Rob Luter
05-25-2008, 10:01 PM
Greetings to all,
I've been picking away at my first proper workbench and I've got it about done. Ever since I saw Chris Schwarz and his Holtzapffel workbench at a local tool event I've had the bug to build one of my own (bench, not Chris).
Behold - Son of Holtzapffel, with a little Roubo DNA as well. In keeping with the "Green" movement, most of the materials are recycled or reclaimed.
The base is made from SYP off-cuts from work. the legs are 4 1/2 x 5 and the stringers are 3 1/2 x 5. The top is made from two maple butcher block benchtops salvaged from a local factory that closed. I laminated them together to form a solid 3 1/2" thick top 27" x 60". I bolted a 3 1/2" hard maple apron all the way around to make for a cleaner look.
The front vise is hard maple with a curly maple cap, 3 1/2" thick x 8" tall x 36" wide, powered by a Veritas twin screw kit. The end vise is an old Wilton that I mortised into the top behind the apron with a big maple chop attached to the moving jaw.
All in all I'm pleased with the results. This thing is pretty stout to be sure, and the workholding potential is fantastic. Tomorrow while the BBQ is slow cooking I'll be easing all the sharp edges and wiping on a coat of BLO to seal things up. Once it's done I'll post some glamor shots, cause it won't be pretty long, As my wife put it: "Now that your bench is done you can start making stuff, right?"
I've been picking away at my first proper workbench and I've got it about done. Ever since I saw Chris Schwarz and his Holtzapffel workbench at a local tool event I've had the bug to build one of my own (bench, not Chris).
Behold - Son of Holtzapffel, with a little Roubo DNA as well. In keeping with the "Green" movement, most of the materials are recycled or reclaimed.
The base is made from SYP off-cuts from work. the legs are 4 1/2 x 5 and the stringers are 3 1/2 x 5. The top is made from two maple butcher block benchtops salvaged from a local factory that closed. I laminated them together to form a solid 3 1/2" thick top 27" x 60". I bolted a 3 1/2" hard maple apron all the way around to make for a cleaner look.
The front vise is hard maple with a curly maple cap, 3 1/2" thick x 8" tall x 36" wide, powered by a Veritas twin screw kit. The end vise is an old Wilton that I mortised into the top behind the apron with a big maple chop attached to the moving jaw.
All in all I'm pleased with the results. This thing is pretty stout to be sure, and the workholding potential is fantastic. Tomorrow while the BBQ is slow cooking I'll be easing all the sharp edges and wiping on a coat of BLO to seal things up. Once it's done I'll post some glamor shots, cause it won't be pretty long, As my wife put it: "Now that your bench is done you can start making stuff, right?"