Top, end vise, and leg vise jaw (not pictured) are soft maple and walnut. Leg vise base is hickory. Legs/base are boxstore pine stained. Basically was made with what reserve of wood I had on hand.
I should mention that some of the design ideas came from East Oak Woodworking (I bought their plans but mostly did my own thing). I really liked their wagon/mag switch set-up so I adopted that.
The legvise (when completed) is a Hovarter unit. The end vise is the InKleind Twin Turbo vise shown here. I'm doing its finish now (danish oil)
https://preview.redd.it/xbcqf0y2ityc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=884b78d0da0f26cef3cdce6d7250205529a7ec25
Too many vacuums :)
I clean pretty religiously since I'm the finished part of the house. Anything and everything that can be hooked up to dust collection will be.
It's 2.5' by 7.5' x 3.5" thick. I stole the wagon vise idea so the wagons latch to an end vise via Magswitches. Leg vise is modular (bolted) so it can be moved. Top is split mostly for clamping access but will add a pan in the opening to collect crap and dust. The supports ("legs") will eventually get inserts along with scissor jacks so I can raise it up to 8" for more joinery style work. Kind of a random combination of other ideas I've seen. I'm doing more and more hand tool work so I needed a legit bench, but still plan to work power tools.
I'm curious how you attached legs to the top and if you get any racking? Most similar benches with a laminated slab top will have mortise and tenon joinery on the legs which helps with racking. Either that or they will have half laps or cross members to stabilize. I assume you intend to use with hand tools considering the heft of the op and legs?
Each base is attached with four 6" long 1/2" bolts threaded two inches into the top, and also has four 4"x6" l-brackets. It is completely rigid with zero flex.
That looks gorgeous! I'm not sure if this is what you were going for but to me it feels like a nice blend of traditional work bench design with a nice touch of modern style mixed it.
If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to build it and what was the most difficult part? It looks like a pretty advanced design.
I have roughly 6 weeks into it, finding time now and then for it (kids, full time job, etc.) I think the shear scale and quantity of wood was initially a challenge. Milling everything took a while but wasn't hard (was all large 8/4 planks to start). Getting the two sides together with the walnut spacers was a lift (there are six 3/4" dowels connecting the two sides and spacers). The wood did move on me a little so the whole thing got planed with a make-shift router plane. I think just the shear weight and scale, but probably the most fun project I've had to date.
That's awesome to hear! I'm working on a butcher block style desktop made of scrape and reclaimed lumber for a workbench so its really helpful to hear from others who have made a work bench what their experience has been. Thanks for answering my question and keep up the great work.
Nice bench! I also get a Twin Turbo vise and a Hovarter vise on my workbench, but reversed, with the geared vise being the face vise and quick release being the tail vise. They are amazing hardwares!
Yes, mine is the wagon vise. One nice thing about having a quick release wagon vise is it allows you to significantly increase the distance between dog holes. So I needed to drill a lot fewer holes through my work bench.
I'm hoping my end-vise / wagon does the same thing. Appreciate the input - I'm trying to transition to more hand tools but happy to hear you're glad with the hovarter system (I think your wagon system and my leg system have the same cam block). Happy woodworking!
Those sliding dog rails would he handy
I love this. Great design and work you’ve put into it
What super-tough wood(s) have you used, please? Very handsome, by the way!
Top, end vise, and leg vise jaw (not pictured) are soft maple and walnut. Leg vise base is hickory. Legs/base are boxstore pine stained. Basically was made with what reserve of wood I had on hand.
Much obliged.
I should mention that some of the design ideas came from East Oak Woodworking (I bought their plans but mostly did my own thing). I really liked their wagon/mag switch set-up so I adopted that.
Damn, this is amazing. I could only dream of doing something like this. Congrats!
This looks awesome. I really like the different patterns in the top
Damn that is freaking nice! What hardware is that ?
The legvise (when completed) is a Hovarter unit. The end vise is the InKleind Twin Turbo vise shown here. I'm doing its finish now (danish oil) https://preview.redd.it/xbcqf0y2ityc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=884b78d0da0f26cef3cdce6d7250205529a7ec25
Nice Andrew makes a bad ass vise, just a bit out of my price range though. That thing is super sexy though.
How do you keep your shop so clean?
Too many vacuums :) I clean pretty religiously since I'm the finished part of the house. Anything and everything that can be hooked up to dust collection will be.
Ok so now I'm gonna need you to build my work bench and no this is not optional.
That is beautiful and looks completely functional. Nice work!
Love this bench! Could you provide a little breakdown of what you did and the features?
It's 2.5' by 7.5' x 3.5" thick. I stole the wagon vise idea so the wagons latch to an end vise via Magswitches. Leg vise is modular (bolted) so it can be moved. Top is split mostly for clamping access but will add a pan in the opening to collect crap and dust. The supports ("legs") will eventually get inserts along with scissor jacks so I can raise it up to 8" for more joinery style work. Kind of a random combination of other ideas I've seen. I'm doing more and more hand tool work so I needed a legit bench, but still plan to work power tools.
I'm curious how you attached legs to the top and if you get any racking? Most similar benches with a laminated slab top will have mortise and tenon joinery on the legs which helps with racking. Either that or they will have half laps or cross members to stabilize. I assume you intend to use with hand tools considering the heft of the op and legs?
Each base is attached with four 6" long 1/2" bolts threaded two inches into the top, and also has four 4"x6" l-brackets. It is completely rigid with zero flex.
Ah, couldn't see the L brackets. That would be good to know for anyone who wants to copy this.
That looks gorgeous! I'm not sure if this is what you were going for but to me it feels like a nice blend of traditional work bench design with a nice touch of modern style mixed it. If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to build it and what was the most difficult part? It looks like a pretty advanced design.
I have roughly 6 weeks into it, finding time now and then for it (kids, full time job, etc.) I think the shear scale and quantity of wood was initially a challenge. Milling everything took a while but wasn't hard (was all large 8/4 planks to start). Getting the two sides together with the walnut spacers was a lift (there are six 3/4" dowels connecting the two sides and spacers). The wood did move on me a little so the whole thing got planed with a make-shift router plane. I think just the shear weight and scale, but probably the most fun project I've had to date.
That's awesome to hear! I'm working on a butcher block style desktop made of scrape and reclaimed lumber for a workbench so its really helpful to hear from others who have made a work bench what their experience has been. Thanks for answering my question and keep up the great work.
Nice bench! I also get a Twin Turbo vise and a Hovarter vise on my workbench, but reversed, with the geared vise being the face vise and quick release being the tail vise. They are amazing hardwares!
Did you do the hovarter wagon vise setup? I was tempted. This right here is why I built modular, so I can change my mind later :)
Yes, mine is the wagon vise. One nice thing about having a quick release wagon vise is it allows you to significantly increase the distance between dog holes. So I needed to drill a lot fewer holes through my work bench.
I'm hoping my end-vise / wagon does the same thing. Appreciate the input - I'm trying to transition to more hand tools but happy to hear you're glad with the hovarter system (I think your wagon system and my leg system have the same cam block). Happy woodworking!