C. Christiansen work bench restoration?

[Alan Zenreich]

I can use some advice about how to handle a workbench I just purchased.

It was apparently made by C. Christiansen company of Chicago.

The front vise is marked Abernathy Roller Nut Rapid Action Screw Vise
(It's an interesting vise, allowing for slip quick adjusting before tightening)

The end vise is unmarked but looks to be to the same manufacturer.

The benchtop is about 22"x60" It's 1-5/8" thick in the front, and about 3/4" thick in the recessed area.

The top appears to be maple, and the front of the top has recently been sanded. The top simply rests on the base, there are two dowels for positioning the top.

I'm not looking to restore this as an antique, I want to use this primarily with hand planes and chisels. I've recently restored some planes and am anxious to start playing with them.

I already have some other workbenches (metal, and a lovely Festool MFT/3) for power tool and assembly work, but I don't have anything with wood vises on them.

I can see myself backing this up against a wall, and anchoring the top to studs in the wall, to make it really solid.

So, my question is, because I've never built a workbench, I'm not sure what I should be doing with this top to prepare it for use. Should I flatten it with a jointer plane? Should it be stained, and/or finished with poly, shellac... etc.? If I really felt ambitious, I could strip all the drawers and refinish them too.

If this were yours, what would you do to before moving it into your shop?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/workbench_b.jpg

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/workbench_c.jpg



http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/shop/images/workbench_d.jpg

[David G Baker]

Alan,
Looks great to me the way it is with years of history. If it wasn't broken, was functional and was mine I would clean off the dust and use it as is. I love wood that shows its age and use.

[Don Bullock]

I have to agree with David. The bench looks like it has a great history. It would be a shame to try to make it look new. If I had a bench like that I wouldn't change a thing except to clean it well.

[Alan Zenreich]

Doing a little research, it seems that these benches were generally in use in trade schools. It may well be 100 years old or so.

The vise is particularly interesting... I found some details here (http://books.google.com/books?id=AdVNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA539&lpg=PA539&dq=abernathy+%2Bvise&source=bl&ots=9x6MPF5MXg&sig=WVqfXo7D0TMn33ZeQl9Lhn-VLk0&hl=en&ei=51UjSvGNJcOltgfSvNHUBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1) from a March 1907 Hardware Dealers magazine.

It might be nice to clean up some of the paint drippings on the cabinet and drawers.

The top is currently raw, recently sanded maple. Should it be sealed / finished?

I'll make a couple of square dogs to fit the holes soon.

Thanks for your comments

[Angie Orfanedes]

Another two cents worth...I would either:

1. Clean off the paint spatters and lightly steel wool (0000) all the wood surfaces. Clean the vises, repaint, lightly lubricate the screws. Apply paste wax and put that bench to work.

2. Strip off the old finish. Clean up the vises, repaint, etc. Use Watco Danish oil - several coats, and then paste wax. If you go this route, you may also want to flatten the top work surface using a long jack plane and a winding stick - or you could set up rails and use a router in a router sled that rides the rails.

I would probably do #1 if it were mine. Either way it will be beautiful and functional. Great find.

[Mike Wilkins]

Nice find. If it were mine, I would clean the paint drippings off with mineral spirits, apply a coat of Danish oil or just wax it, and get to work. And also put a few drops of oil on the vise threads. It's a workbench; it will get dirty, scratched and worn from use anyway, so there is no need to go crazy with the looks. They are made to use.

[Chris Padilla]

That a beauty...in disguise. Just do minimal clean-up and dive in!! :D

[David Keller NC]

"If this were yours, what would you do to before moving it into your shop?"

I'd do ... nothing. A bench is going to accumulate drips, spatters and dings as you use it, so re-finishing it like it's a piece of furniture might be a real waste of time.

As far as the top, it's unfortunate that it was sanded - that might have taken substantial thickness out of the top. As it is, 1-5/8" thick is pushing it as far as getting flex as you plane a board on it, so if it's really necessary that it be flattened, I would do it with a handplane. I would check to see if it's flat beforehand with a 5' straightedge - if you don't have a long machinist's straightedge, a carefully jointed board would do. Unless it's more than 1/4" out over the length, and more than 1/8" over the width, I wouldn't touch it, nor would I put a finish on it.

I would definitely not use a router sled on something like this - while a useful method for hogging out large surfaces, it tends to take off a lot more thickness than a handplane, and you really want to preserve as much of it (the thickness) as possible.

One other note - if you have to flatten it, you may have to re-mount the face vise or shim it, as it looks like the iron top surface is flush with the benchtop.

[Dan Karachio]

Use all those drawers well my friend!

[Alan Zenreich]

Thanks for the continuing feedback.

The previous owner didn't take that much off during sanding... I got to it when it was about half done. The original top surface wasn't in great shape, so he continued the sanding with my blessing (he does hardwood floors for a living, and was gentle with his industrial detail sander).

I found this item on Craigslist about 10 minutes after it was posted. I drove up to see him (about 20 minutes away) and made the deal. I picked it up later that evening, and he mentioned that he'd gotten several calls for it after I left, so my timing was good.

[Chris Padilla]

Early bird gets the worm.... :D