Way back in Sept '07 after completing new extension and outfeed tables for my tablesaw, I said that my next project was going to be a relatively traditional woodworking bench based on a design by Lon Schleining which was first published in FWW a few years ago (see the copy on my extension table) . However there was always something with higher priority, and I never got around to it.
Then, last December, while working on my second adjustable height assembly table (for a magazine article), I wondered if the adjustable legs I designed and built for those tables could be adapted to a woodworking bench such that the bench would be strong and stable.
I broached the subject to some friends and posted a few SketchUp drawings of the leg design. However the location of the stretchers on the initial design would likely have make it difficult or impossible to lift the top to adjust the bench height.
I subsequently changed the location of the stretchers from the fixed legs to the adjustable legs.
Since I already had an indexing jig set up to cut the leg notches for the assembly table legs, I decided to make the woodworking bench legs at the same time, using some beech I had sitting around the shop- that was over 9 months ago. This Spring I picked up a 30" x 72" x 2.75" maple top and some pieces for the aprons from Bally Block, then on a trip to Raleigh last month I picked up a few more pieces of beech for the base and more maple for the vise jaws at Klingspor. So finally, almost two years after having made the decision and over 9 months after actually cutting the first pieces, I had all the materials (and made the time) to actually start working on the new bench. I didn't take any in-progress shots, but here are some pics of the nearly completed adjustable height trestle base with top installed. I still need to add the maple aprons, 3 vises (QR front vise, sliding tail vise, Veritas twin screw tail vise), and bench dog holes.
Revised SketchUp drawing. (minus ratchet arms and release cords). Unlike my assembly table legs which stay together by sliding dovetails, these legs mate with a "V" and "V groove". The ratchet arms draw the leg halves together and keep the matching "V" profiles solidly mated.
The unfinished top is just resting on the trestle base which is in its lowest (30") position. It is adjustable in 1" increments.
End view showing top and bottom draw bored tenon pins on legs and wedged through tenons on stretchers.
Close-up shot of ratchet pawl arms (minus release cable) and stretcher tenons.
End view, one notch below full height (43").
The adjustable height mechanism works very, very well (as good or better than the ones on my assembly tables). The bench is very sturdy, stable, and does not rack. While heavy, it lifts fairly easily -obviously one end at a time.
Before I continue, here are some stats-
Design:
- A mix of elements from Lon Schleining's "The Best of Old and New" bench from his book and Fine Woodworking article. Elements include his thumbnail profiles on the feet and jaw faces, etc. and my own designs including the adjustable height trestle base. The adjustable trestle base is a new twist on my assembly table adjustable height legs which will be the subject of a forthcoming article in Dec/Jan issue of American Woodworker.
Materials:
- Top, aprons, vise jaws- hard Maple
- * Adjustable trestle base- American Beech.
Construction:
- Trestle base- mortise & tenon and Titebond III
- A mix of pinned-blind and wedged-through M&T joints
- Aprons (and sliding tail vise) joined with hand-cut, half-blind dovetails - 6 sets!
- Long side aprons attached to the top with glue only (long grain to long grain)
- End aprons, to allow for seasonal changes in the cross-grain direction, are held in place with threaded rod, nuts, and barrel nuts. No through bolts or plugs are visible on the end vise face or free end aprons of the bench. Nuts are accessible from underneath to allow tightening.
Dimensions:
- Top: (not incl. vises): 33-1/2" wide x 74" long x 2-1/2" thick- Yes, it is BIG!
- Aprons: 1-3/4" thick x 5" high
- Height: adjustable: 30-1/2" to 43-1/2"
- Weight: TBD, but HEAVY!!!
Vises:
- Lee Valley twin screw full width tail vise (20" between lead screws) (3" thick jaw)
- Quick release front vise (3" thick jaw)
- Sliding tail vise (w/o shoulder)
(all vise hardware was free, courtesy of the Woodcraft Top Shop contest gift certificate )
Aprons and vises installed:
On one end is a Lee Valley/Veritas Twin Screw, full width, tail vise. It was a custom installation. Rather than surface mount the vise and add the chain housing to the back of the 3" thick vise jaw like the typical installation in the first picture below, I routed a recess for the flanges, sprockets, and chain and made a new, low profile cover.
Part II below
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Originally Posted by John Harden
The legs have mating "V" male and female shapes with the tip of the male "V" flattened on the inner (upper) leg so it won't bottom out and nests tightly. The leg attachment to the base is tight and solid, but, the lower legs and the base form a "U" which will flex just enough that they can be pulled tight against the upper legs by the weight and angle of the ratchet arms.
