Do I save the old bench?

[Dave Rizzolo]

I recovered this bench from my parent's farmhouse, where I am sure it has sat for greater than 100 years. You'll notice the legs have rotted, which has caused the bench to drop 5 inches from end to end.

My plan was to rebuild the legs using peg and post. My father suggests I'll loose the "value ;)" if I do this. He recommends building a leg/foot section to cradle the legs, and leave it unattached to the bench legs.

Also what do you all think of the top. I would really like to use the bench in my workshop, but the surface needs cleaning and planing.

A friend suggest I find someone who would want it to decorate thier hallway, or entryway.

My father and I have quite an debate on what should happen to the ole bench.

The BIG question is, what should I do with this??

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?pictureid=3249&albumid=337&dl=1270246193&thumb=1

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?pictureid=3243&albumid=337&dl=1270246088&thumb=1


More Pictures here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=337

[Brian Dormer]

Wow - that bench has seen some history. Here's some thoughts:

Is it solid or wobbly? If it's wobbly - could you tighten up the joinery sufficient to use the bench again? If not - do you want to use it as antique furniture (and/or sell it as such) OR would you rather reuse the lumber (to make a new bench or some other project)?

If you are going to use it with hand tools - it needs to be really solid - I'm not totally sure you could "build up" the legs enough and make it solid enough (I'm envisioning a bench on-top of a bench... which is kinda wonky). You are going to have to plane the top down - so at least some of the wood is going to be "lost".

I was faced with a similar dilemma - I inherited my uncles post-WWII handyman-style workbench. In my case, it was beautiful Douglas Fir (next to modern stuff - it looks like a totally difference species). As much as that bench had sentimental value - it wasn't very functional - so, after some self-debate, I disassembled it - re-squared the lumber and built the trestles and aprons for a new bench out of it. I wish I had a few more pieces - because I'm going to have to use some modern wood to complete the bench. I haven't felt guilty at all - because in my view - the wood lives on with a purpose - and I know where it came from.

If you want a bench - My vote would be to salvage what you can (the top for sure) - and build a new (taller) undercarriage, using reclaimed material where possible.

If you want a piece of antique furniture (to use or sell) - then by all means, don't change a thing other than maybe fix any wiggle-wobble.

The real question is - what do you want to get out of it?

[Dan Andrews]

Great old bench Dave. I can only tell you what I would do. I realy value old tools and furniture and this bench qualifies as both. I would completely rebuild as needed to make it fully functional while still as orriginal as possible. Using reclaimed wood of a species and petina simmilar to your bench would be ideal. I think you could splice onto the bottom of the legs to obtain the height you want without drastically changing the appearance of the bench.

I have some of my father's and grandfather's tools and tool boxes. I feel that whatever I have to do to them to make them fit my needs is simply a part of that item's history.

[harry strasil]

just add some sled feet to it.

[Harlan Barnhart]

I would add some feet, tighten up the joinery if needed, plane the top level and use it. I might be tempted to lower the leg vise until the tops of the jaws are flush or slightly below the top.

[Bill Wilcox]

Do you know what type of wood it's made of? The top would be nice to salvage. I agree that maybe trim the legs to good wood and add sleds across them or dovetail in a splice of wood to the legs and then add your sleds across them. Either way I would be hard pressed to get rid of it with the history and all.I say fix her up and use it.

[Jim Koepke]

I think the "value" of the bench is mostly as a family heirloom.

My thoughts would be if you have the space to keep it as is with as little repair as needed, use is for a secondary bench. It is always helpful to have a bench for your sharpening equipment and tool maintenance. Some of your tool tills or boxes could be incorporated within and on it.

It is also nice to have a place to set parts while working on a project or to set drawers and other things that are clamped and waiting for glue to set or finishes to dry.

jim

[David Keller NC]

Dave - I can't address the sentimental value, obviously, but I can address the value of the bench if you were to try to sell it. I'm assuming you wouldn't consider selling it, so this is more about framing the parameters that might help you decide what to do:

As an antique tool for antique tool collectors, old workbenches do sometimes have quite a bit of value. Exactly what that value is depends greatly on the specific circumstance, but in your case, I'd suggest that this example doesn't really fall into these categories. Typically, a workbench has to be a signed example by a relatively well-known maker. Several american wooden plane makers, for example, also made benches. These type of benches can go as high as a couple of thousand dollars if they're in very good condition. Another category would be a workbench with substantial historical significance and good provenance - Old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC, for example, has several benches that were used at the settlement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Benches like this are in fair demand by museums, and are valued slightly higher than the tool collector's example I noted above. If the bench is 18th century, I've seen values as high as $8,000. Finally, there's the aberration of a bona fide Shaker workbench. These tend to be massive that are hard to move and display, but Shaker furniture collectors would bid one of these to the moon. The last example that I can remember fetched over $30k at an auction several years ago.

So if the bench isn't signed and doesn't have high historical significance, the next lower tier of value is as a decorator object. Typically, benches used for this purpose wind up as end and occasional tables and bars. Depending on size and weight (in this case, smaller is generally better) and the patina, such a bench sells for $400 - $800. An exceptional example that had a rich patina but no or minor paint stains would fetch a high mark of perhaps $1500.

All of the above markets would view substantial repairs very negatively, so piecing in leg extensions to your example would not be advisable.

So if you want to use it as your workbench, you can view it this way - is it worth spending 10-20 hours making it serviceable but ruining its value on the collector/decorator market, or would you rather spend the few hundred dollars you could get for it by leaving it untouched and selling it on new lumber and vise hardware?

[Dave Rizzolo]

Thank you all for your feedback. You have given me much to think about. I think I'll keep it, as it is, for now. I'll shim the legs off the floor, and use it as a storage bench against the wall.