at the above number, but really the best way to get a holdfast is the method above. Childs does take credit cards, so if you must pay that way, call.

Buckner's Edge Dogs

We received this note from plane maker, BBQist, and speed skiing expert Brian Buckner a few days ago. We remember seeing this is Landis' "The Workbench Book" (now almost 30 years old!). Handy little buggers, and looks like they work great with our Tail Vise. One addition we'd suggest to the design. Lengthen the width of the jaws between the dowels for holding narrow stuff. You'll get the functionality of an open-front, moving-block tail vise, without any of the disadvantages. 

I wanted to share with you the recent additions I've added to my Shaker bench (outfitted with your leg and wagon vises) that I built based loosely on the one that Ron Brese built and Benchcrafted published plans for. These additions are called "Bench Puppies" or "Edge Dogs" depending on the source. I built mine based on a recent article in Fine Woodworking that was written by a student of James Krenov. It seems that these holding devices are popular at Krenov's College of the Redwoods school. Also, these devices are mentioned in Scott Landis' "The Workbench Book" (pages 108 & 109). He even shows some "store bought" versions (but I've never seen any myself).

 

In short these simple devices are fantastic! They hold items very securely and really broaden the holding capacity and versatility of my bench's wagon vise. Certainly well worth the meager time and materials required to build them. I used scrap and about an hour of time building mine.

 

The FWW article presents and discusses them in the context of a bench equipped with a traditional tail vise. Since the wagon vise is a close cousin of the tail vise (but much better in my opinion) I thought I've give them a try. I was at first a bit curious if they would work in a wagon vise since they would have to span and ride along the fixed benchtop front laminate. I was a little concerned that they might be prone to binding. In use this has not been the case.

 

A couple other concerns I had included the suitability of using a round peg in my square dog holes. I had considered making a special square dog that would have a round hole for the device's "peg". I'm glad I didn't waste my time pursuing this as the "round peg in the square hole" seems to work just fine. I was careful to turn the dowels to a close fit for the bench dog holes since a smaller peg would just introduce "slop" and might cause some problems. I was also wondering if the 2 degree forward lean that is built into each of the existing dog holes would have a negative impact. I was pleased to find that it does not appear to affect the functionality of these devices in any way.

 

I followed the basic construction techniques shown in the FWW article but digressed in a few places. Rather than glue the heel block on and then fit the peg as the article shows I chose to reverse the steps. I first fit the peg into the body of the device then placed that assembly into the dog hole of my bench. This allowed me to then ensure that the clamping face of the block was perfectly perpendicular to the front laminate. I clamped the body in place and then glued and clamped the heel in place. I've been wondering if it might be advantageous to cant the clamping face a degree or two out of perpendicular (leaning inward towards the front laminate) as this might increase the holding power of these devices even more.

You Asked For It-The Benchcrafted Swing Seat

We've been a bit inundated the past few days about whether or not we're going to produce a swing seat for workbenches, after Chris Schwarz posted about his recently.

Believe it or not, this has been on our to-do list for about 5 years. Back then the industrial-look craze was gaining momentum and we watched closely as vintage cafeteria tables were popping up at chic restaurants in big cities and health-food markets in our area. Soon after a few companies started casting their own. Once we saw the prices, we laughed, then decided it was time to make our's.

These seats were used is prisons, school cafeterias, soda fountains, telephone booths, drafting tables, elevators. Illinois vise manufacturer Richards Wilcox made their own that they outfitted on benches sold by the company. The company is still in business, but like a lot of companies, they make completely different stuff now, like industrial door hardware. Sort of like Greenlee. Once know for their hollow chisel mortisers, they now make electrician's tools. Most people don't know their company logo is still the end-view of a hollow chisel.

We've got a couple swing-seat designs in the bag already, but still need to prototype and work out a few kinks. Plus, we're going to try our best to make this a reasonably priced item. $500 is just insane. There's virtually no machine work on these. Castings are still pretty inexpensive, and being woodworkers, well, we can all make our own seats by golly! We're not marketing these to Greenwich Village sushi bars. We're making them for us, dang it.

Please don't bother asking when they will be ready. We've got some other stuff already in the pipeline that we need to finish. Hopefully though we'll have something before 2016 is over.

Watch William Ng Make Condor Tails

William Ng recently outfitted his entire school with new benches featuring our hardware. William produced this video showing how he set up for making a production run of Condor tails for the end caps. This is similar to the technique we use, but a little more production oriented. If you've got a bunch to make, or just enjoy using machines, William's method is excellent. It's a fun watch too, William's got a good sense of humor.
 

What We're Working on in 2016

Its been a couple years since we came out with a new product. Here's everything we're working on, and hoping to produce in 2016. We're a small company, but we've got lots of ideas for new tools. Cranking out new stuff isn't difficult. But nailing it is. And we won't make something unless we've put our guts into it, and make sure its something we'd be delighted with in our own shop.

First up, the Etau.

Funny name, great vise. Here's why. The etau (which simply means "vise" in French) is a bit like the carver's vise we produced as a limited run in 2013, but is more versatile and handy since it can be clamped to almost any bench or table in just a few seconds. It's a great high vise, and a great portable vise. We wrote about the vise almost three years ago when we produced a one-off for the Handworks event in Amana. Since then, that prototype has seen a fair amount of use in the Benchcrafted test shop, and for the past year it's been mounted on one corner of planemaker Ron Brese's shop, where he uses the etau to shape plane totes and accomplish lots of other close work that the etau is well-suited for. If you've never used a vise the raises work to chest height, you will love the etau.

Right now we're working out a few minor bugs and tweaking the design to make this vise really sweet. It will incorporate some features from the carver's vise, and some from our Classic Leg Vise. The etau will be a regular item, not a limited run like the carver's vise. We think it's just about the perfect auxiliary vise for doing close work that requires more control. Let's not forget the cool factor. This thing looks great hanging out at the back corner of your bench.

One thing we're not 100% on. The name. "Etau" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. We'll get this sorted eventually.

The Benchcrafted Planing Stop

This is something that's been cooking on the back burner for a while. But our upcoming set of Classic Workbench Plans forced us to kick this little guy to the front of the line.

The Benchcrafted planing stop is a dirt simple thing. Could you make one in your own shop during an episode of Magnum P.I.? Of course. But we're hoping to make this one cheap enough that you can spend that hour making the wood parts and chopping a big mortise in your bench instead. Right now the only commercial planing stops available are made by blacksmiths. Those are quite nice (and we recommend them) but we needed one of our design for the Classic workbench. Obviously it will work with other benches too.

Figuring out a way hold a planing stop securely to the wood block without it eventually wiggling loose or rotating was pretty easy. We borrowed the idea from our own barrel nuts. Doubling up the bolts prevents the stop from rotating, and keeps it securely cinched down.

These are just about to go into production and should be ready to purchase by the time the tulips start emerging.

M Series Moxon Vise

Sorry, we don't have any pictures of these yet, since we haven't made any. We've long wanted to do a run of fully machined Moxon vises, not only because they would look outstanding, but also because we've have a few requests for them. These will use the same fully machined handwheel as our Tail Vise M vise, only machined to run on the acme screws of the Moxon vise. We can imagine a Moxon M made with rosewood or richly finished mahogany. Maybe a little overkill, but we can't resist. These won't be cheap since our M series handwheels take forever and a day to machine to a high level. And there are two of them. Expect these to be a little less than double the price of a standard Moxon.

These won't be a regular item, but only a one-time run. And this will likely be the first item we make where we take pre-orders before we do the run. If you're interested, drop a note in the comments section. It will help us gauge how many we produce.

Classic Workbench Plans

Read about these here.

Are You A User Or A Program?

The question arises from a simple idea. Do you feel like less of a woodworker if you follow a set of plans?

Or more accurately, do you feel like awkward when building a project that you didn't design? I used to, until I started developing plans for others to follow. That changed how I view plans. When I follow a plan, I immediately feel like a neophyte. And it's not because the project is necessarily complex, but rather I seem to slip into the mode of program versus user. I assume everything has been figured out for me, and all I need to do is the bidding of Master Control. We all need a Dumont to help us gain access to Master Control and break free of the bond that plans and cutlists can impose on us. 

Here's what I do when I follow a plan. Before I cut wood, before I even order wood, I study the plan, nearly memorize the plan to the point that I know and understand every aspect of the project. Doing this, I make the plan my own project. It becomes my design, in effect. Nobody is holding my hand or a conductor's wand. I am in charge. I am the conductor. It's not a fun process though. It takes discipline. But so does developing your own idea. The beauty of following a plan is that you can be assured (if you trust the source) that many of the mistakes have already been worked out. 

The plans we're developing for the Classic Workbench will reflect this philosophy. There will of course be schematics of the bench, like our Split Top Roubo, but there will also be succinct construction notes that will tell you the why of the design, not just the how. We want this design to become your's. 

Some may question why we're releasing a bench design that doesn't include more of our products (like a wagon vise) and will cost about half of what it costs to build a Split Top Roubo. It's a valid question. And here's the answer. We're in this for the craft first. And we think if you're just getting into the craft, you should have the option to build a sweet bench with Benchcrafted functionality without emptying your wallet. This is that bench. If you've got the means, go all the way with our Glide and Tail Vise packages. But if you're just dipping your toes in, and you want to sample the wares without that little nagging in the back of your mind, the Classic is the bench to build. 

Excuse Me, I Spelched

When I build a laminated benchtop I joint the faces and edges of every laminate. It's much easier to build flatness into a massive slab than make it flat later.

Nevertheless, there is always some minor plane work to be done after the glue cures. And its entirely across the width of the benchtop. In fact, if you joint your top laminates like I do, the bench will end up totally flat along its length, meaning you only have to traverse across the top to clean up it, taking perpendicular strokes as you march from one end of the top to the other. This top took four light passes to clean up.

Spelching can be a problem when planing directly across the long axis of wood fibers where they are unsupported at the back edge of the bench top. The preventative medicine is a chamfer. But sometimes even it fails.

Today I tore a chunk from the back arris of this bench in an area with reversing grain. The chamfer wasn't strong enough medicine, and a stronger chamfer would provide no cure, so surgery was required.

To begin the procedure, first prep the area with an application of router. I made this as small as possible so as to make an inconspicuous scar. Yes, it didn't quite get the entire wound. I can live with some scarring.

Next, layout the incision with a combo square and pare away the errant flesh to a 45 degree angle at the extents of the injury site.

Now prepare some donor tissue using material of the same species and origin. Dress the surface of the donor tissue with a smooth plane so its flat, then miter the ends precisely to length to match the shape of the scarred host area.

Check the fit of the patch and prepare and apply the adhesive medium.

Apply the clamping apparatus and allow the newly grafted tissue to assimilate to the host body overnight.

Retire to the physician's lounge, crack open the Taylor Rye, then unmold (for the first time) your Death Star Ice Cube Ball and realize in disappointment that the designers were far too stingy on the greebling, and by the time it hits the glass, what little greebling there is, along with the too-shallow concavity of the Superlaser Focus Lens is melted away.

Once the site has healed the clamping apparatus can be removed, and any excess scar tissue removed by planing.

Visit England, Build A Moxon Vise

This fall you can join Derek Jones at West Dean College in West Sussex England for a class in building a set of bench appliances, with our Moxon Vise as the center of the course.

You'll build a rebated bench hook, a shooting board and dovetail alignment board, in addition to building a beautifully dovetailed Moxon Vise.

The hardware for the course is being provided through our friends at the only Benchcrafted dealership in the U.K., Classic Hand Tools.

For futher details on the course, click here.