I've got one of the Axminster ones on back order (they can't say when it'll be delivered).
I'm not starting to build this bench until the end of 2012 when I move into my new workshop, but having seen the way Veritas discontinued their pattern maker's vice I thought I'd get it now in case it suddenly becomes unavailable! I'm planning a Roubo style front vice from Benchcrafted
http://benchcrafted.com/
and a patternmaker's end vice. I'll also have a second, shorter bench alongside with a 24" Lie Nielsen chain driven vice
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1480
The main bench will be similar to the David Charlesworth style, with a 16" solid wood front section, a 4" slide-out tool well, and an 8" solid wood back section. The secondary bench is also 28" deep, but with an MDF/ply top without a tool well.
I've yet to decide on the timber for the main bench top. David Charlesworth used doussie/afzelia for extreme stability, a route I'd also like to go. But so far I can't find a source. Padauk is equally stable, and widely available in 3" and 4" thickness, but the deep red/dark brown colour isn't to my taste. I thought about bleached padauk, but then I'd have to re-bleach every time I skimmed the top flat. If all else fails
I'll probably use hard maple, which is a step up the stability ladder from beech, but still no where near some of the extremely stable tropical timbers.
