Comments on: The Sad State of Workbenches (Part 1): What Used to Be Right http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/index.php/the-sad-state-of-workbenches-part-1-what-used-to-be-right/ Tue, 14 May 2013 23:55:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Joe K http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/index.php/the-sad-state-of-workbenches-part-1-what-used-to-be-right/comment-page-1/#comment-224347 Joe K Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:16:02 +0000 http://woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/?p=3959#comment-224347 Hm. I like the shoulder vise idea; it’s an interesting alternative to the leg vises (though those are prettier). And as the pic shows, there’s still room for a metal vise on the end of the shoulder if you want one of those too.

My house came with a basic homebrew bench with _no_ vise. I’ve been considering cleaning it up and adding vise(s). Unfortunately I have limited space, so I’m a bit hesitant to do much that would extend it forward, which makes me hesitate to consider trying to retrofit a shoulder… if that would even be possible.

Interesting point about square dogs; I haven’t had enough experience with dogging large pieces to have any good sense of how much more stable they are.

Likewise re the staggered holes in the end vise’s jaws, though I’m not sure that would save enough time/effort to make any real difference for an amateur.

I’m still skeptical about hollowing the benchtop for the tool bin, BTW. Yeah, it keeps stuff from rolling off the bench, but I’m not convinced it’s any more convenient than storage under the bench would be and it seems to either cut into useful bench surface or force the bench to be deeper than otherwise necessary.

]]> By: Wade Prunest http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/index.php/the-sad-state-of-workbenches-part-1-what-used-to-be-right/comment-page-1/#comment-222598 Wade Prunest Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:46:05 +0000 http://woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/?p=3959#comment-222598 Great article! My work station just has a typical top, shelves underneath to hold things, a few drawers, and a vise. Reading this article and seeing what my station could look like, makes me think my next project should be building a station with that much functionality. Thanks for the great read and keep up good work.

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