The workbenches I remember at college (Also the 90's) were the same as the typical British school ones. tool well in the middle and a vice at opposite corners. I have a simple flat mdf topped bench at home and its great for doing the small projects I enjoy doing.
Yes! Just like ours, set up for two right handed users 👌. Also not forgotten 😂. A simple sheet top is perfect but sadly not fashionable. The great thing is your project doesn't know the difference, and that's the most important thing 👍
Great video, and I just have to say I appreciate your inclusive attitude throughout your posts! I just finished building my first workbench. It is small, 1.2 meters in length, out of white wood studs, and it still costed some 150 euro. The wood is so soft it dents from fingernail pressure, so I added a beech composite panel on top. I live in SE Europe and good timber is also hard to find, and expensive. Thank you for the excellent content you keep posting!
Well done on your first bench 👍. I'm pleased to hear it's small! It's more realistic for most people to have something a little smaller on grounds of cost and space. I did something similar with my bench regarding the top. It's two solid core fire doors with a beech worktop bonded to it. Thanks for the encouragement 😊
I think half the problem is that woodworking youtube uses workbenches as design pieces for display rather than a surface to work on. much like the shelves of shiny branded tools and leather aprons with logos.
I took what I thought was a sensible approach to building my first workbench and looked at Paul Sellers (two types), Rex Krueger and others. I bought Christopher Schwarz’s book “Work benches” ( which was brilliant) and learned about Roubo, Nicholson, English joiner’s and others. I developed perfection paralysis. I ended up using C16 timber because that’s what I could get. I laminated a top and planned to plane it flat but the wood was simply horrible so I ended up screwing 3/4” ply to the top and bottom. I glued and screwed two pieces of 6x2 for each leg and made the undercarriage with 4x2. It didn’t go to plan but did get finished. It’s not a thing of beauty by any stretch of the imagination but it is solid and I love using it.
Good job Eddie. You effectively made a massive slab of block board 😂. Joking aside. You ended up with a solid workbench, what's not to like! I think that's the danger with research (we've all been there), information overload and lots of lovely photos that lure us onto the rocks like siren songs!
I built a short, four foot bench out of salvaged 3/4' pine plywood. it came out 24" x 48 " x 2 1/4 " thick. It is quite sturdy and the hold-fast's work well. If you cannot buy it, scrounge it.
(Hi, first comment here... I like the approach of your channel and of the work - my english is not good enought to be more explicite) Some people are getting mad about WB. I'm still thinking to finally build a "true" workbench... one day... but actually what one needs is just a relatively flat and steady surface to get to work. Mine was (I just moved) an old steel square tubing table with a melamine top. I screw 3 planks (150x50mm) of spruce on it ( ? not sure... white and very soft wood for carpentry) I let overhang the planks on one side to put a metal facevice, true the surface... et voilà ! I had to attach the WB to the wall because it was very light and ricketty but then it worked fine... ugly but fine for working. When I moved I just unscrewed the planks.
Can't wait for the workbench video. I had my first for three years before I knew which style and a workholding options would work best for me and I just finished the new one. Looking forward to your take on things.
@@faceedgewoodworking Kind of the one made from studs like you mentioned. Except I did not want to buy anything with todays prices (I would probably pay 4x what paid for the lumber for my first bench). I had access to over 30 year old rough sawn spruce boards on family property, most boards around 40-50cm wide. I flattend one side with a handplane, then cut them on a tablesaw (only powertool on this build) to rougly 8x4,5 cm. Out of those I made the top with premade mortises, glued the legs with finished tenons and mortises for stretchers a put it together with glue and dowels. I use two vices, a basic one (bought as just the screw, guide rods and plate to hold them) with wooden jaw that i took from the old bench on the end of the bench, and same style vice with long wooden jaw and quick release mechanism on the face of the bench. Now I'm finishing a row of dog holes for planing stops a that will be probably it.
@@petrsidlo7614 It's great to have access to some decent wood. What you're describing sounds perfect! It's very helpful to have a machine at hand for heavy work, even if the machining was outsourced so to speak! I put a run of dog holes in my bench, never used them!
@@faceedgewoodworking I noticed that you have them covered up. I had four in my previous one, used them for a wide planing stop and found that it was most comfortable way to plane for me, especially longer and wider pieces that needed more support.
Very informative! I am about to build one of these English benches and I have a nice Record 52 1/2E quick release vise that I will be installing on it. I’m curious about one thing: whether to install it with the rear jaw against the apron or whether to mortise it into the apron so it is flush with the apron. Paul Sellers says that cast iron qr vises were traditionally installed with the rear jaw proud of the apron and not mortised into it. Can you verify that? The illustration of a bench you show in that old book seems to show a cast iron vise with the rear jaw mortised into the apron, which would contradict Sellers’ claim.
Hi Yannis! You can't believe everything you read or hear 😉. Some say the other approach of flush is best. Both approaches are valid and it's a discussion that's been had for probably 100 years. In this particular book from the 1930's it has a paragraph about it. I'm paraphrasing, but it says it is a matter of debate among craftsmen and that both approaches are common. It's easier to have it proud as it saves a lot of work. When it boils down to it doesn't matter. If you fit it flush you can always fit a spacer to the inner jaw or move the vice forward. If you fit it proud you can attach a prop or spacer to the apron when you need it. Most of the benches at work are proud and I've not had any issue. Also, if you're following someone's build, plans and methods of work it might be a decent idea to copy them. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck with the build. If you post a finished image of the bench on social media, send me a link, I'd love to see it!
I think the English style bench is a great bit of kit. I built mine nearly 20 years ago having worked up to then off an old pine kitchen table top screwed to some trestles. It wasn’t especially cheap even then but it’s stood the test of time and I’ve no doubt it will outlast me. Mine has a completely flat top, some holes for knocking through holdfasts and a Record vise on one side. Despite the cost I think for anyone starting out but with a bit of experience under their belt not only is it an immensely satisfying build but it’s also a useful learning opportunity because there are so many things you can choose to do or not do in the building process. Worried by mortise and tenon joints? Then skip them and do lap joints with dowels or coach bolts. Worried about edge jointing the top? Don’t bother- just fix the adjacent boards up against each other so you can remove them and redo them later (the early benches had that arrangement so damaged boards could be replaced, I believe). It can be as big a botch or as fine and fancy as you want to make it but at the end of the build you’ll be chuffed to bits and have something solid to work on. I’m looking forward to seeing your bench and also how you make your sharpening stone box. 👍🏻
I agree Tony. So much so I just ordered some wood... I don't think anything is ever cheap, I just think that it's a bench that is quick and relatively easy to build. I agree regarding using wide boards. I don't fancy dealing with a bunch of studs with rounded edges. I don't think the internet needs another bench build but I'm going to ram one down it's cake hole anyway 😂. A simple cast vice is more than up to the job. Until I really delved into woodworking more deeply I had just assumed it was the only vice!
@@faceedgewoodworking Great; I’m looking forward to seeing it and watching you de-mystify the whole thing in your own inimitable style for people just starting out. I’m forever grateful for so many American TH-camrs for the great videos they make but by buggery some of them make stuff so complex and exacting that it must be a massive deterrent to someone just starting out. When I hear them say things like ‘I’m just using some Walnut or Cherry I had in the scrap pile’, I think to myself that in UK you’d have to guard that scrap pile with a barbed wire fence and a massive great dog or you’d be robbed in a heartbeat 🤣. I’m coming towards the end of my working life now so many of my tools and machines will not be getting much more use and looking back I often wonder if I really needed half the stuff I’ve bought over the years. I suspect not and I think that’s a lesson for anyone starting out either professionally or as a hobby. I know you’ve said you tend not to watch what other channels do but for anyone else reading this I’d recommend catching some videos by a bloke called the English Woodworker. Like you he’s a time served tradesman and his channel is almost exclusively hand tools (of varying quality and finesse including a 2 pound club hammer!!) that he uses to make some very fine stuff indeed. In my opinion there’s nothing much more satisfying than doing something really simple and simply and doing it well which is why I enjoy your videos so much. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more.
@@tonyalways7174 To be fair, I'm pretty sure that others have done a better job that could hope to do. I appreciate your feedback, it's very generous and probably unwarranted 😂. I've seen some of Richard's stuff, he used to do more but is a bit under the radar these days. I'm pretty sure you have plenty of years ahead 👌, but I agree, we don't need half the most of the time!
Hey I'm an 18 year old carpenter still learning. Do you think you could perhaps make a video on saw sharpening and setting. Very intrigued to see how you take care of your saws. Cheers!
Buy a hardpoint saw 😂. Sorry, joking aside, I would be happy to. At work I use a traditional tenon saw, the handsaw is a hardpoint. Everything at home is sharpenable aside from one hardpoint. I'll get to it, just no promises when 👍
Hi, my Dad bought for me a second hand Nicholson bench more than 30 years ago. I think it is made of Oak and it is 7' long with a "Woden" metal vice that can open up to more than 12", positioned for a left handed person (not a big deal). The main parts are centuries old. I had to rebuild the legs and bolted in six 5" Square legs, fitted shelves for my planes and screwed ¾" plywood shear panels at the back and ends. I think it weighs more than 500kg. I absolutely love this bench! I'm very fortunate to have it. I've just finished making a 36" long saw bench based on Stumpynubs's design. I agree with the remarks about timber prices in the UK as for this bench the material cost me £73. Planed all round 4x2" and 6x2" cost the same as the nearest rough sawn surprisingly. But I still had to true everything up. I'm delighted with the saw bench and thank you for another plane speaking video. Cheers Alan
Thanks Alan. That bench sounds like a monster that's absolutely loaded with character and a quality vice too. I've often thought that if one has access to a van, a second hand bench is a great idea. Keep up the good work 👍
@@faceedgewoodworking Thanks👍. I also cladded the top with ply and bored a load of dog holes and finally there's a fitter's vice at the other end. Cheers
I am interested in seeing your bench and listening to you detail the aspects of your bench. I am making my own and at this point intend making it as a joiners bench on one side and a more contemporary design on the other. It'll be flat to allow assembly and have a gap in the centre line as per a Rubio.
Nice one Danny! I'm pleased you're working through your project and wish you every success with it. Sounds like you have a nice plan. I'll happily share details of my bench with you 👍
@@faceedgewoodworking I've walked out of big box stores empty handed. Maybe if you were making bows or propellers you'd be in heaven. It's not always that bad but it can be. At best you're going to be digging through the pile looking for pieces that aren't too bad. Prices have shot up since the unpleasantness too. I have to get a sheet of plywood and it's going to cost me $40. It had better not look like a potato chip when I get it. For what I'm doing with it I suppose it won't matter. My garden cart rotted away and I'm rebuilding it. Ground up garden cart resto! That rim I repaired did work out so the project is a go. She's seen better days i.postimg.cc/g0GngqzB/IMG-7118.jpg
@@1pcfred Yeah, that' shot! I know, prices have gone crazy! It's good feedback that your DIY stores aren't the land of milk and honey they're portrayed to be.
@@faceedgewoodworking the troubles changed things. Before it was all pretty good. Now building materials have skyrocketed. It was just a perfect storm of factors. Things improved a little but they haven't gone back to how they were. I don't think they ever will.
In America, they have a much larger range of woods easily available, but I don't think even for them it's cheap. I'm looking to build a new bench and watching video by the likes of Christopher Schwarz for ideas. If you listen to his costings they are often talking 100s of dollars for the lumber. Another great and interesting video by the way.
Hi Rob, I'm sure it's all relative. Are you in the UK? When I've been looking at our DIY shops it's pretty much a maximum of 100 X 50 PSE which leads to lots of laminations. Nothing wrong with that but there seems to be a great selection on wide boards in the US, perfect for making a workbench quickly! Thanks for the encouragement 😊
@@faceedgewoodworking Yes I am in the UK. Jealous that the US equivalents of B&Q seem to have all sorts of different woods. Ours just seems to be pine. However, I have noted when the US guys mention costings they don't seem that cheap. I'm finding other woods, but you have to work harder at it. Research where the timber mills are, look for auctions, local traders. To be honest, I'm quite enjoying hunting down nice wood. Oh, and I am very much a hobby woodworker.
@@faceedgewoodworking my bench is made from 3"x1" laminations of iroko salvaged from old chemistry lab benching. There are 17 laminations in front, then a 7" well then another three laminations, then a tool rack. Regrets: home made tail vice has too little travel to be useful. Also regret there is no way to clamp boards down to the top for planing. (Drawers underneath prevent use of holdfasts). However, there are ways around all this.
@@richardsinger01 Ah Iroko, you smelly little devil! It can have one helluva nose on it, some nasty tension too and silica at times 🤪. Bloombing durable though!
There seems to be a feeling on many TH-cam woodwork channels that it has to be either a split top Roubo style bench with a 5" thick slab top or a "Moravian" with its sloped legs, to be worth having. And woe betide anyone with a cast iron quick release vice! Apparently current thinking suggests that a leg vice or a "Moxon" vice is the only type worth having... I jest of course. Until recently every work bench I had seen (eg in school, college, home workshops) was either very similar to the one you have shown here (which seems to be called the Nicholson bench these days) or else a "cabinet maker's bench" similar to the one Jim Kingshott favoured. Who knew we were doing it all wrong all these years?!😉. I suppose its just clickbait to draw attention to the latest video.
I think they are very nice benches! With the French style benches they can be done cheaply but by the time they are made of hardwood and have modern high end hardware it can be a big project and run into thousands! Nothing wrong with that, in fact it's great! I love the variation. But at this moment I have no interest in that sector. It's nice to be told that we're using a Nicholson 😂. Just a bench 'innit 😂. Cast iron is the king of vices, don't understand why people struggle or dislike them.
@@faceedgewoodworking Yes, the Roubo style can look great when done well, but probably aren’t for the beginner with those long through tenons. The thick slab top is going to be very expensive as well - if you can even source the material. I suppose you HAVE to fit a leg vice with a top that thick - maybe that’s where the prejudice comes from? I do like the idea of the split top though for clamping - but things must fall through quite often which could get annoying maybe?
@@richardsinger01 I don't think you're missing much Richard. Your set up is fine, I'm sure of it. I've not seen nor needed a split top. A fine idea, Frank Strazza makes some peachy ones 👌 but it's not really required.
😂 Ok on the bench, you'll see me eventually. The bench would be a good one to see my face in. It's actually quite hard to show my face in the small space I've got to work in. Oh, and on the not trusting me due to the lack of face time, I couldn't care less. It's a Woodworking channel, I'm not planning on being your life partner 😂👍. If you're desperate, here's me a few years back, 6 in fact www.popularwoodworking.com/editors-blog/making-a-workbench-part-1/
@@faceedgewoodworking I am married to a woman🤣 I don't need a life coach either, I am do a great at this living thing. You seem like a very trustworthy guy. I have stopped watching a few people because they don't put their face on camera, just seems like they have something to hide.. then why make videos if your trying to hide right? I have enjoyed your videos and plan to keep watching them in the future, just curious to see who's making them is all. Many people have told me I am highly skilled but I still like to watch woodworking videos to see how others do it and see if there is still something else to learn. Thanks for posting.
Solid video! TH-cam has been inundated with click bait titles, StumpyNubs did a video on it sometime recently essentially explaining that as a content creator if you want to show up in search results and get views you have to appease the algorithm. Could be fluff, no clue
Hi J, I get it and let's be honest, some of my videos are a bit tabloid. It's just the way it is. On a tangent it's one of the reasons I've stepped away from day-to-day news in general. I'm just finding that YT is recommending stuff at the moment and the underlying premise of the videos is a bit wide of the mark.
@@faceedgewoodworking on a side, perhaps if a workbench is truly "forgotten" there is a reason for it 😅 These types of videos and replies are why I enjoy your content. I may not always agree with what you're saying, but you speak like a human being and not just someone pleasing the masses for views
@@jgo5707 Brilliant! The last thing I'd want is full agreement. It'd be like some sort of cult otherwise 🤪. Not good 😂. I figure just putting on a performance is not a great look for me, just try and make it as normal as possible!
![Watch me BUILD this beautiful WORKBENCH…[2 Month Timelapse]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ob-nEWnTTWI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Watch me BUILD this beautiful WORKBENCH…[2 Month Timelapse]](/img/tr.png)
The workbenches I remember at college (Also the 90's) were the same as the typical British school ones. tool well in the middle and a vice at opposite corners. I have a simple flat mdf topped bench at home and its great for doing the small projects I enjoy doing.
Yes! Just like ours, set up for two right handed users 👌. Also not forgotten 😂. A simple sheet top is perfect but sadly not fashionable. The great thing is your project doesn't know the difference, and that's the most important thing 👍
Great video, and I just have to say I appreciate your inclusive attitude throughout your posts! I just finished building my first workbench. It is small, 1.2 meters in length, out of white wood studs, and it still costed some 150 euro. The wood is so soft it dents from fingernail pressure, so I added a beech composite panel on top. I live in SE Europe and good timber is also hard to find, and expensive. Thank you for the excellent content you keep posting!
Well done on your first bench 👍. I'm pleased to hear it's small! It's more realistic for most people to have something a little smaller on grounds of cost and space. I did something similar with my bench regarding the top. It's two solid core fire doors with a beech worktop bonded to it. Thanks for the encouragement 😊
I think half the problem is that woodworking youtube uses workbenches as design pieces for display rather than a surface to work on. much like the shelves of shiny branded tools and leather aprons with logos.
For the most part you're right. Videos have become a sales pitch for woodworking paraphernalia.
I took what I thought was a sensible approach to building my first workbench and looked at Paul Sellers (two types), Rex Krueger and others. I bought Christopher Schwarz’s book “Work benches” ( which was brilliant) and learned about Roubo, Nicholson, English joiner’s and others. I developed perfection paralysis. I ended up using C16 timber because that’s what I could get. I laminated a top and planned to plane it flat but the wood was simply horrible so I ended up screwing 3/4” ply to the top and bottom. I glued and screwed two pieces of 6x2 for each leg and made the undercarriage with 4x2. It didn’t go to plan but did get finished. It’s not a thing of beauty by any stretch of the imagination but it is solid and I love using it.
Good job Eddie. You effectively made a massive slab of block board 😂. Joking aside. You ended up with a solid workbench, what's not to like! I think that's the danger with research (we've all been there), information overload and lots of lovely photos that lure us onto the rocks like siren songs!
I built a short, four foot bench out of salvaged 3/4' pine plywood. it came out 24" x 48 " x 2 1/4 " thick. It is quite sturdy and the hold-fast's work well. If you cannot buy it, scrounge it.
(Hi, first comment here... I like the approach of your channel and of the work - my english is not good enought to be more explicite)
Some people are getting mad about WB. I'm still thinking to finally build a "true" workbench... one day... but actually what one needs is just a relatively flat and steady surface to get to work.
Mine was (I just moved) an old steel square tubing table with a melamine top. I screw 3 planks (150x50mm) of spruce on it ( ? not sure... white and very soft wood for carpentry) I let overhang the planks on one side to put a metal facevice, true the surface... et voilà !
I had to attach the WB to the wall because it was very light and ricketty but then it worked fine... ugly but fine for working.
When I moved I just unscrewed the planks.
Hi Seb. Well done for not worrying too much and just getting on with it! Keep it simple and enjoy the process. Thank you for the feedback 😊
Can't wait for the workbench video. I had my first for three years before I knew which style and a workholding options would work best for me and I just finished the new one. Looking forward to your take on things.
Thanks Peter. I'll happily go over what's involved with mine. What did you end up making?
@@faceedgewoodworking Kind of the one made from studs like you mentioned. Except I did not want to buy anything with todays prices (I would probably pay 4x what paid for the lumber for my first bench). I had access to over 30 year old rough sawn spruce boards on family property, most boards around 40-50cm wide. I flattend one side with a handplane, then cut them on a tablesaw (only powertool on this build) to rougly 8x4,5 cm. Out of those I made the top with premade mortises, glued the legs with finished tenons and mortises for stretchers a put it together with glue and dowels. I use two vices, a basic one (bought as just the screw, guide rods and plate to hold them) with wooden jaw that i took from the old bench on the end of the bench, and same style vice with long wooden jaw and quick release mechanism on the face of the bench. Now I'm finishing a row of dog holes for planing stops a that will be probably it.
@@petrsidlo7614 It's great to have access to some decent wood. What you're describing sounds perfect! It's very helpful to have a machine at hand for heavy work, even if the machining was outsourced so to speak! I put a run of dog holes in my bench, never used them!
@@faceedgewoodworking I noticed that you have them covered up. I had four in my previous one, used them for a wide planing stop and found that it was most comfortable way to plane for me, especially longer and wider pieces that needed more support.
@@petrsidlo7614 Sure, nothing wrong with the approach. It's well proved, I just haven't gotten into the habit.
Very informative! I am about to build one of these English benches and I have a nice Record 52 1/2E quick release vise that I will be installing on it. I’m curious about one thing: whether to install it with the rear jaw against the apron or whether to mortise it into the apron so it is flush with the apron. Paul Sellers says that cast iron qr vises were traditionally installed with the rear jaw proud of the apron and not mortised into it. Can you verify that? The illustration of a bench you show in that old book seems to show a cast iron vise with the rear jaw mortised into the apron, which would contradict Sellers’ claim.
Hi Yannis! You can't believe everything you read or hear 😉. Some say the other approach of flush is best. Both approaches are valid and it's a discussion that's been had for probably 100 years. In this particular book from the 1930's it has a paragraph about it. I'm paraphrasing, but it says it is a matter of debate among craftsmen and that both approaches are common.
It's easier to have it proud as it saves a lot of work.
When it boils down to it doesn't matter. If you fit it flush you can always fit a spacer to the inner jaw or move the vice forward.
If you fit it proud you can attach a prop or spacer to the apron when you need it.
Most of the benches at work are proud and I've not had any issue.
Also, if you're following someone's build, plans and methods of work it might be a decent idea to copy them. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck with the build. If you post a finished image of the bench on social media, send me a link, I'd love to see it!
Thanks! I most certainly will send you pics when I complete it. Cheers!
I think the English style bench is a great bit of kit. I built mine nearly 20 years ago having worked up to then off an old pine kitchen table top screwed to some trestles. It wasn’t especially cheap even then but it’s stood the test of time and I’ve no doubt it will outlast me. Mine has a completely flat top, some holes for knocking through holdfasts and a Record vise on one side. Despite the cost I think for anyone starting out but with a bit of experience under their belt not only is it an immensely satisfying build but it’s also a useful learning opportunity because there are so many things you can choose to do or not do in the building process. Worried by mortise and tenon joints? Then skip them and do lap joints with dowels or coach bolts. Worried about edge jointing the top? Don’t bother- just fix the adjacent boards up against each other so you can remove them and redo them later (the early benches had that arrangement so damaged boards could be replaced, I believe). It can be as big a botch or as fine and fancy as you want to make it but at the end of the build you’ll be chuffed to bits and have something solid to work on. I’m looking forward to seeing your bench and also how you make your sharpening stone box. 👍🏻
I agree Tony. So much so I just ordered some wood...
I don't think anything is ever cheap, I just think that it's a bench that is quick and relatively easy to build. I agree regarding using wide boards. I don't fancy dealing with a bunch of studs with rounded edges.
I don't think the internet needs another bench build but I'm going to ram one down it's cake hole anyway 😂.
A simple cast vice is more than up to the job. Until I really delved into woodworking more deeply I had just assumed it was the only vice!
@@faceedgewoodworking Great; I’m looking forward to seeing it and watching you de-mystify the whole thing in your own inimitable style for people just starting out. I’m forever grateful for so many American TH-camrs for the great videos they make but by buggery some of them make stuff so complex and exacting that it must be a massive deterrent to someone just starting out. When I hear them say things like ‘I’m just using some Walnut or Cherry I had in the scrap pile’, I think to myself that in UK you’d have to guard that scrap pile with a barbed wire fence and a massive great dog or you’d be robbed in a heartbeat 🤣. I’m coming towards the end of my working life now so many of my tools and machines will not be getting much more use and looking back I often wonder if I really needed half the stuff I’ve bought over the years. I suspect not and I think that’s a lesson for anyone starting out either professionally or as a hobby. I know you’ve said you tend not to watch what other channels do but for anyone else reading this I’d recommend catching some videos by a bloke called the English Woodworker. Like you he’s a time served tradesman and his channel is almost exclusively hand tools (of varying quality and finesse including a 2 pound club hammer!!) that he uses to make some very fine stuff indeed. In my opinion there’s nothing much more satisfying than doing something really simple and simply and doing it well which is why I enjoy your videos so much. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more.
@@tonyalways7174 To be fair, I'm pretty sure that others have done a better job that could hope to do.
I appreciate your feedback, it's very generous and probably unwarranted 😂. I've seen some of Richard's stuff, he used to do more but is a bit under the radar these days.
I'm pretty sure you have plenty of years ahead 👌, but I agree, we don't need half the most of the time!
Hey I'm an 18 year old carpenter still learning. Do you think you could perhaps make a video on saw sharpening and setting. Very intrigued to see how you take care of your saws. Cheers!
Buy a hardpoint saw 😂. Sorry, joking aside, I would be happy to. At work I use a traditional tenon saw, the handsaw is a hardpoint. Everything at home is sharpenable aside from one hardpoint. I'll get to it, just no promises when 👍
@@faceedgewoodworking hard point saws no good in the bench workshop haha 😂👍
@@gorillapanic1095 What saw(s) do you have?
@@faceedgewoodworking just the one at the minute. Thomas Flinn pax 1776 tenon saw
@@gorillapanic1095 Very nice! Top tool you have there 👌
Paul Sellers builds the workbench you've shown in that book
Another vote for it not being histories forgotten 😂
Only difference is that Paul's uses a laminated top, about 3 inches thick, rather than plank type.
Hi, my Dad bought for me a second hand Nicholson bench more than 30 years ago. I think it is made of Oak and it is 7' long with a "Woden" metal vice that can open up to more than 12", positioned for a left handed person (not a big deal). The main parts are centuries old. I had to rebuild the legs and bolted in six 5" Square legs, fitted shelves for my planes and screwed ¾" plywood shear panels at the back and ends. I think it weighs more than 500kg. I absolutely love this bench! I'm very fortunate to have it. I've just finished making a 36" long saw bench based on Stumpynubs's design. I agree with the remarks about timber prices in the UK as for this bench the material cost me £73. Planed all round 4x2" and 6x2" cost the same as the nearest rough sawn surprisingly. But I still had to true everything up. I'm delighted with the saw bench and thank you for another plane speaking video. Cheers Alan
Thanks Alan. That bench sounds like a monster that's absolutely loaded with character and a quality vice too. I've often thought that if one has access to a van, a second hand bench is a great idea.
Keep up the good work 👍
@@faceedgewoodworking
Thanks👍. I also cladded the top with ply and bored a load of dog holes and finally there's a fitter's vice at the other end. Cheers
I am interested in seeing your bench and listening to you detail the aspects of your bench. I am making my own and at this point intend making it as a joiners bench on one side and a more contemporary design on the other. It'll be flat to allow assembly and have a gap in the centre line as per a Rubio.
Nice one Danny! I'm pleased you're working through your project and wish you every success with it. Sounds like you have a nice plan.
I'll happily share details of my bench with you 👍
We have wood here but unless you find a sawyer you're going to pay a steep price for it. Everybody loves money.
How about the stuff in the big DIY chains? I get the impression that they are overflowing with cheap, wide and clean Southern Yellow Pine?
@@faceedgewoodworking I've walked out of big box stores empty handed. Maybe if you were making bows or propellers you'd be in heaven. It's not always that bad but it can be. At best you're going to be digging through the pile looking for pieces that aren't too bad. Prices have shot up since the unpleasantness too. I have to get a sheet of plywood and it's going to cost me $40. It had better not look like a potato chip when I get it. For what I'm doing with it I suppose it won't matter. My garden cart rotted away and I'm rebuilding it. Ground up garden cart resto! That rim I repaired did work out so the project is a go. She's seen better days i.postimg.cc/g0GngqzB/IMG-7118.jpg
@@1pcfred Yeah, that' shot! I know, prices have gone crazy! It's good feedback that your DIY stores aren't the land of milk and honey they're portrayed to be.
@@faceedgewoodworking the troubles changed things. Before it was all pretty good. Now building materials have skyrocketed. It was just a perfect storm of factors. Things improved a little but they haven't gone back to how they were. I don't think they ever will.
Agreed, it's going to be a while!
In America, they have a much larger range of woods easily available, but I don't think even for them it's cheap. I'm looking to build a new bench and watching video by the likes of Christopher Schwarz for ideas. If you listen to his costings they are often talking 100s of dollars for the lumber. Another great and interesting video by the way.
Hi Rob, I'm sure it's all relative. Are you in the UK? When I've been looking at our DIY shops it's pretty much a maximum of 100 X 50 PSE which leads to lots of laminations. Nothing wrong with that but there seems to be a great selection on wide boards in the US, perfect for making a workbench quickly! Thanks for the encouragement 😊
@@faceedgewoodworking Yes I am in the UK. Jealous that the US equivalents of B&Q seem to have all sorts of different woods. Ours just seems to be pine. However, I have noted when the US guys mention costings they don't seem that cheap. I'm finding other woods, but you have to work harder at it. Research where the timber mills are, look for auctions, local traders. To be honest, I'm quite enjoying hunting down nice wood. Oh, and I am very much a hobby woodworker.
@@robnichols9331 Thanks Rob! Good to know we're seeing the same things. Although I'm a "professional' it's also a hobby too.
@@faceedgewoodworking my bench is made from 3"x1" laminations of iroko salvaged from old chemistry lab benching. There are 17 laminations in front, then a 7" well then another three laminations, then a tool rack. Regrets: home made tail vice has too little travel to be useful. Also regret there is no way to clamp boards down to the top for planing. (Drawers underneath prevent use of holdfasts). However, there are ways around all this.
@@richardsinger01 Ah Iroko, you smelly little devil! It can have one helluva nose on it, some nasty tension too and silica at times 🤪. Bloombing durable though!
There seems to be a feeling on many TH-cam woodwork channels that it has to be either a split top Roubo style bench with a 5" thick slab top or a "Moravian" with its sloped legs, to be worth having. And woe betide anyone with a cast iron quick release vice! Apparently current thinking suggests that a leg vice or a "Moxon" vice is the only type worth having... I jest of course. Until recently every work bench I had seen (eg in school, college, home workshops) was either very similar to the one you have shown here (which seems to be called the Nicholson bench these days) or else a "cabinet maker's bench" similar to the one Jim Kingshott favoured. Who knew we were doing it all wrong all these years?!😉. I suppose its just clickbait to draw attention to the latest video.
I think they are very nice benches! With the French style benches they can be done cheaply but by the time they are made of hardwood and have modern high end hardware it can be a big project and run into thousands! Nothing wrong with that, in fact it's great! I love the variation. But at this moment I have no interest in that sector.
It's nice to be told that we're using a Nicholson 😂. Just a bench 'innit 😂. Cast iron is the king of vices, don't understand why people struggle or dislike them.
@@faceedgewoodworking Yes, the Roubo style can look great when done well, but probably aren’t for the beginner with those long through tenons. The thick slab top is going to be very expensive as well - if you can even source the material. I suppose you HAVE to fit a leg vice with a top that thick - maybe that’s where the prejudice comes from? I do like the idea of the split top though for clamping - but things must fall through quite often which could get annoying maybe?
@@richardsinger01 I don't think you're missing much Richard. Your set up is fine, I'm sure of it. I've not seen nor needed a split top. A fine idea, Frank Strazza makes some peachy ones 👌 but it's not really required.
Please do a video on your workbench👍 and Please show your face in a video, I don't trust the people that don't show their face.
😂 Ok on the bench, you'll see me eventually. The bench would be a good one to see my face in. It's actually quite hard to show my face in the small space I've got to work in. Oh, and on the not trusting me due to the lack of face time, I couldn't care less. It's a Woodworking channel, I'm not planning on being your life partner 😂👍. If you're desperate, here's me a few years back, 6 in fact www.popularwoodworking.com/editors-blog/making-a-workbench-part-1/
@@faceedgewoodworking I am married to a woman🤣 I don't need a life coach either, I am do a great at this living thing. You seem like a very trustworthy guy. I have stopped watching a few people because they don't put their face on camera, just seems like they have something to hide.. then why make videos if your trying to hide right? I have enjoyed your videos and plan to keep watching them in the future, just curious to see who's making them is all. Many people have told me I am highly skilled but I still like to watch woodworking videos to see how others do it and see if there is still something else to learn. Thanks for posting.
@@chrisstearns10 No worries, I hope the link to my face has kept you happy 👌
Solid video! TH-cam has been inundated with click bait titles, StumpyNubs did a video on it sometime recently essentially explaining that as a content creator if you want to show up in search results and get views you have to appease the algorithm. Could be fluff, no clue
Hi J, I get it and let's be honest, some of my videos are a bit tabloid. It's just the way it is. On a tangent it's one of the reasons I've stepped away from day-to-day news in general. I'm just finding that YT is recommending stuff at the moment and the underlying premise of the videos is a bit wide of the mark.
@@faceedgewoodworking on a side, perhaps if a workbench is truly "forgotten" there is a reason for it 😅
These types of videos and replies are why I enjoy your content. I may not always agree with what you're saying, but you speak like a human being and not just someone pleasing the masses for views
@@jgo5707 Brilliant! The last thing I'd want is full agreement. It'd be like some sort of cult otherwise 🤪. Not good 😂.
I figure just putting on a performance is not a great look for me, just try and make it as normal as possible!