Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 22 of 22

Thread: Rock maple? Ipe? Finally may start building a decent workbench. want advice

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    1,356
    Definitely stay away from ipe. Awful stuff to work with.

    I just posted the below in answer to a similar question on the General Woodworking page.

    Ipe is not dried when you get it from the lumber yard. It's milled in the tropics and shipped wet, and will be very unstable when you buy it.

    One mature ipe tree grows in 7 - 20 acres of forest, and to get to that tree there is a huge amount of wasted nature. Yes it's a super hard very durable wood, but we have plenty of good woods here in the USA and in my opinion we should use local materials instead of contributing directly to the depletion on the rain forests.

    Plus it's awful to work with. I made a couple of table tops from reclaimed ipe fencing. Won't work with it again.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    Off the top of my head Christopher Schwarz has a new workbench book, the Anarchists Work Bench, about building a cheap Roubo with the PDF available for free.
    Here is a link to the free download:

    https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-con...ne-2020_v5.pdf

    How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. Putting a tool away immediately after use, then getting up to get it 15 minutes later when it is needed again isn't my style. That is my main reason for wanting a tool well. Putting tools away at the beginning or end of the day works for me.

    My work in progress tends to also stay on my bench. Even when it is a dozen parts or more. That is also the reason for splitting the top. The project's pieces can be kept on the other side of the well.

    One odd feature wanted is a face vise with a left handed orientation. On some occasions this has been advantageous.

    That explains some of my design reasoning.

    It may be none of the features planned for my bench fit in to your work methods or interest.

    It may help to make a list of what functions you desire and how you want to accomplish them. Then design your bench to accmplish them efficiently.

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

  3. #18
    "How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. "

    I so much agree with this. You can read the Landis book or Schwarz, and you can follow some theoretical ideal for a bench. Or you can build them cheap and keep making new ones until you get to your perfect bench. Whether you work with hand tools or power tools, or do a lot of joinery or planing or carving, or chair making or tables will all affect what works best for you regarding vises and stops and thickness and size.

    I don't mean to be a snob, but having worked on a couple bench styles over the past 15 years, I trust my own experience above anyone elses. It's like asking "what should I look for in a spouse?". You'll learn what you need if you date around a little.

    I'd make it according to your instincts, but don't sink so much $$ into it that you'll regret modifying or scrapping it in a few years when or if your taste and wisdom changes.



  4. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Silicon Valley, CA
    Posts
    1,048
    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    "How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. "

    I so much agree with this. ...
    This is true, but I think with thought, planning, and good advice (e.g. the workbench books) you can anticipate many, if not most, of your needs. E.g. I just measured my wife's classical guitar at about 17" wide. I'd bet good money they didn't use a symmetrical split top bench to work on it, because you'd want at least 18" deep to support the thin top & back while you worked on them. (Also remember a classical guitar is on the small side for an acoustic guitar.

    Schwarz talks about what you need to work the face & edges of furniture pieces in his book(s). He seems to use the same benches but with extensive workholding additions when working on chairs, see his blog posts. He says nothing about what a carver, luthier, or other specialist might want or need, but his basic questions would allow you to evaluate features for what you really want given what you want to build.

  5. #20
    Paul Sellers has an extensive set of videos on building a bench from quality 18mm plywood. He rips the plywood with his band saw into strips and laminates the strips into the various components of the bench. The top is made from what look like 10 cm strips laminated together so that the top is edge grain.
    It looks to work well when he is building projects.
    The only vice is a large record type that seems to serve him nicely.
    He has a tray and an extension behind. Also, an under the top drawer.

    Best,
    Rick

  6. Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    Definitely stay away from ipe.
    I could not agree more, not only is it never sustainably harvested but it’s a pita to work with. Silicates, twisted grain, doesn’t glue well ...
    Moreover, a very dense hard wood can be quite bouncy and noisy. It prefer "softer" hardwoods, such as beech. European maple is too soft though.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,758
    Contrarian view here

    I think the bench shapes the method of work to a large extent. A small shop shapes a disciplined worker (put tools away often). A lame little face vise teaches clamping to the bench. A lightweight bench discourages chopping mortises. Site work teaches a whole bunch of other skills.

    Actually site work is something I'm glad to have left behind. Now I can hardly open a can of soup without taking it to the shop.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •