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Thread: Nicholson workbench

  1. #1
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    Question Nicholson workbench

    For 25+ years I have used a commercial French style workbench with a front and a tail vices. It is made from somekind of cedar measuring 1600 mm (5´4") by 550 mm (1´10"). It have fitted virtually all my needs up to recently.

    As I started to use more manual tools I discovered it is light weight for some applications and both my crap vices are near to useless. I considered to update my vices but from the limited options available locally it would be a very expensive update and it would not solve the problem of low mass from my workbench.

    I decided to make one.

    I´m going to construct a traditional English Nicholson workbench - viseless. Actually I was really surprised how some people works so fine using a such kind of workbench.

    Last month I received four very nice and functional holdfasters. Hand forged. They cost me (equivalent to) USD 50.

    This week I purchased the wood. I found a good lot of maçaranduba in a lumberyard near home. Three planks at 55 mm thickness - at the total 0.16 cubic meter. Maçaranduba, "massaranduba" as usually write abroad, is a very hard wood, with more than double of typical pine. It is (almost) odorless and very low contents in resins. It glues well. You can get some information looking for bullet wood. The planks are well stored in my garage where they will stay up to the second half of (next) December. It cost me another USD 50.

    I have intention to make the benchtop 50 mm thick as it is very convenient to holdfaster - and it would have the same mass as using 4" or even 5" pine.

    I have a couple of questions:

    1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?

    2) Most workbenches here are made of hard and dense woods (the top is a friend of me that have big workbench made totally with purpleheart) but I saw personally a few, and by photos and internet the most of them in the US made of pine. I guess the main reason is that wood are easy to get and cheap... any one have experience using hard wood tabletop for your workbench?

    Thanks in advance for any hint.
    All the best.

    Osvaldo.

  2. #2
    Here is a great video to watch for viseless Nicholson type benches.
    viseless workbench
    Jon

  3. #3
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    Thank you - I appreciate.

    Actually Mike is my idol! I also purchased him a DVD contents he made on the subject (downloaded by internet)... when I grow up I want to be like him! Seriously!
    Last edited by Osvaldo Cristo; 10-17-2019 at 6:00 PM. Reason: Typo as usual
    All the best.

    Osvaldo.

  4. #4
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    I'm in the process of slowly constructing a viseless benchtop workbench. I am using 20mm holes and some Veritas surface clamps and plane stops. The advantage of 20mm is that Festool MFT/3 gear can be used too and that I am not locked in with 3/4" gear only. A Frostner bit has a tendency to lock tight when drilling deep holes. There are some bradpoint bits on the famous auction site that are 250mm long, have a 10mm chuck part and are 20mm drill part. The brand is Heller and are made in Germany. I start with the Frostner and then after about 3/4" deep switch over to the brad bit.

    I am using a normal electric drill in one of those portable drill stands and swing the drill outside the bottom while using the Veritas surface clamps to hold the drillstand using previously drilled holes. I also made a template with three holes in some delrin to make sure that everything is spaced about the same.

    Hope this helps, Marinus

  5. #5
    Osvaldo,

    I do not build English style benches, for no reason other than I just haven't. I do build other style benches and I expect as far as slabs go the needs are close to the same. Depending on wood and the span 50mm slab thickness should be ok. I have build several small benches with about 5' span between supports with no problem using 45mm European Beech slabs. I've used hand tools on a viseless Roubo bench that had an English style apron with no problem. I'm not a fan of tail vises and there are many ways to replace a face vise, full disclosure, I like having a face vise but working without one is no problem if you have an apron on your bench.

    I've made pine slabs, prefer harder wood with a tighter grain. I think Hard Maple is too hard, the perfect slab wood is Beech, hard but soft enough to not dent your work piece, easy to work and light enough in color to be easy on my old eyes.

    I hope this helps,

    ken

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Osvaldo Cristo View Post
    1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?
    Osvaldo, I built a Nicholson over the summer. I am a hobbyist, not a professional, and have had limited time to work on it since building it. That said, I don’t think you will regret it. A good stop (the one on Mike’s design is excellent), and a doe’s foot will hold a board for planing the face as well as anybody could want. The crochet on the front with pegs looks a little hokey, but it really works well for working the edge of a board.

  7. #7
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    SDC12554.jpg

    Long time ago...tried this version...Still around..friend of mine uses it for a lathe stand....I did keep the leg vise, though...

  8. #8
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    Build it Osvaldo and never slow down. With or without vises. have fun.
    David

  9. #9
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    Here is one of my devices for vise free wood working:

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?223428

    There is a link in the thread for The Woodright's Shop program where this was shown.

    There are also a few in other posts of mine:

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?272588

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?262272

    There are also some articles on line about Roman work benches. These used pegs/dogs to hold work.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  10. #10
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    1) Do any of you have experience with viseless workbench when using manual tools? What were/is your impressions?

    I am absolutely bananas for my holdfasts. I had wanted a pair for a long long time, when I got them I started using them a lot. Now when I am carrying a workpiece to my bench I am thinking about how to hold it down with my holdfasts. I still have, and will likely always have a vise - I have not figured out how to sharpen a saw without a vise yet for instance - but haven't had to build a lot of other holding tools for the work I am doing either. I did build a new pair of sawhorses with thicker tops so I can use my holdfasts on my new sawhorses instead of F clamps.

    2) Most workbenches here are made of hard and dense woods (the top is a friend of me that have big workbench made totally with purpleheart) but I saw personally a few, and by photos and internet the most of them in the US made of pine. I guess the main reason is that wood are easy to get and cheap... any one have experience using hard wood tabletop for your workbench?

    Actually no, I don't, but didn't want to leave you wondering. For me, as you sumrised correctly, pine is plentiful and cheap enough for me to just buy wider pine boards to make weight rather than spend more money on the same weight of maple or beech or similar. There is some discussion that a softer wood benchtop is less likely to mar whatever thing you are working on, and it is supposed to be "easier" to plane a pine benchtop back to flat when it is heavily scarred. I agree with Chris Schwarz for bench tops you should use whatever is plentiful, inexpensive and already well seasoned, well dried.

  11. #11
    Hi Osvaldo,
    I use holdfasts and a variety of other devices on my bench. I seldom use the vise I have. The other
    more traditional solutions work very well. Jim Koepke has posted a couple threads on workholding - and I see he has posted links.

    Please post pictures as you build your new bench!

    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  12. #12
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    The bench you propose, an improved Roman bench will serve well for most things, however I don’t think the Romans were big on dovetails. When holding a cabinet side for dovetails a front vise is most useful. Working the end of a plank is also a challenge. You can find work arounds with clamps for some things but these are awkward and time consuming compared to a front vise.
    The Roman bench is simple to build, it will probably not be your last bench, something to remember when you decide on your budget.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Fretwell View Post
    The bench you propose, an improved Roman bench will serve well for most things, however I don’t think the Romans were big on dovetails. When holding a cabinet side for dovetails a front vise is most useful. Working the end of a plank is also a challenge. You can find work arounds with clamps for some things but these are awkward and time consuming compared to a front vise.
    The Roman bench is simple to build, it will probably not be your last bench, something to remember when you decide on your budget.
    The aprons with a pair of holdfasts is very quick for holding panels against the front of a bench.

    Somethings are a bit large for a front vise to hold. Wedges are another easy way to hold work:

    Clamp & Wedges.jpg

    The back side of the work is held by two wide spaced dogs:

    Back Side of Work.jpg

    This set up held throughout the sawing and chiseling of this dado.

    jtk


    What took the most time for this was ripping a piece of scrap to fit the gap between the workpiece and two dogs then cutting it into a pair of wedges.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    The aprons with a pair of holdfasts is very quick for holding panels against the front of a bench.

    Somethings are a bit large for a front vise to hold. Wedges are another easy way to hold work:

    Clamp & Wedges.jpg

    The back side of the work is held by two wide spaced dogs:

    Back Side of Work.jpg

    This set up held throughout the sawing and chiseling of this dado.

    jtk


    What took the most time for this was ripping a piece of scrap to fit the gap between the workpiece and two dogs then cutting it into a pair of wedges.
    Jim,

    Thanks for continuing to post holding methods using stops, battens, bench appliances, and holdfasts. I'm like you, most of my work holding is not done in a face vise and I do not have a tail vise. It is so natural and quicker to work with other ways, gravity and good technique is powerful. I forget to take photos, you fill the gap.

    Having said that, I sure do love my new BenchCrafted Classic Screw and Crisscross, almost, kinda, leg vise on the new bench.

    ken

  15. #15
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    A Nicholson can be your forever bench

    I think a lot of people underestimate how good a bench the Nicholson configuration can be. When I built my Nicholson I decided to use maple and if I had built this bench first I probably would have built an assembly bench in lieu of another woodworking bench. One advantage of having two benches is that you can use one for an assembly bench even though a purpose built bench would most probably work better for that use. But I digress. I've watch people work on vise less benches and it seems one has to spend an inordinate amount of time on work holding, in lieu of woodworking so that doesn't work for me. You'll notice I have a leg vise and tail vise on mine. I also have what I call a hanging deadman that is quite adjustable and convenient. I had intended to add an 8/4 thick shelf between the stretchers just for the additional mass. The shelf wasn't needed and no shelf meant I could store saw benches and the such underneath.

    The great thing about the Nicholson configuration is adding a leg vise and letting in a tail vise would be easily accomplished after the fact which is not quite the case with some other forms.

    Ron

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