Continental/ Scandinavian Workbench Build

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dzj

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The design is based on measurements Frank Klausz presented in an online article.
They are more/ less in line with what is considered a traditional bench in Central Europe (Scandinavia also, I hear)
and I could have taken the trouble of measuring up an old bench somewhere, but this was easier. :)
I didn’t stray much from what Mr. Klausz suggested.

Anyway, the build took about 6-7 months to complete, but realistically there is about 3 weeks of work involved.
I opted for seasoned Beechwood, as it is plentiful here and about the same price as SPF.
For the build I used D3 type PVA glue and the dog holes are laminated, rather than routed.
The trays are 12mm ply and the shoulder vise chop is Black Locust.

01 Stretchers and crosspieces for the base.jpg
02 Mortises.jpg
03 Finished base.jpg
04 Front 4x5 beam and two 65mm thick pieces prior to glue up.jpg
05 Front beam with dog holes and hole for threaded rod.jpg
06 Bench top ready for breadboard end grooves.jpg
07 Flattening the bench top.jpg
08 High angle toothing plane dealt well with the difficult grain.jpg
09 Prep for shoulder vise DT.jpg
10 Large tail cut on band saw.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 01 Stretchers and crosspieces for the base.jpg
    01 Stretchers and crosspieces for the base.jpg
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  • 02 Mortises.jpg
    02 Mortises.jpg
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  • 03 Finished base.jpg
    03 Finished base.jpg
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  • 04 Front 4x5 beam and two 65mm thick pieces prior to glue up.jpg
    04 Front 4x5 beam and two 65mm thick pieces prior to glue up.jpg
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  • 05 Front beam with dog holes and hole for threaded rod.jpg
    05 Front beam with dog holes and hole for threaded rod.jpg
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  • 06 Bench top ready for breadboard end grooves.jpg
    06 Bench top ready for breadboard end grooves.jpg
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  • 07 Flattening the bench top.jpg
    07 Flattening the bench top.jpg
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  • 08 High angle toothing plane dealt well with the difficult grain.jpg
    08 High angle toothing plane dealt well with the difficult grain.jpg
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  • 09 Prep for shoulder vise DT.jpg
    09 Prep for shoulder vise DT.jpg
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  • 10 Large tail cut on band saw.jpg
    10 Large tail cut on band saw.jpg
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Some more photos:
11 Pin cut by hand.jpg
12 Joint completed.jpg
13 Shoulder vise insert block .jpg
14 Half blind DTs on the tail vise by router.jpg
15 Laminated dog holes on tail vise.jpg
16 Grooves on breadboards and shoulder vise.jpg
18 Tail vise end of bench top.jpg
21 Shoulder vise assembled.jpg
22 Bench top with semi completed tail vise.jpg
23 DTs for the tray board.jpg
 

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  • 11 Pin cut by hand.jpg
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  • 12 Joint completed.jpg
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  • 13 Shoulder vise insert block .jpg
    13 Shoulder vise insert block .jpg
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  • 14 Half blind DTs on the tail vise by router.jpg
    14 Half blind DTs on the tail vise by router.jpg
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  • 15 Laminated dog holes on tail vise.jpg
    15 Laminated dog holes on tail vise.jpg
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  • 16 Grooves on breadboards and shoulder vise.jpg
    16 Grooves on breadboards and shoulder vise.jpg
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  • 18 Tail vise end of bench top.jpg
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  • 21 Shoulder vise assembled.jpg
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  • 22 Bench top with semi completed tail vise.jpg
    22 Bench top with semi completed tail vise.jpg
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  • 23 DTs for the tray board.jpg
    23 DTs for the tray board.jpg
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And a few more:
24 Notching the front beam for the tail vise assembly.jpg
25 Runners-rails holding the tail vise.jpg
26 Forgot to roundover the vise end, hence the handsaw.jpg
27 Runners and slots for the tail vise.jpg
28 Tail vise.jpg
29 Almost done.jpg
30 Complete workbench without hardware.jpg


I’ve yet to attach the hardware as the fellow making the screws hasn’t returned from holiday.
And a few layers of BLO and that’s it...
 

Attachments

  • 24 Notching the front beam for the tail vise assembly.jpg
    24 Notching the front beam for the tail vise assembly.jpg
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  • 25 Runners-rails holding the tail vise.jpg
    25 Runners-rails holding the tail vise.jpg
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  • 26 Forgot to roundover the vise end, hence the handsaw.jpg
    26 Forgot to roundover the vise end, hence the handsaw.jpg
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  • 27 Runners and slots for the tail vise.jpg
    27 Runners and slots for the tail vise.jpg
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  • 28 Tail vise.jpg
    28 Tail vise.jpg
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  • 29 Almost done.jpg
    29 Almost done.jpg
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  • 30 Complete workbench without hardware.jpg
    30 Complete workbench without hardware.jpg
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That's one really smart looking bench ! Almost too nice to use :lol:

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
Finaly got around to finishing it.
 

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Bravo :D
Plan on doing the same, but it won't be as bright as yours as it will be iroko
Congratulations
Tom
 
An Iroko bench will look very handsome!
A bit too pricey for me, though. :)
I spent maybe 30 Euros on a few 2m pieces. The rest were all offcuts.
 
Hi again, I forgot to ask
If you were doing this again, and you had an unlimited amount of wood....
Would/might you make the whole bench top, the same thickness as the dog hole section ?

I gather that you need to have beefier end caps
Would this be bothersome to your eye, or legs if you intended to sit at the end of your bench?

I'm probably going to go ahead and run into problems later on, but it would be nice to get a heads up
if something you read sounds problematic ...
Thinking of having the less desirable ends of my stock,oriented toward's the tail vise,
as there may be some major removal of stock that end, possibly for the vice ...
Something I recall from Carters workbench youtube blog, must have a look again at that.

Basically gonna laminate this up before any end caps are even thought about ...
I think I'll be on the right track

Thanks for documenting this
Tom
 
"Would/might you make the whole bench top the same thickness as the dog hole section ?"

No real need. The dog hole section is a 4x5" beam and this is where most of the pounding/ chopping
is done. The rest is ~65 mm in thickness. In the 35mm space is where the tail vise rails are situated.
Also the difference in height is handy because you can clamp stock to the face of the bench.


"I gather that you would might need to make or laminate more meat to the tail vise endcap,
would this be bothersome to your eye, or legs if you intended to sit at the end ?"

I don't know. It's an aesthetic concern, but it might look a bit heavy.
In any case, the tail vise is the most complex part of the bench, so if you intend to make changes
to the usual 'canon', drawings or perhaps a smaller model might be useful, as such changes can have a
knock-on effect.
 

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