Carving bench Design Input?

[alex grams]

I am doing more carving lately, and it has become painfully clear to me that I need a better, more ergonomic setup. Currently I just use my workbench (34" height) and use some benchdogs to clamp the piece down and work on it, though this leaves several things lacking in my setup.

I know what I would like from the bench, I just haven't seen a setup that gives what I am looking for.

what I would like is:

-adjustable tilt angle so i can move adjust the angle of the plane of work.
-an anchoring mechanism that can securely anchor the workpiece, yet allow for easy rotation of the piece to carve from different angles depending on the grain in the wood.
-sturdy enough that hammering/leaning on the piece won't have the bench bounce or flex.

The most difficult function will be the anchoring/rotating function. Is there a simple/common solution for this?

Also, another thing I need to make is a simple stool. I only have an office chair base, which is too low to use to sit at the bench.

Thanks in advance.

[john brenton]

Lee Valley has a very nice carving bench, but it's gonna cost you. If you were going to get into serious carving it would be the way to go with all the little articulating doo-dads and what not.

You might want to kill two birds with one stone and build a traditional carvers bench. They are similar to shave horses, and you could custom build it to better support the work you are doing. There used to be a great set of plans online for a carvers horse/bench, whatever it's called.

[randall rosenthal]

i use a home made 4X8 table with 4x4 legs and two or three 6x6s to adjust the height and angle of the work. if i can a screw a piece of plywood into the bottom i then screw that down to the table or one of the 6x6s. simple but effective. minimal cost.

[Jane Henson]

Alex,
You don't mention what kind of carving you do, in-the-round or relief. There are different caving stands depending on what you want to do. Many pros (ie chris Pye) say standing while carving is best for the carver. With that in mind there are some really good stands carvers are designing. WoodCarvingIllustrated.com has some good sources for a variety of stands. Here are a few ideas:

Andrew Wilburger carving stand1.jpg Andrew Wilburger's stand

Jim Farley carving stand 1.jpg Jim Farley's carving stand

Richard Davies workbench.jpg Ron Davies stand at WoodWorkersInstitute.com

Jack Barnhill - Lumberjocks - benchtop carving stand 30x24 holes 6in on ctr.jpg Jack Barnhill's benchtop stand over at Lumberjocks

I recommend you do a few Google Image searches to get you started. Good luck. Jane