some nice benches

[john brenton]

a few nice benches to look at with some close detail shots.

That's better. :cool:

http://www.harpgallery.com/showroom/item6741.html

[Dan Andrews]

There are some great details here for anyone thinking of building a bench.

[Steve Branam]

Weeellll, maybe it sold to a woodworker who will actually use it for a workbench!

On the other hand, nicely documented, could be reproduced from those photos. Then the question is, do they want actual old ones? 'Cause this could be a new market for shop-built benches! Give the kids some chains and hammers and close 'em up in the garage with it for the afternoon, it'll come out nicely aged.

[Harlan Barnhart]

Maybe that is the best way to preserve it for future reference.

[Zach England]

I fail to understand why it is infuriating.

[Tom Winship]

Someone told me of a restaurant somewhere that was decorated with old workbenches. Had a catchy name like "The Woodworks" or something like that.

[george wilson]

My old English friend who was once the SOLE furniture conservator in Williamsburg in the 1970's,Mr Simms,had a bench much the same as that one. It probably dated from the 1920's(just a guess).

Mr. Simms was in his late 70's when I knew him. Very cockney. His tool chest was the one that Roy Underhill featured on a few of his T.V. shows.

Mr Simms was a character. Always with his pipe in his mouth,and a permanent brown drool stain of tobacco going down the left side of his mouth. He lived rather roughly. I recall after he had gone to France,he told me that he stayed in a hotel where the toilet was "A bricked up round hole with 2 handles on the wall to hang in to!" Must have been a CHEAP hotel!!!!!

One time,he told me(imagine a cockney accent) about "A little teeny piano wot really plays" that he had seen somewhere!

I learned a number of old time woodworking kinks from him.

He had a son who was truly a hippie in the worst sense of the word. Long,stringy hair. A very thin,reddish beard that you could see the contours of his face through. Mr.Simms at some time got him a job helping out in the shop. Marcus Hansen,my journeyman,and I were hanging out in Mr. Simm's shop. His son was finding the center of a large number of 4" square plywood pieces by measuring 2" on each side. Finally,he'd draw marks from each 2" measurement to mark the center of the square. HE COULD HAVE JUST drawn diagonals from each corner!!! And been done MUCH quicker!! The funny thing was that,the whole time he was doing this round about way of doing the job,he was complaining in his pseudo intellectual,hippiefied voice about how INCOMPETENT the maintenance department was!!!! You guys should have been there.

Then,he cut loose about what a pig his father was (in some hippie cultural sense). Mr. Simms completely ignored him and just said "Shut up and finish cleaning up the shop!" It was really funny! His son remained worthless until he died a few years ago. I thought very highly of Mr. Simms.

Mrs. Simms said to her son one time:"There is nothing more disgusting than an aging hippie!" They didn't mince words!!!

Mr. Simm's favorite tool was a thumbhole Disston that he "Had given tuppence for" in England. The owner probably needed a drink! It had apparently been modified at some time,because it had ENORMOUS teeth. No exaggeration,at the handle,the teeth were nearly 3/4" wide PER TOOTH. The teeth got progressively smaller towards the tip of the blade. They were only about 3/8" wide there! Very neatly done,though. A smooth progression in sizes. WHY they had done it,who knows. The saw blade was worn down till it was only a bit over 1" wide at the tip. Mr Simms loved that saw,and was convinced that it was the only FULL RIP he had ever seen. All the others were HALF RIPS. He liked the narrow tip,because he could saw(wide) curves with it. I never tried sawing with that saw,but it must have been only fit for thick wood,or it would have bounced all over the place on anything less than 2" thick,I imagine.

Now I'm wondering where they got that bench from. I hope no one decides to heavily varnish it to make it more decorative,or something to romanticize it.

[Bob Easton]

I fail to understand why it is infuriating.

Maybe the original poster wants it for his own woodworking and is infuriated (or jealous of) seeing it as a resturant decoration. I've seen lots of these while traveling around ... and I too think they can be put to better use. (Send em' to Chris Schwarz.)

[Zach England]

*poof*

Maybe a little less acrimony is in order.

[Tony Shea]

I think the idea is cool. Not sure what the big deal is, maybe your upset that it isn't used in the shop? Either way, it is not just sitting somewhere rotting and neglected. Seems to be put to good use, maybe not its' original purpose but is now serving another purpose. I want one in my dining room now, would love to have shop furniture all through the house. I've seen a many of benches on here that could be mistaken for a beautiful peice of furniture.

[john brenton]

Whoa dude. I'm not crying over it, and it was really more of a joke. I think we've all gone to a flea market or "Cracker Barrel" and seen a few nice old tools or shaving horses collecting dust on the wall or ledge and think it's a tragedy that they aren't being used. Slow your roll.


I've seen this in interior design magazines for years. It's nothing new. Someone else wants a workbench for something other than woodworking. Get over it.

[Frank Drew]

Losing half the potential working surface to the tool trough (:eek:) -- so glad I left that feature out of my otherwise rather similar bench.

[James Taglienti]

wow that bench was incredibly overpriced. around 3x what it should have sold for.

i've got a friend with about a dozen benches like that if anyone's interested.

[Andrew Gibson]

I think it is nice that people are starting to respect something woodworking related.

I think I am starting to see a revival in the desire for high quality furniture. I think my generation 25+- have a desire to invest in heirloom quality furniture because many of a our parents and grandparents didn't keep or invest in pieces to pass on to us. Many of my friends and acquaintances have bagan to approached me asking about furniture and a main concern is they want something they can pass down to their children and grandchildren. My parents don't have any furniture that is worthy of being considered quality. In fact my parents just bought a kitchin table and chairs at walmart, they never asked me what I could make at a similar cost.

I really believe that my generation has a desire to move away from the disposable furniture that we grew up with.

To bring it full circle, nothing says permenant like a bench with a 4+" top

Of course I am not saying that the generations before mine do not have a desire to collect antiques and the like, I just think the market is changing from furniture that is fashionable to furniture that is a long term investment.

[David Keller NC]

"On the other hand, nicely documented, could be reproduced from those photos. Then the question is, do they want actual old ones? 'Cause this could be a new market for shop-built benches! Give the kids some chains and hammers and close 'em up in the garage with it for the afternoon, it'll come out nicely aged."

Well, I can't comment about whether an old bench should or should not be used as a wine bar, though I'd say I'd gladly sell one to someone that wants to be "hip" for $2500, and use the money to buy the lumber and vises to make a real bench (ala Chris Schwarz).

But - Someone at work had a Restoration Hardware catalogue, and I couldn't resist flipping through it. There's a gentleman that has a business solely based on constructing things with old, salvaged lumber and charging quite a lot for the result - and he doesn't even bother to do the Norm Abrams thing and resurface it:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1613182&navAction=jump&navCount=0

[Zach England]

Well, I can't comment about whether an old bench should or should not be used as a wine bar, though I'd say I'd gladly sell one to someone that wants to be "hip" for $2500, and use the money to buy the lumber and vises to make a real bench (ala Chris Schwarz).

But - Someone at work had a Restoration Hardware catalogue, and I couldn't resist flipping through it. There's a gentleman that has a business solely based on constructing things with old, salvaged lumber and charging quite a lot for the result - and he doesn't even bother to do the Norm Abrams thing and resurface it:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1613182&navAction=jump&navCount=0


Someone at work had it...suuuuuuure.

I bet you had that catalog stashed surreptitiously inside your copy of "workbenches: from design and theory to construction and use" so no one would see it.

[James Taglienti]

nice.

I don't think the asking price is out of "respect for woodworking" but as someone said it's so rustic and hip and it makes such a splash when you cover it with little crackers smeared with foie gras (SP?) and put it next to your designer vintage look leather sofa. it'll be the talk of the book club for sure.

people don't pay through the nose for coca cola signs out of reverence for the advertising industry or coca cola corporation, do they? those signs are just cool! and so is that workbench - but not 2300 cool. i must have 50 grand worth of those benches sitting in my barn covered with dust!