Is there a more essential piece of equipment in the workshop? Depends on your perspective. Many of our Asian and Middle Eastern woodworking colleagues have survived more than a millennium without the real need of a bench. Even American legend Sam Maloof seemed to do most of his work on the floor. Yet for most of us stiff backed western woodworkers (inclusively speaking as possible), a proper well-appointed workbench is no doubt essential kit in our workshops. But what makes a great bench? The dimensions? The hardware? Or its suitability for the work you do? Here’s a few thoughts on benches and a question at the end.
Benches come in all sizes, yet height is the critical dimension. Standard height for an all-purpose bench seems to be 900mm. And I use the word ‘all-purpose’ very deliberately as my thoughts around what constitutes standard height wain the more people I talk to about their benches. Some prefer a lower bench around 750mm. This is a good height for assembly work using your whole body, not so great for using hand tools. Makes sense as these seem the option preferred by those whose work is machinery based. Another popular height is around the 850mm mark. Perfect for the use of hand planes and the like where you can best use your legs and hips. Being so low it can be hard on the back when attempting a little paring or detailed work, particularly when your eyes are starting to give. The ideal solution to the perfect bench height would seem to be a bench for every occassion. High for bench and detail work, low for assembly and mid-range for everything else. Yet for the average punter working away at home where space and budgets can be limiting, possessing a bench for every season is probably a decadent dream better kept to three am insomnia.
Mobility is also worth consideration as a mobile bench allows flexibility in your work and your workspace. In my own smallish workshop, I use three mobile benches. Any of which can be a drop saw or out feed table one day, or an assembly bench another. Sometimes they are used for flogging wares at the markets or serving cups of tea during events. Being able to rearrange your bench setup and workshop layout to suit the project at hand has distinct advantages. Particularly if you are sharing this space with the family car or worse.
Budget is also front and centre. You can spend any amount of money on a bench so personal means and level of bench investment are directly proportional. My first bench was built from salvaged Oregon I found in a skip on the streets of Alexandria in Sydney. During the nineties the rows of old factories of the inner west were quickly being pulled down to be replaced by apartment complexes for the growing population. Many of these factories featured asbestos roofs supported by Oregon joists and rafters so recycled Oregon was plentiful at the time. My found Oregon filled with nails and staples hadn’t made it into the country style hutches and tv units that were popular at the time. Thankfully this furniture trend seemed to end as quickly as it started. My first bench cost me basically nothing and it is still in use today. Spent that saving on a decent vice.
In recent times workbench trends have gone all retro carried along by the strong interest in eighteenth century styled hand tool woodworking. Consequently, we see the reemergence of classic benches such as the Roubo bench along with complementarity hardware produced by manufacturers such as Benchcrafted. These bears are no doubt incredible objects. Beautiful, well-appointed and heavy. Ideal for classical woodworking and draining ones bank account. They seem counterintuitive for the modern maker lacking flexibility, mobility, affordability and seem just a little too good to work on. I wonder if there is a counselling service for those who accidentally saw or bore a hole into their perfect Maple Roubo bench top? Yet these benches will hold your work in place hard allowing you to work every surface easily. I can also understand the reemergence of these benches in less practical terms. These benches along with the use of traditional hand tools is romantic to the point of being almost antiestablishment. Humans are designed to make things, it's our evolutionary advantage at play. As automation and now AI are busy stripping away this part of our humanity, no wonder people are seeking to reclaim it.
For me the key question is whether a 'good' bench will make you a better woodworker? Ignoring the existential problem of defining what is good, like what's right or wrong, good is only a subjective perspective. I think the most important yet underrated characteristic of anyone’s bench is how it makes you feel. Someone once said, “Your suit should make you feel like a prince”. So, your bench should make you feel like a craftsperson or artist or a lowly woodworker or whatever way you wish to define yourself. It's your companion and trusted friend. It should make you want to try harder. It is the place where anything is possible. In a world full of trends, be timeless with your perfect bench.
With all this in mind, we need benches for WOOD DUST backstreets. Coburg Studios can supply many of the benches required, though an additional ten are needed for the forty odd people attending workshops during the event. Not only that, ten benches must be mobile enough to make it all the way to Newrybar NSW for Christopher Schwarz's Five Day Stick Chair workshop being held there. So here are the design parameters:
We need multiples.
They need to be mobile.
They need to be flat packed.
There is a budget.
They need to suit a range of tasks.
They all require a front vice.
Can anyone suggest a design to meet all these parameters? Email your ideas and sketches to hello@wooddustaustralia.com.au and win one of two free tickets to the WOOD DUST Yarn featuring Chris Schwarz, Michael Fortune and Matt Kenney. Send us your ideas today!
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