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by: Lon Schleining
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Book Description
In this fresh and contemporary look at the world of workbenches, Lon Schleining takes us on a guided tour of a wide variety of classic, modern, and specialty benches and offers hundreds of options for choosing or building that perfect bench and its accessories. The Workbench looks at the classic subject with a focus on helping readers find the right bench and accessories for their needs. The object is to guide the reader through making critical choices, including whether to buy it or build it. Even long-time woodworkers dream of the perfect bench and the time to build it, and for them the real enjoyment is in the planning. With 279 color photos and additional illustrations, this book provides in-depth information along with the inspiration to fulfill workshop dreams.
Needs to be a bit more detailed--
I recently started building a bench that is featured in this book (the one that appeared in the 3rd edition of Fine Woodworking's Tools&Shops magazine). This bench design is excellent and incorporates all the best of traditional european-style cabinet maker benches and some new modern touches such as the Veritas twin screw vice. This book's design is incomplete. For instance, how much of a gap is there between the two legs? How far in did he start the slight elevation of the sleigh feet and how high is that elevation? Where do the mortises for the stretchers start? These are questions that are not answered in the design. While most woodworkers change the designs around to suit their needs, it would be nice to have a good starting point with the designs.
I found the pictures to be excellent (although most are probably ones you've seen before if you've subscribed to Find Woodworking).
This book is more-or-less complete, but I think if you're going to build a bench you are going to want buy this book AND the Workbench book (especially if you plan to build a traditional tail vice which I find to be very complicated and the pictures in both make it clearer). I like the binding in the Workbench book better, since the hardcover binding is kind of hard to lay flat and it costs more.
Lots of great ideas and stimulating photographs --
This book has a lot of good ideas, great pictures and plans. I especially appreciate Schleining's review of what modern masters, including Sam Maloof and the late Tage Frid, are using/used. I would have liked to see more coverage of classic benches - only a couple of shaker benches and Henry Studley's (amazing) bench are included.
I have already built most of my bench but I sure wish I'd had this book before I got started. I would definitely have done things differently.
Workbench tops, bases, built-in cabinets, vises, hold-downs, deadmen etc. are all covered. I am looking to add a tail vice and several good plans are included.
This is a very good and quite complete book. Highly recommended.
Reviews:
This book delivers on building your own dream workbench -- After years of wanting my own dream workbench, I finally took the plunge and began building one this year. My workbench is a slight variation of one of the workbenches profiled in Mr. Schleining's book and I couldn't be happier with it.
This book covers many different designs of workbenches from traditional style benches, to European, to more modern workbenches (suited for the woodworker that uses more power tools). What I liked most about this book is that it not only covers some of the nation's most well-renowned woodworkers' workbenches, but Mr. Schleining also goes into great detail why their respective benches work.
Mr. Schleining does an excellent job of getting you to think about how you work in your shop to come up with your dream workbench. This is not a cookbook packed with a ton of plans. Instead, Mr. Schleining includes plans that are representative of today's styles such as Tage Frid's bench, the New Classic bench (modern), windsor chair maker Mike Dunbar's traditional bench (complete with wood screw vises), Niall Barrett's no-frills bench, and a Sam-Maloof style bench.
Each bench profile gives details on how to build the bench. But more importantly, Mr. Schleining arms you with a wealth of information to customize each bench to your liking, giving you the benefits and drawbacks for each design and add-on. For example, for those who wish to have cabinets under their bench, Mr. Schleining notes that his helps to add mass and storage space to the bench. But it also may impede your ability to clamp certain work pieces to your bench. Other examples include comparisons between wood and steel vise screws, round versus square dog holes, tool trays versus no tool trays, and a host of other feature comparisons. In addition, Mr. Schleining also provides a number of very helpful tips for building your own bench such as flattening the bench top, using offset-pinned tenons, picking the right location for your vises, and others.
This book is more than just a show-and-tell piece on different workbenches. It provides inspiration, practical advice, and detailed plans for those planning on making their own dream workbench someday. Even if you aren't interested in making your own workbench, Mr. Schleining provides ample information for regarding pre-made workbench kits, bench tops, and custom-built workbenches.
As a woodworker just returning to the craft after a ten year hiatus, Mr. Schleining does an excellent job of communicating his ideas through his pointed prose and his numerous color photographs. I give my highest recommendation for this book.
The Workbench
Lon Schleining
A complete guide to creating your perfect bench
In this contemporary look at the world of workbenches, Lon Schleining takes us on a guided tour of a wide variety of classic, modern, and specialty benches and offers hundreds of options for choosing or building that perfect bench and its accessories.
This is a fresh look at the classic subject with a focus on helping readers find the right bench and accessories for their needs. The object is to guide the reader through making critical choices, including whether to buy it or build it.
Even long-time woodworkers dream of the perfect bench and the time to build it, and for them, the real enjoyment is in the planning. With nearly 300 photos and drawings, this book provides in-depth information along with the inspiration to fulfill workshop dreams.
About the author
Lon Schleining, a stairbuilder, woodworking instructor, and licensed contractor, is a frequent contributor to Fine Woodworking magazine. He lives in Long Beach, California.
The Workbench
Lon Schleining
A complete guide to creating your perfect bench
Introduction
1. The Perfect Bench
What Kind of Woodworking Do You Do?
Locating the Bench
Bench Size
Weight
Height
A Comfortable Bench Area
Designing Your Bench
2. Workbench Tops
Benchtop Dimensions
Top Configuration
Tool Trays
Materials for Tops
Keeping the Top Flat
Flattening a Benchtop
Fastening the Top to the Base
Finishing the Top
3. A Solid Foundation
Base Configuration
Frame Bases
Base Joinery Options
Strengthening the Base
Legs Made from Metal
Enclosed Bases
Leveling the Bench
Electrical Power
4. Getting a Grip
Locating Vises
Types of Vises
Screw Mechanisms
Manufactured Vises
Shop-Built Vises
5. Holding Your Work
Bench Dogs
Stops
Holdfasts and Hold-Downs
Board Jacks
Bench Hooks
Fixtures and Auxillary Tables
6. Bench in a Box
Bench Components
Manufactured Benches of the Past
Contemporary Bench Makers
7. No-Frills Benches
Getting Down to Basics
Sam Maloof's Bench
Building the Bench
Niall Barrett's Bench
Building the Bench
8. Tradition Meets the Twenty-First Century
English-Style Workbenches
Building the Bench
European Traditions
Building the Bench
The Best of Old and New
Building the Bench
Shaker with a Twist
9. Innovative Workbenches
A Different Kind of Benchtop
The Torsion Box
Storing Large Worktables
Thinking Outside the Box
10. Benches for Special Tasks
Assembly and Finishing
Portable Workbenches
Benches for Working on Irregular Parts
Other Woodworking Specialties
Dedicated Task Benches
Resources
Index
The Workbench
Lon Schleining
A complete guide to creating your perfect bench
In its simplest form, a woodworking bench is nothing more than some sort of raised platform so you can work standing up. Even a piece of plywood on sawhorses would fit this definition. Such a bench would certainly be inexpensive, fast to build, and very portable. If it got rained on, or stained by spilled coffee, no big deal. Though less than ideal, this may be all the bench some woodworkers would really need. But what they really yearn for is another matter entirely.
Woodworkers' notions of the ultimate bench are as diverse as their activities. What's ideal for one woodworker is wholly impractical for another. A great bench for a furniture maker may not work for a carver and vise versa. A boatbuilder's bench is utterly different from a violin maker's, yet they all work wood and they all need benches.
Much as woodworking pundits might like to say their particular workbench is the only proper configuration, many of the choices in design are simply a combination of familiarity and personal taste. If there is a common thread, it's a tendency to think the bench you learned on is the best bench. A shoulder vise, for example, is a device some woodworkers simply could not get along without. For others, it's a somewhat fragile appendage of little use in a modern wood shop. Such is the subjective and very personal nature of the workbench.
The "classic" workbench originated centuries before the invention of the equipment modern woodworkers take for granted. These days, rare indeed is the woodworker who does not use an electric drill or surface planer. A perfectly suitable bench for the type of work people did 300 or 400 years ago may not be the best one today.
Some things haven't changed. Virtually every woodworking tool, power or otherwise, requires two hands to operate safely. Holding the board securely is, if anything, more important with power tools than with hand tools since the consequences of a slip could be more serious. Woodworkers who think a traditional bench has no place in a modern shop need only consider how difficult it is to hold a furniture part with one hand while belt-sanding it with the other two.
Woodworkers of today do work differently. We often work with large panels and sheet goods and so need to clamp our work somewhat differently. We have access to hardware that can speed construction. Modern materials like Melamine and laminates are better than solid wood for some applications. Vacuum pressing makes building large torsion boxes easier. Throughout this book, I have tried to point out how modern methods and materials can be applied to workbench design and construction.
For some people, building their own bench is almost a woodworking rite of passage. Their bench is an expression of the pride they take in their work, an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and to show off a little. These folks probably envision a solid-maple behemoth with intricately constructed vises, a gleaming finish, lots of accessories and cool hardware. Sure it cost a bundle and took months to build. Yes, there may be just a bit of reluctance about actually using the bench for fear of getting that first scratch or dent. But for those bench builders, the satisfaction of having built it is justification enough.
Then there are the folks who sit down and do the math. They figure the cost of lumber and hardware, then estimate (or should I say underestimate) the time it will take to build the bench. They compare their figures with the cost of having a finished bench shipped to their doorstep. It slowly sinks in that it's entirely irrational to build a bench from scratch. For these practical souls, the only logical choice is to buy the finished bench outright.
The bottom line is that however you get your hands on it, you need a good bench to do your work safely. You need some vises and hold-downs for joinery, fitting pieces, and finish work like installing hinges. At the very least you need a true flat surface for gluing. This book is intended as a guide for asking the right questions and then making the right decisions about what you really need and what you really want. A workbench is a very personal choice. Your opinions and personal preferences are the most important. Take your time pondering the questions. And remember; only you can provide the answers.