One of the biggest obstacles to beginning woodworkers is carving out a space to work in, and building a bench to work on. Recently, I built a pair of portable workbenches that are closely based on a now-disappeared commercial bench from the 20th century. These small-scale benches clamp to almost any surface, from a kitchen … Read more
Years ago, I saw an interview with W. Patrick Edwards on how he dressed his benchtop with a toothing plane to improve his bench’s grip. I was intrigued by his argument, but it took a few years until I was ready to commit to it. Last year I toothed my benchtop and began working on … Read more
Let me say this first: You are welcome to put a holdfast hole anywhere you please. No one will think less of you. In fact, if you are questioned by your friends as to why you put a certain hole in a certain position, you can tell them it’s a panini press. That said, I … Read more
If a workbench or a tool chest is on your list of woodworking projects to build this year, you’ll definitely want to read on about two upcoming DVDs I’m working on with Popular Woodworking Magazine. In just a few weeks, we’re filming a DVD on building a traditional tool chest using a small set of … Read more
This week I’m building a pair of portable workbenches for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine and spent yesterday turning lots and lots of threads for the vise and for the garbage can. Instead of using a manual threadbox for these benches, I decided to try the Beall Tool Co. wood threading system. It … Read more
As patternmakers are the Jedi Knights of the woodworking world, their workbenches are always a little different. Usually you’ll find some sort of vise that has more adjustments than usual. A typical patternmaker’s vise is the Emmert. These vises are gorgeous – read all about them at The Iron Hand website. I think these vises … Read more
The other headline I considered for this blog entry was: Fare thee well, pinheads. As I sorted through the box of castings and metal bits in my Benchcrafted Crisscross kit tonight I wondered if this would be the box that finally banishes the pin from my leg vise. Since 2005, I’ve been using a parallel … Read more
