Nicholson workbench

[Osvaldo Cristo]

For 25+ years I have used a commercial French style workbench with a front and a tail vices. It is made from somekind of cedar measuring 1600 mm (5´4") by 550 mm (1´10"). It have fitted virtually all my needs up to recently.

As I started to use more manual tools I discovered it is light weight for some applications and both my crap vices are near to useless. I considered to update my vices but from the limited options available locally it would be a very expensive update and it would not solve the problem of low mass from my workbench.

I decided to make one.

I´m going to construct a traditional English Nicholson workbench - viseless. Actually I was really surprised how some people works so fine using a such kind of workbench.

Last month I received four very nice and functional holdfasters. Hand forged. They cost me (equivalent to) USD 50.

This week I purchased the wood. I found a good lot of maçaranduba in a lumberyard near home. Three planks at 55 mm thickness - at the total 0.16 cubic meter. Maçaranduba, "massaranduba" as usually write abroad, is a very hard wood, with more than double of typical pine. It is (almost) odorless and very low contents in resins. It glues well. You can get some information looking for bullet wood (https://www.wood-database.com/bulletwood/). The planks are well stored in my garage where they will stay up to the second half of (next) December. It cost me another USD 50.

I have intention to make the benchtop 50 mm thick as it is very convenient to holdfaster - and it would have the same mass as using 4" or even 5" pine.

I have a couple of questions:

1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?

2) Most workbenches here are made of hard and dense woods (the top is a friend of me that have big workbench made totally with purpleheart) but I saw personally a few, and by photos and internet the most of them in the US made of pine. I guess the main reason is that wood are easy to get and cheap... any one have experience using hard wood tabletop for your workbench?

Thanks in advance for any hint.

[Jon Wolfe]

Here is a great video to watch for viseless Nicholson type benches.
viseless workbench (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvhn-PAfEW4)
Jon

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Thank you - I appreciate.

Actually Mike is my idol! I also purchased him a DVD contents he made on the subject (downloaded by internet)... when I grow up I want to be like him! Seriously!

[Marinus Loewensteijn]

I'm in the process of slowly constructing a viseless benchtop workbench. I am using 20mm holes and some Veritas surface clamps and plane stops. The advantage of 20mm is that Festool MFT/3 gear can be used too and that I am not locked in with 3/4" gear only. A Frostner bit has a tendency to lock tight when drilling deep holes. There are some bradpoint bits on the famous auction site that are 250mm long, have a 10mm chuck part and are 20mm drill part. The brand is Heller and are made in Germany. I start with the Frostner and then after about 3/4" deep switch over to the brad bit.

I am using a normal electric drill in one of those portable drill stands and swing the drill outside the bottom while using the Veritas surface clamps to hold the drillstand using previously drilled holes. I also made a template with three holes in some delrin to make sure that everything is spaced about the same.

Hope this helps, Marinus

[ken hatch]

Osvaldo,

I do not build English style benches, for no reason other than I just haven't. I do build other style benches and I expect as far as slabs go the needs are close to the same. Depending on wood and the span 50mm slab thickness should be ok. I have build several small benches with about 5' span between supports with no problem using 45mm European Beech slabs. I've used hand tools on a viseless Roubo bench that had an English style apron with no problem. I'm not a fan of tail vises and there are many ways to replace a face vise, full disclosure, I like having a face vise but working without one is no problem if you have an apron on your bench.

I've made pine slabs, prefer harder wood with a tighter grain. I think Hard Maple is too hard, the perfect slab wood is Beech, hard but soft enough to not dent your work piece, easy to work and light enough in color to be easy on my old eyes.

I hope this helps,

ken

[Nicholas Lawrence]

1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?


Osvaldo, I built a Nicholson over the summer. I am a hobbyist, not a professional, and have had limited time to work on it since building it. That said, I don’t think you will regret it. A good stop (the one on Mike’s design is excellent), and a doe’s foot will hold a board for planing the face as well as anybody could want. The crochet on the front with pegs looks a little hokey, but it really works well for working the edge of a board.

[steven c newman]

417858

Long time ago...tried this version...Still around..friend of mine uses it for a lathe stand....I did keep the leg vise, though...

[David Eisenhauer]

Build it Osvaldo and never slow down. With or without vises. have fun.

[Jim Koepke]

Here is one of my devices for vise free wood working:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?223428

There is a link in the thread for The Woodright's Shop (https://www.pbs.org/video/woodwrights-shop-viceless-devices/) program where this was shown.

There are also a few in other posts of mine:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?272588

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?262272

There are also some articles on line about Roman work benches. These used pegs/dogs to hold work.

jtk

[Scott Winners]

1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?

I am absolutely bananas for my holdfasts. I had wanted a pair for a long long time, when I got them I started using them a lot. Now when I am carrying a workpiece to my bench I am thinking about how to hold it down with my holdfasts. I still have, and will likely always have a vise - I have not figured out how to sharpen a saw without a vise yet for instance - but haven't had to build a lot of other holding tools for the work I am doing either. I did build a new pair of sawhorses with thicker tops so I can use my holdfasts on my new sawhorses instead of F clamps.

2) Most workbenches here are made of hard and dense woods (the top is a friend of me that have big workbench made totally with purpleheart) but I saw personally a few, and by photos and internet the most of them in the US made of pine. I guess the main reason is that wood are easy to get and cheap... any one have experience using hard wood tabletop for your workbench?

Actually no, I don't, but didn't want to leave you wondering. For me, as you sumrised correctly, pine is plentiful and cheap enough for me to just buy wider pine boards to make weight rather than spend more money on the same weight of maple or beech or similar. There is some discussion that a softer wood benchtop is less likely to mar whatever thing you are working on, and it is supposed to be "easier" to plane a pine benchtop back to flat when it is heavily scarred. I agree with Chris Schwarz for bench tops you should use whatever is plentiful, inexpensive and already well seasoned, well dried.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Osvaldo,
I use holdfasts and a variety of other devices on my bench. I seldom use the vise I have. The other
more traditional solutions work very well. Jim Koepke has posted a couple threads on workholding - and I see he has posted links.

Please post pictures as you build your new bench!

Fred

[William Fretwell]

The bench you propose, an improved Roman bench will serve well for most things, however I don’t think the Romans were big on dovetails. When holding a cabinet side for dovetails a front vise is most useful. Working the end of a plank is also a challenge. You can find work arounds with clamps for some things but these are awkward and time consuming compared to a front vise.
The Roman bench is simple to build, it will probably not be your last bench, something to remember when you decide on your budget.

[Jim Koepke]

The bench you propose, an improved Roman bench will serve well for most things, however I don’t think the Romans were big on dovetails. When holding a cabinet side for dovetails a front vise is most useful. Working the end of a plank is also a challenge. You can find work arounds with clamps for some things but these are awkward and time consuming compared to a front vise.
The Roman bench is simple to build, it will probably not be your last bench, something to remember when you decide on your budget.

The aprons with a pair of holdfasts is very quick for holding panels against the front of a bench.

Somethings are a bit large for a front vise to hold. Wedges are another easy way to hold work:

417902

The back side of the work is held by two wide spaced dogs:

417903

This set up held throughout the sawing and chiseling of this dado.

jtk


What took the most time for this was ripping a piece of scrap to fit the gap between the workpiece and two dogs then cutting it into a pair of wedges.

[ken hatch]

The aprons with a pair of holdfasts is very quick for holding panels against the front of a bench.

Somethings are a bit large for a front vise to hold. Wedges are another easy way to hold work:

417902

The back side of the work is held by two wide spaced dogs:

417903

This set up held throughout the sawing and chiseling of this dado.

jtk


What took the most time for this was ripping a piece of scrap to fit the gap between the workpiece and two dogs then cutting it into a pair of wedges.

Jim,

Thanks for continuing to post holding methods using stops, battens, bench appliances, and holdfasts. I'm like you, most of my work holding is not done in a face vise and I do not have a tail vise. It is so natural and quicker to work with other ways, gravity and good technique is powerful. I forget to take photos, you fill the gap.

Having said that, I sure do love my new BenchCrafted Classic Screw and Crisscross, almost, kinda, leg vise on the new bench:o.

ken

[Ron Brese]

I think a lot of people underestimate how good a bench the Nicholson configuration can be. When I built my Nicholson I decided to use maple and if I had built this bench first I probably would have built an assembly bench in lieu of another woodworking bench. One advantage of having two benches is that you can use one for an assembly bench even though a purpose built bench would most probably work better for that use. But I digress. I've watch people work on vise less benches and it seems one has to spend an inordinate amount of time on work holding, in lieu of woodworking so that doesn't work for me. You'll notice I have a leg vise and tail vise on mine. I also have what I call a hanging deadman that is quite adjustable and convenient. I had intended to add an 8/4 thick shelf between the stretchers just for the additional mass. The shelf wasn't needed and no shelf meant I could store saw benches and the such underneath.

The great thing about the Nicholson configuration is adding a leg vise and letting in a tail vise would be easily accomplished after the fact which is not quite the case with some other forms.

Ron

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lHv1pFkmWC4/WKB0Vene33I/AAAAAAAACVg/CU_i3ODrmywQc4xVU_vlg5CUFg5-oo1KgCPcB/s1100/nbdone.jpg

[ken hatch]

I think a lot of people underestimate how good a bench the Nicholson configuration can be. When I built my Nicholson I decided to use maple and if I had built this bench first I probably would have built an assembly bench in lieu of another woodworking bench. One advantage of having two benches is that you can use one for an assembly bench even though a purpose built bench would most probably work better for that use. But I digress. I've watch people work on vise less benches and it seems one has to spend an inordinate amount of time on work holding, in lieu of woodworking so that doesn't work for me. You'll notice I have a leg vise and tail vise on mine. I also have what I call a hanging deadman that is quite adjustable and convenient. I had intended to add an 8/4 thick shelf between the stretchers just for the additional mass. The shelf wasn't needed and no shelf meant I could store saw benches and the such underneath.

The great thing about the Nicholson configuration is adding a leg vise and letting in a tail vise would be easily accomplished after the fact which is not quite the case with some other forms.

Ron



Ron,

Good looking functional bench. Good on you. BTW, I like the placement of your lightboxes :).

ken

[Tom Bussey]

I built a Nicholson bench for my 13 year Grandson for Christmas last year. I played with it and I found out that I still prefer vises. Ron Brese's Bench top is as good a design as anyone's, but I used a shoulder vise screw for the for the wagon vise. It is a whole lot cheaper.

Pine, fir and ash work the best for tops. They absorb the blows from a mallet. Ash is the prefered wood for a baseball bat. The shock doesn't effect the hands. I am sure there are other wood that will do that.

The Nicholson bench I built was 1 1/2 inches thick and surprisingly heavy enough to not slid across the floor but if I was to do it again I would make the top thicker

For the record I prefer a shoulder vise and a tail vise. I see no advantages of a leg vise but a wagon vise is easier to construct. I do have a leg vise but 96 percent of the time I sue a shoulder vise. THe wagon vise screw is a shoulder vise screw.

My bench417947 417948

[Stew Denton]

Osvaldo,

My main bench is small. It is a plank setup on saw horses. One set of heavy planks screwed together is about 4' long, but heavy, another set is much lighter but about 5' long, finally I have a couple of 2X10s that are about 7' long, but they are not attached to each other. Generally I use either the 4' top or the 5' top, but if I need a bigger longer bench, I go get the 7' planks from the garage, although they may actually be 8' long.

I am not sure of the exact length of the long planks, they are quite hard to get to with the vehicle in the garage, it is cold and dark outside and I want to hit sack instead of getting the car out of the garage and getting the planks to measure them, so the length will remain an unknown for now.

What I do to edge plane a piece of lumber is to clamp an old western cedar 4X4 to the top of the bench, and then clamp the board vertically to be edge planed to the vertical side of 4X4. If the board to be planed is a bit longer than the 4' planks that is a help because then the board can be clamped to the 4X4 at both ends. Normally I clamp both ends of the 4X4 to the plank bench top anyway.

The 4X4 runs lengthwise down the length of the bench, clamped to it with a big C clamp, or two C clamps if I clamp both ends to the top. The 4X4 extends past the bench so I can use a second C clamp from underneath to secure the flat of the board to be edge planed. To keep things from moving while planing, I extend the 4X4 well past the end of the bench and brace the end of it against the brick wall of the house.

If the board to be edge planed is not as wide as the 4X4, I place a 2X4 under the bottom edge of the board to be planed.

This is a very low tech solution for not having a good place to work and no shop. That said, with the 4x4 braced against the house, nothing moves, a very stable way to hold the lumber for edge planing.

If the lumber I am planing is somewhat long, I can plane the one end, and then move the lumber back past the back end of the bench then plane the center of the board, etc.

This is definitely very low tech and cheap, but it works pretty well.

Like the others, I clamp a board, that is thinner than what I am planing, across the width of the planks to act as a planing stop when face planing the lumber. Since the saw horses are wider than some of the plank setups, I can clamp the 4X4 to the horses to extend past the bench and butt up against the brick wall of the house to keep things from moving while planing. Again, the house is obviously heavy enough that with the 4X4 butted against it, and at the same time clamped to the horses, and the planks making up the top clamped to the horses, nothing moves. I do make several trips between the garage and the saw horses carrying clamps, however.

Regards,

Stew

[Ron Brese]

Thanks Ken,

My wife suggested hanging the light boxes over my benches. It was such clean no glare light I then replaced all my ceiling fixtures with similar light boxes.

Ron

[Tom Bender]

Hola Osvaldo

This is my second bench in this style. It is my main bench and works very well for me. It is Hard Maple 3" thick and about the same size as your current one. It weighs about 180 kg. It has an end vise which works really well but is not necessary. I used my first bench (similar) without vises for a long time.

418101
Dust swept under is conveniently out of the way

Edges allow for clamping all around and on the overhanging end

Split top allows more clamping

Hard wood is great for chopping, it resists bounce so cutting is faster and more accurate

Hard wood is slippery so more clamping pressure is needed, this is unfortunate

Hard varnish resists glue and stains

418100

Top is glued to the aprons and legs. Very solid and no problems with wood movement.

[Tom Bender]

Oops I have attached pics of my vise, not what you asked for.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Guys,

thank you for your precious feedback and encouragement. This is a great place!

I am luck as I found really dry wood. I am a little bit worried about the workability of the wood... let us see then!

If any of you have any additional input I would thank you in advance.