Lie-Nielsen Benches *LINK*

Re: More Perspective -Dean's Bench building fiasco

john in toronto

>Dean,

I was part of the bench-building group, and I disagree with some of the things you said in your original post.

Personally, I learned a lot (since we covered everything from wood selection to finishing) and I had fun. No, I didn�t finish my bench in the allotted time, but soon after. The time was always a target, not a deadline. As you know, our teacher wanted to take more time, but getting 13 students to commit beyond 6 months was like herding cats.

I think it�s unfair and inaccurate to call the teacher a power tool nut and your fellow students power tool junkies. Our teacher uses both power and hand tools, is proficient in both, and teaches the use of both. I also use both.

To quote Thomas Moser, �Power tools were and are an adjunct to craftsmanship, not the other way around, and I make no apologies for the labour-saving choices we have made. (Visit some of the Shaker communities in New England, as I have, and see how many power tools they used.)

You�re right in one respect: Building a traditional bench is a huge project. And it�s not cheap. But as I said, I don�t regret doing it. I learned a lot, I had a good time, and I have a good, solid workbench to show for it.

John in Toronto

P.S. I�m having trouble posting a picture to this site. If anyone wants to have a look at the bench that I made, you can find it at http://community.webshots.com. In the search box type � work bench (beech) �

Order 0001

Todd Stock

>I think anyone who's done this for a while recognizes that an $1800 price sticker for a US-made, traditional quality 8' bench with German hardware does not allow much profit. Just in materials, you're out close to $600, so with anything over 30 hours of total labor, it's tough to see anyone making money.

As for the ebony bench you've contracted to make us, I'm think about $10/bf for ebony (I can dream), so figure $140 for each of the vises and $1000 for the wood, you've left yourself $520 for labor.

Which is where we repeat the old saw...the way to make a small fortune in woodworking is to start with a large one.

Re: Lie-Nielsen Benches

Jim Shaver - Oakville, Ontario

>Hi,

Rob makes a very nice bench, I think he's made a few that he brings to the shows. I know he sells his own work as well.

Take care,

Jim

Competition for L-N?

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>With all of the comments about the outrageous price of the L-N, I thought that some entrepreneur would for sure offer to sell the same bench for $599.95.

;-)

Re: More Perspective -Dean's Bench building fiasco

Dean in Burlington

>You guys are killing me!!!!

You are on a hand tools forum. Read it for a while and you will find out you are a power tool nut. People on this forum don't use a tennoning jig on the table saw to cut tennons. People on this forum don't use a mortice attachment on their drill press to chop mortices. Some people on this forum will use power tools for certain things like dimentioning lumber and edge profiling but most of them will use hand tools for joint making. All the students in the class ran out and purchased these 2 things because this was the way the instructor did his mortise and tennons. You all had a good laugh and the instuctor was always making jokes about how much hand tools I was using. How I was crazy to cut my tennons with a hand saw and chop my mortises with a chisel...even though I was the first person done that part of the bench because you wasted so much time setting up your jigs.

Now, I was not insulting you or the instuctor. I did point out that the instuctor used hand tools for joint making, dovetails and large panel flatening. I did not say anywhere that he wasn't provicent in either. The comparison of the other students and the instructor choosing power tools for most of their work (which is not an insult) was to show just how important the bench is....even to those who use power tools. I don't care what you use. You want to lose the term power tool nut (which is not an insult either) then throw away your tennoning jig and mortice attachment and then we'll talk....and get a few more hand planes :)

Re: Lie-Nielsen Benches

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>This new product is really going to challenge the folks who like to save the box - imagine explaining to your significant other that you have to add another bay to the garage to store the box that your new LN bench came in.

I don't think you get the point!

Derek

>People who do woodworking for a hobby don't have enough time in the shop as it is. They need time for making other things like handplanes and chisels so they buy a bench. :>)

Re: More Perspective

Charles in Neustadt

>I disagree totally with Dean on the workbench. I was on the same course and although I have not yet finished my bench (March I hope), due to work and other projects, I felt that the course was very worthwhile. I learned a tremoundous amount about woodworking in general and will have a great workbench to use.

I Agree With Charles

Hank Knight in SC

>I'm just finishing up a LOOONG bench building project - well over a year of off-and-on-again weekend work. There have been times I kicked myself for ever getting involved in the project. It has preempted all other woodworking projects, consumed my thoughts, time and energy and it was way more expensive than I expected. But now that it's done I'm very happy I did it. I learned a lot, gained a lot of confidence in my skills and I have a bench the I couldn't buy on the commercial market if I tried.