custard
Established Member
A Nicholson bench (i.e. the style of benches that Paul Sellers makes) are better made when built with wedges in the apron housings. Yes, that gives the benefit of portability, but the bigger advantage is that they're more resistant to racking. For the reasons I gave previously a non wedged Nicholson bench, if hard and constantly used for a few years, will eventually succumb to racking.
Having read through the link that Mr Teroo gave I think it's fair to say that Paul Sellers has come to the same conclusion, these are some of the things he says,
"On my benches I don’t rely only on the housing dado. I want something that locks and continues to lock the legs into the apron housings and never turns lose."
"I could guarantee the lateral stability absolutely essential to a hand tool woodworking bench. The more it racks the more rock solid the wedges seat in each of the joints and there lies the increased success of what was already a truly solid and functional bench."
"When I have made benches in the past, I found that even with glue and screws or bolts, shoving them across uneven floors carelessly or regularly can rack the joints, break the glue line and weaken the rigidity of the bench."
But let's keep this in perspective. I've seen Nicholson benches that were hammered over many years in professional workshops and were badly racked, and I've seen wedged Nicholson benches that were obviously well used but still solid. However, for less demanding hobbyist use it's likely both construction methods would serve you well.
Having read through the link that Mr Teroo gave I think it's fair to say that Paul Sellers has come to the same conclusion, these are some of the things he says,
"On my benches I don’t rely only on the housing dado. I want something that locks and continues to lock the legs into the apron housings and never turns lose."
"I could guarantee the lateral stability absolutely essential to a hand tool woodworking bench. The more it racks the more rock solid the wedges seat in each of the joints and there lies the increased success of what was already a truly solid and functional bench."
"When I have made benches in the past, I found that even with glue and screws or bolts, shoving them across uneven floors carelessly or regularly can rack the joints, break the glue line and weaken the rigidity of the bench."
But let's keep this in perspective. I've seen Nicholson benches that were hammered over many years in professional workshops and were badly racked, and I've seen wedged Nicholson benches that were obviously well used but still solid. However, for less demanding hobbyist use it's likely both construction methods would serve you well.
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