Interesting Work Bench

[Jon Lanier]

Hey, I chaperoned my kids class field trip today. We went to the Creation Museum: http://www.creationmuseum.org/

As we were walking through the "Noah and Ark Building" section my eye caught what there rendering of a Work Bench may have been like. I took these photos. I was so interested I actually found my self past the ropes onto the exhibit taking pictures and working the 'parts.' It is an actual working ... work bench. I thought you all would like a peek:

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6669/worktable5ck3.jpg

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/5865/worktable6ja0.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5710/worktable7ks3.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/8233/worktable4wl3.jpg

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4084/worktable2cv5.jpg

Below is a picture of the underneath.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/6213/worktable8qb9.jpg

Here is the 'Wheel' system for it:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4065/worktable3ap5.jpg

[Bob Glenn]

It a little hard to tell from the pictures, but is the vise cam accuated? Give us a little prose on how it operates.

[Bill Wyko]

That camlock vise is the coolest! I love that idea.:D

[Jon Lanier]

Yes, it is a cam. I just wrote the museum and asked if there were any plans/patterns/instructions on building one.

When I hear from them, I'll post their reply.

Sorry I didn't get better pictures, but then again, I was not even suppose to be up there on the display platform. ;)

The vise slides freely in and out quite a bit. There are peg holes for stops down the middle of the bench. So you 'peg' your vise to an appropriate spot for the size of your working piece with the cam 'open' then to tighten down, you push the cam in.

[Bob Glenn]

Neat! I do 18th century re-enactments as a windsor chair maker. The technology the old guys had, really worked well. The old guys did amazing things with what little they had. That's part of my interest in hand tools. They work really well if you know how sharpen and tune them.

Thanks for sharing

[Jon Lanier]

I got a letter back from Tim Lovett who designed the work bench. As soon the Museum is set up to take orders for it's Gift Shop and DVD division. They are going to put the CAD drawings up to sell as well. As a favor, Tim already sent me the CAD drawings. WOW! Is this ever cool.

Unfortunately I can't send them off or put them up anywhere due to the copywrite deal.
Here is an interesting picture he sent along with the drawings:

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1003/workbench0061200mp9.jpg

[Bill Brehme]

That really IS awesome!:eek: Aint it amazing that the older the workbench, the more advanced it is? :p

[Justin Bukoski]

Jon,

Any idea how long it will be before they are set up to sell the plans? I'm getting ready to build a bench and I think there might be a couple of design elements on that bench I'd like to use. I can't wait for too long though!

[Don Bullock]

Jon, that is one amazing bench. I'd love to see a set of plans as well. Thanks for sharing.

[Jon Lanier]

Jon,

Any idea how long it will be before they are set up to sell the plans? I'm getting ready to build a bench and I think there might be a couple of design elements on that bench I'd like to use. I can't wait for too long though!

Sorry Justin, I don't know when that would be. I'll post it here when I do know something.

-Jon

[Joe Petersen]

I would like some bigger pictures if you can provide them.

[Craig Mitchell]

Hey, that is really cool.... slightly off topic is this guy who I think is just amazing.


http://www.theforgottentechnology.com/


.

[John Schreiber]

I'm fascinated by benches and vises, so I'm trying to figure out how this would work.

It's an over the top cam action, like a bicycle quick release or a cam action clamp like this one.72343

They work great, but they have a very limited range where they provide any clamping force. Even for that massive cam, much less than an inch I'd think. The dog holes are at least four inches apart. There are dog holes at multiple depths on the vise jaw itself, so that extends it a bit. Perhaps they use wedges to get things in place then the clamp for final tightening.

Any ideas? Is this an old idea or a new one?

[Jon Lanier]

I would like some bigger pictures if you can provide them.

This is the best I can do. The only other thing I could do is travel 1.5 hour south and take some more. :o These should be thumbnails, just click for the larger pic.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9262/photos003smallrg3.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photos003smallrg3.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/6474/photos004smallgv7.th.jpg (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/%5BURL=http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photos004smallgv7.jpg%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp ://img245.imageshack.us/img245/6474/photos004smallgv7.th.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL%5D)

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4413/workbench0061200lp1.th.jpg (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/%5BURL=http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=workbench0061200lp1.jpg%5D%5BIMG%5Dht tp://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4413/workbench0061200lp1.th.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL%5D)

[Michael Hammers]

I am so glad someone else saw this! I went a few weeks ago and it was so crowded that I did not have alot of time to take all the bench in. I am going back with my kids in November during the week when it is slower and am going to get some better pictures also. I am pleased to hear CAD drawings will be available.
Also the whole section on the tools and construction of the ark is great. This museum is such a blessing!:o

[Matt Chantry]

What was his resource material for the bench? Where and when did it date to?

M

[Stephen Shepherd]

Does anyone think that this is what was used in Biblical times?

Not a timely response, but I just saw this thread.


Stephen

[glenn bradley]

Does anyone think that this is what was used in Biblical times?

Not a timely response, but I just saw this thread.


Stephen

Seems to be what is implied in post #6.

[Stephen Shepherd]

But someone else also asked about its design origin.

Why would you have a workbench on rollers?

Stephen

[Brian Dormer]

It's a very nice workbench.

But - If that was Noah's workbench - and the design was an established fact - then I wonder why there aren't modern equivalents outside of this museum?

To me, this looks like it would be something that COULD have been built 4000* years ago. The burning question is DID THEY build benches like this? Maybe a bit of "wishful thinking" on the part of the designer?

We certainly know quite a bit about Egyptian and Chinese woodworking from 4000 years ago (from documents and drawings) - I don't recall ever seeing references to a cam mechanism from that period. Wedges certainly were widely used - but I'm not so sure about cams.

I'd like the see the archeology back up the design.

I'd also like to know if the bench on display was built with tools that were available 4000+ years ago - or was it built in a modern shop with routers and table saws? I'm not so sure that a carpenter from 4000 years ago could execute a mechanism that needs the tolerances that would be required.

(*the exact timeframe of the flooding event described in the book of Genesis is debated by scholars - but, based on early "flood stories" in other cultures, 4000-6000 years ago is the generally accepted timeframe)