Thanks Chris! I found this page while looking for a link to your e-mail address. I recently finished your erudite volumes on workbench design, and am about to embark on my own bench inspired by your take on the Holtzapffel design. As my vices and planer arrive, I’ve been agonizing over whether to use SYP or rough maple for the top. I don’t have a big budget, so all-maple is not an option. But after reading your ten tips here, I’ll stop agonizing — all SYP it is! This is, after all, my first of what I hope are at least several handmade benches. Your scholarship and craftsmanship are truly inspiring.
Permanent or Portable? This is a distinction that decides much about your bench choice: Is it to remain stationary or must it fold, roll, or otherwise make itself scarce between jobs? Large, heavy benches are more stable and, in general, more adaptable to different jobs (sometimes several at once). But the bigger the bench, the more hassle involved with stowing it.
This book is a solid book and much more than I would of imagined. I was thinking ok 40 plans cool. They go into detail on each plan. They give accurate measurements, pictures, times for each stage of a project, list of tools, wood, and anything else you need to complete each project. This book goes so far to even show you how to setup your own project and draft it and gives you a list of what you might need to draft out a project. I would say this book is good for anyone from Novice to Advanced. It is just a great read as well.
Nightstand table plans have everything you need to create a bedside table to keep every needy thing at reach at night time. This Nigh Stand plan is quite different in design from the most of the other plans. This stand has not only the three regular drawers but also having a hidden drawer that uses a secret locking mechanism to keep contents securely.
This gem starts with a wink that’s explained further down on the cover: “Three Practical Ways to Do Every Job—and how to choose the one that’s right for you.” Bob introduces the main woodworking processes from dimensioning stock, to cutting dovetails, and then offers a variety of ways to get the job done using traditional hand tools, modern machinery, and an assortment of slick jigs.
From the source tutorial, you can get illustrates to the instruction about the plan. Everything is fairly described as diagrams, images, the list of supplies and tools need etc. The process to this plan is very easy to understand and follow for if you are having some basic woodworking knowledge. Make sure to collect all the supplies you need before you start with the project. You may even ask any question directly in the comment section of the tutorial post and also comment the images of your final product if you have completed it. Either way, I hope that you will manage to build this one nicely.
As a teacher I find Ernest Joyce’s “The Technique of Furniture Making” (Batson) invaluable, ’tho it is as far away from an enjoyable read as possible. Similarly Bob Wearing’s “Essential Woodworker” (Lost Art Press). Bob is one of the only people who ever gave insight into traditional English technique. I believe the lack of similar books is due to the apprenticeship tradition of teaching, where nothing was ever written down.
Having done all this, I'm not sure I'd do it this way again. It might well be faster to layout the positions with compass and straightedge directly onto the top. Either way, you'll want to use a scribe rather than a pencil. Scribe lines are hard to see, and impossible to photograph, but the scribe and compass points click into them, allowing a precision that pencils simply cannot match.
In terms of size, this bench is another Sjobergs that is a bit on the small side, though it is actually far more squared than some others. While its length is a bit disappointing at 54″, the width is over 24″ wide which does provide for more diverse projects. Even better, this product still features the incredibly 500-pound weight capacity and continues the Sjobergs trend of avoiding joints that are not as durable as they otherwise could be.
Building a wine rack is usually a very common beginner's woodworking plan. Creating a wine rack is an easy plan that can most of the time be completed in a day or half, depending on how large and detailed you would like it to be. And the better news is that this free wine rack plan will let you build you a great looking wine rack for much less than it would cost.
The hacksaw will often damage the last thread when it cuts. Running a nut off the end will fix this. You'll have to run the nut all the way down from the other end. This doesn't take long, if you chuck up the rod in your drill and let it do the work. Hold the rod vertically, with the drill pointing down, and just hold on to the nut enough to keep it from spinning.
With the top laying on the floor, bottom side up, the next step is to flip the base upside down, and attach it to the top. I followed Asa Christiana's design, in using s-clips. When I stopped by my local Woodcraft, though, they only had two packages of ten, so I didn't use as many as I would have, otherwise. For the top I put four on each side and two on each end. For the shelf I put three on each side and two on each end. If it turns out that I need more, I can always add more.
My bench is MY BENCH. In other words, it’s a thing of evolutionary beauty. I built the top 10 years before deciding on and designing the base. I spared no absurdity. It is supremely stout and the much maligned drawers are accessible from either side. The larger drawers have dust lids and can be extended to provide support for large workpieces or as a step for climbing on top of the bench. The top alone weighs more than most Roubos. So NYAH! Did I mention that I designed it to fit in with the Arts & Crafts vernacular? Who said you can’t build your bench to be furniture? Beautiful as well as useful shop furniture? Just sayin…
By video tutorial, you will get step by step process instructions of making a nice wooden folding sling chair from scratch. However, my first wooden chair was not the best one, but it was good enough to motivate me to make some more folding chairs like this one. If I can make this, you too can make one yourself. You can browse the internet for more folding sling chairs ideas and start making one now.
The edges of MDF are fragile, easily crushed or torn. MDF is also notorious for absorbing water through these edges, causing the panels to swell. In Sam Allen's original design, he edged the MDF with 1/4" hardboard. This edging is one of the complexities that Asa Christiana left out in his simplified design. I think this was a mistake. MDF really needs some sort of protection, especially on the edges.
This book is a solid book and much more than I would of imagined. I was thinking ok 40 plans cool. They go into detail on each plan. They give accurate measurements, pictures, times for each stage of a project, list of tools, wood, and anything else you need to complete each project. This book goes so far to even show you how to setup your own project and draft it and gives you a list of what you might need to draft out a project. I would say this book is good for anyone from Novice to Advanced. It is just a great read as well.
Featuring each piece in highly-detailed, exploded drawings and applying time-honored dimensions and ergonomic standards, this comprehensive visual sourcebook takes the guesswork out of furniture joinery, assembly, dimension, and style. Woodworkers of any skill level will benefit from more than 1,300 crisp and detailed drawings that explain classic solutions to age-old problems, such as hanging a drawer, attaching a tabletop, and pegging a mortise.”
Thanks! Great information. As an advanced novice worker, I finally decided to build my first bench a couple years ago. After reading several of your blogs knowing full well mortised dove tale leg joinery is yet beyond my capability, I elected to build Robert Lang’s “21st Century Workbench”. I also chose his VERITAS Twin Screw Vise in the face vise position. Used an old Craftsman face vise in the tail vise position. Constructed of laminated 9/4 x 31/2″ Pecan and 60″ long because of my small crowed shop. Super happy to this point. As I mature in woodworking I may live to construct one of a different choice at a latter date, but I’m 73 so we’ll see. Thanks again for the advise.
