Lessons Learned from a Vise-less Workbench 

Such a nice change for once eh? The righties don't agree and you wouldn't believe the amount of messages I get asking me to redo things so they make sense.

The first thing j noticed was everything was backwards lol, very good points made. Like judo using counter leverage to force applications.

You might be surprised what 10 minutes of focused sawing can do for you. So much of our projects involve sawing but that is interrupted by so many other tasks. You've given me an idea for a video actually...well one I've already made in The Hand Tool School but should also put out something similar on this channel.

@@RenaissanceWW Let me just say from the future that that training video ("5 exercises ...") you made was awesome! :^)

I have a few bench bulls, they are fantastic.

I think we all do that. It may even be a necessary part of the skill building journey. I have probably bought and sold way more tools and gadgets than I currently own. The more I work, the more I seem to pare down my tool kit and focus on optimization.

I'm a fan of adding dog holes as you need them but if you want a good starting place I made this video on my "system" for locating them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yjEK6sywHU8.html

I think you will find your technique will improve when the work isn't clamped down.

I know right I'm supposed to keep making them I think.

and I'm sure scores of other woodworkers made the same claim for centuries before him. Keeping the legacy alive.

@@RenaissanceWW Yes, Kirby said he was describing the traditional methods that he had been taught as an apprentice in England.

Its one of the reasons I love working in that space. The sound of the Osprey hunting just outside the window is nice too.

I was just happy the sound of the Osprey screeching out the window was super obvious.

for the last 11 years all my "vacations" have been this way. Accountant's advice

@renaissanceWW I believe you mentioned that on woodtalk once. Part of what made me think of it. If it's legal, it's legal. 🙂

I'd wedge it between 2 pegs into the apron or ideally 1 peg and the shaft of a holdfast then use the holdfast to secure it to the front of the bench. Or take a tip from the Colonial Wheelwright and sandwich the piece between the bench and your gut and shave the edge that way. Many wheelwrights used a small dog with a metal point on the end stuck into the front apron. I actually demonstrated this technique recently during a Hand Tool School presentation. Its very fast to manipulate the work piece and you get full access to every side of it.

Nope that's kind of the point of the whole video. Certainly a leg vise does add some convenience but this workbench have proven time and again to be able to handle anything I throw at it. I've build multiple pieces of furniture, small projects, and tools on this bench with no need to add a vise.

Not really as I've never worked at one. Although I suppose my sawbench is a close approximation. Personally I don't see the appeal when compared with a Nicholson style as shown here but perhaps I'm missing something other than the dead simple construction of the Roman bench.

I'd be really curious to see how you design a dual identify bench like that. Tho I will tell you in actual working there is not such a big difference that having two sides like that will make. Regardless I'm partial to leg vises over all other styles but if the front vise is of a good quality that won't rack or sag over time it can be a powerful addition to add into the front apron. A leg vise will allow you to use the whole front apron though while the front vise will not. So I would actually install it on the non apron side of your bench.

@@RenaissanceWW I'll send photos when I get this built. You might have been around the block a few more times than me so what design would you use for the non-joiner bench side. Following our discussion so far, the steel wood workers vice will be going on the contemporary side. It'll be timber faced and the stationary draw will be flush with the face of the bench. I'' put together a leg vice for the joiners side. The overall bench height will be 34" but a moxon mini bench will be stored under the bench for dovetale et al work. Thank you

@@1deerndingo Chris from Third Coast Craftsman did something like that. He essentially built a roubo with an apron like a nicholson on one side. So, he can be viceless on one side and vice...more? on the other. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Va8tlFpnhRg.html

Oh duh. It's your Roubo...you're talking about the leg vise is the main one you use? Right? Just curious which you find the most useful if you were to have a vise at all. I'm still in the process of figuring out what (or if) I want for a workbench. I've gravitated from power tools to Japanese saws, but much prefer western bench planes. I have a couple sets of bench chisels, but likely would be indifferent to whether they were eastern or western. Most of my work is done on a pair of Van Arsdale Japanese-style sawhorses and a slatted 29"x72+ two inch think "base" I lay across it. This winter I'm going to do something to improve this. Limited space has kept me from building a "proper" workbench, and it hasn't stopped me from building a desk and now a bed frame. I might just do some planing beams or torsion beam/boxes to lay atop the saw horses and clamp in place. Clamp another board between the two stretchers and it really locks it down and prevents racking, what with the wide feet of the sawhorses...

first tip is dont use a shoulder plane for rabbets, Use a Rabbet plane. Preferably an old wooden one. Better balance, better shaving management. I have several videos in my channel on this topic

Shoulder planes vs rabbet planes: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Kh-p4YGzi8E.html

Rabbet plane 101: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-D5LlPm9OrT8.html

sure you can. Turn it around and hook it over the far side of the bench or it a split top, hook it into the center slot. In my early hand sawing days when I was still messing around with both Western and Eastern saws I built a bench hook with the fence more in the middle of the platform that allowed me to put the workbench on either side and use either type of saw.

@@RenaissanceWW iwas thinking webbing and hooks for varied width benches, but yours is simpler! duh! I forgot KISS, WHY DO SIMPLE WHEN YOU CAN OVER THINK !!! Thanks, easy when you think about it !

That’s why I added thick wood jaws that are wider and taller than the metal jaws, I’ve never sawn into the cast iron but certainly have nicked the wood a number of times😙.