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My Joinery Bench at WIA

17 comments
13 years ago
Joinery Workbench

From the very first day I started the Hand Tool School, I have gotten requests about building a bench. It seems that despite my epically long Roubo build on this blog and gigabytes worth of data all over the net that we still cannot get enough of bench building. So, I admit it, I’m caving and building another bench.

I have fought this mainly because it can be a time consuming project, it takes up a lot of space, and frankly I’m in the mood to build furniture lately. So I’m compromising by building something that I could really use while incorporating many of the same techniques I would use if I built a Roubo, Continental, or Holtzappfel style bench.

Enter the joinery bench. Tim Williams first popularized this little beauty in early 2010. I haven’t seen much talk about it since (I admit I haven’t really looked either)but it is an idea that has stuck with me. I’m 6’4″ tall and I find myself stooping a lot when dovetailing and tenoning. The 9 drawers (built twice, don’t ask) on my tool cabinet had me hobbling around for a week. I love my Roubo, it is the best thing I ever did for my shop but the time has come for the joinery bench.

Hand Tool School Joinery Bench

A general idea of my design so far.

I am going to begin building one in the next week and I will be showcasing the build in detail as part of semester 3 of the Hand Tool School. If you are not a member don’t worry, I will show some tidbits here and there on this blog, but more importantly, it will be my demonstration bench at the Hand Tool School booth at WIA in 2 months.  Please stop by and help me break it in.

The preliminary design is basically a very short Roubo bench combined with a traditional trestle, Continental style. The main work holding device is a full width twin screw vise made from Benchcrafted’s new Moxon hardware. Beyond that, I have some details to hammer out still.

So where to start? The amount of ink spilled on the topic of which wood to use could fill many Olympic swimming pools and it is something to consider. Usually, I land on the side of whatever is most available in your immediate area.

Weight is a factor since this bench will be smaller in size. I don’t want to have it moving around on me. At the same time, I won’t be doing any major planing on it so it doesn’t have to be as stable as my Roubo.  I have often found myself wanting to move my bench outside in nice weather but my 400+ lb Roubo does play that.  Finally, this bench will be made to knockdown so the species needs to be light enough that I won’t bust a gut moving the individual parts.

Hardness is a factor but the opposite way of most people’s thinking.  I want my benchtop to be softer than most of the woods I use in furniture so that my bench won’t marr my workpiece.  My Roubo is made from Ash.  It is hard; it was hard to make.  That is why you saw more powered routers at work than router planes during that build.  Softwoods are a great solution as they are cheap and readily available.

I also like to buy big pieces.  Laminating up thick legs and a top is no fun, so the fewer glue lines I have the better.

Stiffness measured in pounds per square inch is a major factor for the Roubo style bench that has no supporting apron.  The top material much not flex between legs.  This is not as important for a short joinery bench but still something to consider.

Douglas Fir comes to mind immediately as a prime species.  It is harder than Poplar yet softer than Cherry.  It is relatively light, but heavy enough that when all put together, the bench will be solid.  Additionally, I think my four thick post legs will be more weighty and stable than the cross leg design of Tim’s bench.  Douglas Fir also has a very high stiffness rating which is why it is so commonly used in structural framing for Timber framed homes.  Finally, I can get thick posts from the lumber yard where I work.  So I believe I will be making my legs and substructure from Douglas Fir.

Not the top…

Mahogany joinery benchtopRemember when I said, “whatever is readily available”?  I’m going to go against all the logical species selection points above and give in to my wood addictive side.  I recently salvaged some 12/4 Quartersawn African Mahogany (the good stuff from the Ivory Coast) from the back of the lumber yard.  Khaya Mahogany is heavy, but it is quite hard.  The grain is tough to plane as well.  The stiffness is ok, but not great.  So what am I thinking?

It was a small piece only 34″ long but it is 18″ wide.  Once surface planed I should be able to get 2 1/2 ” in thickness.  The piece is weathered and warped so I will have to remove a lot more wood to get it flat.  My design calls for a top that is 15×32 so it seems like fate that this piece should come into my hand doesn’t it?

I started removing some of the schmutz and yard grime then tackled some small parts with a block plane to see what I was dealing with under all the weathering.  Some beautiful ribbon figure immediately presented itself and this will be great to work with.  This slab is the perfect example that not all African Mahogany is created equal.  The bad reputation that species gets is mostly due to so many local species get conglomerated into one “brand”.  Khaya ivorensis from Cote d’Ivoire is some of the best stuff out there with consistent density and color.  It will pose some hand planing difficulties with all that interlocked grain, but I like a good challenge.

I can’t believe I’m going to build another bench, and that I’m this excited about it!

So what do you think?

  1. Would you save the Mahogany for a “furniture” project?
  2. Could you use a dedicated joinery bench?
  3. What is your lumber of choice for a workbench?

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Shawn Graham

Have you thought about angling the back legs out and to the side in order to push agains planing action but leaving the fronts perpendicular for pounding?

    Shannon

    Not really Shawn because I won’t be doing any planing on this bench. All of that work will be done down low on my regular workbench so I can get my body behind it. The only planes that will show up on this bench will be a block plane, router plane, or shoulder plane while refining joints. I will certainly consider it as I start to mock up parts however.

Bob Easton

1. Save that beautiful mahogany for a beautiful furniture project, NOT a bench!

2. Dedicated joinery bench? Nope! However, I focus more on boat building (12′ long English bench) and woodcarving.

Have you considered a “Bench on Bench” to ease the joinery chores? (ref: http://www.closegrain.com/2011/04/building-bench-on-bench.html)

3. Bench lumber: the cheap stuff from the home centers.

jHop

I think, if you are going to use El Gigante (a.k.a. the salvaged African Mahogany) for a joinery bench, then you need to continue the theme by building some new shop furniture out of the rest of El Gigante. (no, I don’t speak spanish.) Part number B: if you want a dedicated joinery bench, then build one. Personally, I like the idea, and am considering making one myself for my new location. It needs to weather out doors, as it will be exposed daily to all weather, but I think it’s a great idea. Obviously, this is not the bench of all benches, but it is a needed thing. As for the third segment, well, I’ve been using MDF and carpet. Of the two, I prefer MDF, as landlords complain less of sawdust than holes in the carpet. But if I had a choice, I think I’d go towards the Southern Yellow Pine. that or this segment of Waterfall Bubinga my local Woodcraft has on stock, with a sacrificial MDF top that slides over like a bench hook.

Adam Godet

Nothing says shop tools can’t be beautiful too…and who is going to appreciate that big slab more than you? Right? Use it and feel good about it. I think I’d use a joinery bench if I had more space, but my Rouboish bench already dominates my small shop…that bench was made from stained hard Maple for the base (got a crazy good deal) and two laminated Beech countertops from Ikea (also crazy cheap).

    Shannon

    I agree, Adam. You space inspires you. It is interesting to hear from someone who has a Maple and Beech top. Both of these woods are commonly accepted as benches yet, they are similar in hardness and other technical properties to this African Mahogany. You wouldn’t believe the emails I’m getting in response to this post. You would think I had uttered some kind of blasphemy for daring to use a Mahogany alternate on a bench. It’s funny really.

Dean

1. Maybe.

2. Not at this time.

3. I like heart pine.

    Shannon

    I love heart Pine Dean. Some good Longleaf old growth pine would be the best. That is what the benches in Williamsburg are made from. Can’t beat that stuff.

jmk89

1. Only if you look at it and see the furniture you want to build, otherwise, build the bench
2. Maybe. But I know that you can – you need to take a bench to WIA and you can’t work outside unless you get another bench, so what I want is irrelevant.
3. Whatever I have to hand that will do the job – it’s a bench for cryin’ out loud. unless it tells me that there is a project that I need to make from it, any timber in my stash that will work is the best wood for the job!

Ben Lowery

Do it! Every time you use the bench, you’ll smile. I love having nice tools that inspire me while I’m working.