Comments on: Early 17th-century Swedish Joiner’s Bench

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:35:37 +0000

Perhaps it was a one-purpose bench. What if hull boards to be used on this bench were already surfaced 2S and all the ship’s carpenter had to do was cut to length and work the edges?

If so, think about conserving space on a ship and maybe other benches were not what/where/size we expect…

Rick

By: David

David — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:17:02 +0000

Chris – The lack of a rear stretcher and the purpose of the bench (i.e., shipboard carpentry) makes perfect sense, as does the narrowness of the top. Most 16th and 17th century "men of war" or "ships of the line" had at least 3 decks. I would expect that this bench would’ve been located on the uppermost deck below the top (open) deck beneath a hatch so that the carpenter would’ve not required torches to see.

The second deck on such a ship would’ve had ribs supporting the hull planking that intruded on the interior space. The lack of a rear stretcher would’ve allowed the benchtop to fit flush against these timber, the backwards splay of the legs would’ve followed the curve of the hull (wider towards the deck), and the 16" width would’ve conserved precious center-line access.

One thought is that this carpenter fellow must’ve had a really stout sea-legs. I really can’t imagine being bent over a bench in a dark hold as the ship rolled and swayed in a heavy sea, particularly if I’d had hard tack, salt pork and watery beer for lunch.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:12:48 +0000

So I have a mission then. Good.

hehehe

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:08:56 +0000

Rob,

Perhaps. When I examined the original photo (a large 3mb file) I couldn’t find any evidence of a mortise on the rear leg. While the original stretcher might have been lapped onto the rear of the legs (similar to the side stretchers) that would be a bit unusual considering the front stretcher is clearly tenoned into the legs.

Without sneaking into the display and pulling that bench away from the wall we cannot know for certain.

Chris

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:21:24 +0000

Perhaps the back section is missing, making it very similar to the Dominy benches? Just a thought.

Rob

By: Dean Jansa

Dean Jansa — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:15:48 +0000

Hmm –

Add a twin screw on the right and that bench looks awful familiar to me.

-Dean