Carving bench

[Dave Diaman]

I would like to see what type of carving benches you guys use. I carve strictly for furniture. Up to this point the majority of the work I have been doing has been various styles of shells and a small amount of foliage on legs or columns. Now I have a whole lot of carving work coming up that is going to require a lot of hours carving. One project will probably require a few weeks of nonstop carving. I will be carving a whole lot of cabriole legs (knees and feet), some apron and bonnet carvings for several pieces and a few cartouches. I really need to come up with a more comfortable and user friendly arrangement. Do any of you guys have suggestions for something that would work well for what I am doing? It would be great if I could retrofit something on to my current bench and just remove it when it isn't needed.

[Mike Pounders]

Here is what I use. It works well for me, but I use it primarily for figures and busts. Flat pieces could be easily mounted to board that is screwed to the top flange and it would allow them to be rotated for relief carving. Not so sure about holding the legs, but maybe it would give you some ideas. It was designed to use a carving arm instead of the poor man's vise that I use. It folds up, but is very solid especially with me sitting on it!

http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/205743-438x.jpg?1300207009

[Mark Yundt]

I do Architectural / furniture carvings as well. I work off a standard type bench but as different projects come in I make up jigs to hold specific pieces in better /more comfortable positions. I've done many legs as well as corner blocks where I made a jig to hold them top and bottom but still allow them to rotate as needed. This jig was then mounted to the bench ( either screwed or clamped )at approx. a 45 degree angle or so , sometimes on top of the bench , other times hanging over the bench depending on the situation and their size.
I have a pediment (5ft long X 20"H) coming in and I plan to make a jig that will sit on top of the bench and hold the piece at an angle. This way I can move across the piece easily. Unfortunately I don't have any photos as I use them just for the occasion and break them down when done. Rarely do my jobs replicate one another to warrant keeping specific jigs cluttering the shop.
A bit of time considering your particular applications and needs will usually spark an idea as to how to hold a piece. The time spent making a solid jig to hold a piece in an ideal position is well worth the effort to allow easier and faster carving. Better than chasing a piece around a bench top.Sorry I can't be more specific.

[Dave Lehnert]

Here is what I use. It works well for me, but I use it primarily for figures and busts. Flat pieces could be easily mounted to board that is screwed to the top flange and it would allow them to be rotated for relief carving. Not so sure about holding the legs, but maybe it would give you some ideas. It was designed to use a carving arm instead of the poor man's vise that I use. It folds up, but is very solid especially with me sitting on it!

http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/205743-438x.jpg?1300207009

I would be interested on how you made the "poor man's vise" in the photo.

[Mike Pounders]

Dave, here is what I went by to build mine http://www.jerryhartzell.com/wood-carving-on-a-budget/jerrys-wood-carving-vise/ and here is a better picture of mine http://lumberjocks.com/projects/36934

Be sure and use either a solid forged eye-bolt or weld the end closed on a regular one; you will straighten it out pretty quick if you don't! I keep modifying my vise slightly; I have added a bigger wheel-like handle to loosen and tighten it and I am considering adding a hand-wheel to it to make easier to loosen and tighten with one hand, while I carve. The current configuration appears to work well and will get a good trial when I travel to a carving seminar next weekend.

[David Keller NC]

Dave - Since this is a month since you first posted the question, I'm not sure that this'll be much help. But like you, I carve mostly for furniture. What I would suggest is that you first decide whether you'd prefer to be seated or standing while carving. If the answer is standing, then most all workbenches are too low - you want your bench height to be a little below elbow height while standing.

If that's the case, I'd look into the idea of a bench-on-a-bench. There was an article in FWW a few years back, and I can confirm that the concept works, and it's an easy retrofit rather than building a dedicated carving bench.

For cabriole ball & claw foot legs, most of us seem to prefer the "jorgensen clamp" type of mount where the bottom and top of the leg is captured in a bar clamp, that is then placed in a face-vise. The bench-on-bench concept works well here, too, because you can use the bench-on-bench front vise to grip the top of the bar clamp, while the bottom of the foot is braced on your regular bench surface, which allows free access to the entire length of the leg. One can simply turn the leg/clamp assembly over when it comes to the other end.