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Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

A55 Smoothing Plane

with all the talk of workbenches lately

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with all the talk of workbenches lately

#1

with all the talk of workbenches lately

chris toomey

>hey guys

this summer i came into a pile of lumber. included in it was what thought to be 12/4 x4"x8' red oak. i planned to build a work bench out of it this winter. i picked up a record 52E viseat a discount store for 25 bucks, but only the 7,however. i had planned on extending its size with wood pads. i wasn't planning on a tail vise. i was going to use the wonder dog system by veritas.

today, however, i discoverd that half of the pile is hard maple. more than enough for the top. with all the talk of workbenches lately...i'm now wondering what to do. for the amount of work it will take, i wonder if i should invest in a good shoulder vise and tail vise. the wood was essentially free. so what would you do? i'm getting into hand tools...mostly for joinery...learning dovetails...scrapers. could i invest in a good shoulder vise and use the wonder dog system? your help is appreciated.

chris

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#2

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

Alan Bierbaum

>The short answer is do what you want to do. What worked for me was a european style bench with a face vise and a tail vise. Other people reached different conclusions.

Step one is list everything that the bench must do, along with things that you would also like to do.

Then read everything that you can about various benches. Two sources of information are the Landis Workbench book and the WoodCentral archives.

Like just about every decision; there is no one correct answer.

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#3

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately *LINK*

Todd Stock

>The new Workbench book is out from Taunton, and it updates and improves upon the Landis book.

Also check out the following link for a decent discussion of vises, etc.


Link to Bob's Workbench Pages

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#4

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately *LINK*

paul womack

>I've attached my opinion-free directory of bench information.

BugBear


http://www.geocities.com/plybench/bench.html

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#5

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>What I like about the Wonderdog: It's sturdy, well made, inexpensive, and is very flexible.

What I dislike about the Wonderdog (in other words, what a different setup can do better for you): It is very slow to adjust, because the threads are fine, the handle is short, there is no quick release, and the top of the bench gets in the way of the handle. It is inconvenient for holding stock less than about 5/8" thick. The inconvenience leans towards "disaster", if a plane blade or plane sole actually encounters the top of the dog.

Even if you have an end vise, the Wonderdog can be a useful tool to have around, especially if you build in anything beyond straightandsquare A&C style.

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#6

thanks guys

chris toomey

>

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately

#7

Re: with all the talk of workbenches lately *LINK*

Dean J From MN

>I suggest you take a look at:

http://estimatortools.us/cms/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=30#30

(See post posted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:41 am)

In specific, see the post of the bench in use -- This may give you ideas! It is a simple and very functional bench.

-Dean


http://estimatortools.us/cms/index.php?name=Forums

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