Portable Moravian Workbench Update

[ken hatch]

After finishing the portable bench build I wanted to work on it before schlepping it all over the PNW and other points of interest. I moved the old joinery/assembly bench against the wall under the wood storage and set up the portable bench in its place. I've been working on the bench for a couple or three weeks now and it has exceeded all expectations. In fact in many ways I like working on it better than the main English/French bench.


The Lake Erie Toolworks wood screw has made the best woodworking vise I've used. It is fast 2 turns/inch and holds like no other. The bench itself is rock solid in both directions, it is hard to believe a bench that can't weight much more than 200lbs total can be this solid. I only have one quibble with the bench as a daily user, it is too short. Just not enough total real estate, wide enough but needs to be longer.


I expect to take care of that some time in the next year. After the PNW trip the portable bench will find a home in the motorhome's side bins and I will build another Moravian bench to shop size, about 600mmX2500mm. Approximately 2'X8' for those still stuck in the world of hands and stones.


I'm making a "Changing Table" per the DIL's request (the new Grandpeanut is due around the first of July). It will be painted so the wood is Poplar. All the parts are sized and I'm in the process of marking out before doing the joinery. I expect a good part of the joinery will be done on the small bench.


Here it is with one of the legs in the vise for marking out:

smallWorkbench180524dscf2704.jpg

As always....Click it to big it.

ken

[David Eisenhauer]

I still like that bench Ken. I just got back from an AZ camping trip and have discovered that the short (very) Texas spring went away and the summer climate gained prominence in my shop while I was gone. Please remind me what wood the bench is made of and how was the vise for installation?

[James Pallas]

Nice looking bench Ken. It's looks kind of light and fast like a thoroughbred against a Morgan. You may be on your way to creating a trend. Next year it will be Morovian and the Roubo will go the way of the big old Fleetwood mega cruisers.
Jim

[Stew Denton]

Ken,

Looks great! Some day I hope to have one a little like it for a portable bench for carpentry.

Stew

[ken hatch]

I still like that bench Ken. I just got back from an AZ camping trip and have discovered that the short (very) Texas spring went away and the summer climate gained prominence in my shop while I was gone. Please remind me what wood the bench is made of and how was the vise for installation?

David,

We are going to Alpine AZ this weekend, same story here it is summer in Tucson. Where did y’all camp?

The bench is All Poplar except for the main slab (Beech), vise chop (Red Oak), and screw (Maple).

[ken hatch]

Nice looking bench Ken. It's looks kind of light and fast like a thoroughbred against a Morgan. You may be on your way to creating a trend. Next year it will be Morovian and the Roubo will go the way of the big old Fleetwood mega cruisers.
Jim

Jim,

The shop bench will be a little heavier mostly because I will make the slab thicker and maybe the base out of Oak instead of Poplar but it will still look much lighter than a Roubo. This bench shows with good design you can have a lighter but stable bench.

Folks that move a lot should think about building one. Or even if you don’t expect to move often it is a good stable workbench.

ken

[ken hatch]

Ken,

Looks great! Some day I hope to have one a little like it for a portable bench for carpentry.

Stew

Stew,

Go for it. The build is very cheap. About the only expense part is the vise screw and if you didn’t want portability you could use a cheap metal vise.

ken

[William Fretwell]

The clean lines make the bench very appealing. Will you have a tail vise on the longer version you plan to build?

[ken hatch]

The clean lines make the bench very appealing. Will you have a tail vise on the longer version you plan to build?

William,

I've had wagon vises and I've used small English metal QR vises in the tail position. I'm not a fan of either. For the number of times a wagon vise is the best holding option it is not worth the bench top real estate nor the effort to install. Full disclosure: I have a QR vise installed in the tail position on my main bench, it is seldom used as a tail vise instead I find it handy to hold boards for some sawing operations and as a second face vise. I find holdfasts, stops and battens work better for most tail vise type operations and the little Veritas "stop thingy" works well if needed.

I know long answer to a simple question (MsBubba has learned over the years to never ask a question). No I will not install a tail vise.

ken

[David Eisenhauer]

A buddy from Houston followed and we camped around the greater Tucson area in various Coronado Mtn nat'l forests. The last (and best) spot was just north of the Tucson limits and I enjoyed several hiking trails there. Mexican food was close enough in north Tucson to entice me to blow off camp cooking a couple of evenings. I like the Sonoran desert. We left the area just as the weather turned hot. How was the Lake Erie vise for installation?

[ken hatch]

A buddy from Houston followed and we camped around the greater Tucson area in various Coronado Mtn nat'l forests. The last (and best) spot was just north of the Tucson limits and I enjoyed several hiking trails there. Mexican food was close enough in north Tucson to entice me to blow off camp cooking a couple of evenings. I like the Sonoran desert. We left the area just as the weather turned hot. How was the Lake Erie vise for installation?

Yep, the Sonoran desert is one of the prettiest deserts in the world but once summer arrives it, like most deserts, can be very dangerous. We lose a few every year to heat and floods.

The making of the leg vise using the Lake Erie screw is very easy. You need a 2 5/8" hole saw to make the holes in the chop and the leg or vise backer. A mortise for the parallel guide and that is about it. Quick and easy. If you are thinking about using one buy the brass garter with the screw.

ken