Official Luthiers Forum!

I have bee wanting to revamp the work area and build a new work bench. I have looked at the options and like most of the traditional ones. I found this one to be interesting as a non-traditional one. Any comments on how it would work for the work we do?


http://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop ... ng-eletter

_________________
Wisdom is justified by her children

Get a copy of "The Workbench book" by Landis from Tuanton. It covers all types of benches, traditional and modern. Excellent reference book.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

That thing looks hellish to me. Wants to roll all over the place. Got to remove panels to get to stuff. No thanks.

_________________
http://goatrockukulele.com

it will make a nice display for a tool collector but it may have a use is a limited space shop. I think we all personalize our benches so they fit us for what we want to do .

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Workbenches can be personalized . But your way of doing operations comes more into play. I have 3 traditional style benches at different heights, for different operations. which works for me . In french chacun a son gout . or to each his own taste.

Thats hat happens to any flat space in the shop now. The clamping feature was interesting.



The wheels did seem to be a distracter.




Collecting work benches like other tools. Hmm... That means I might have to build a bigger better shop


Thanks for the replays, gives me something to ponder and more books to buy

_________________
Wisdom is justified by her children

If you have your bench on wheels, spend a little more and use four locking swivel casters - you don't want to be making a five point turn every time you move your bench.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

If you don't want wheels, you could leave them off.

This bench seems a bit small and specialized to me. Especially the built in vac stuff. A little too complex for my taste. The cord hangars are a good idea for a sanding bench, but that could be incorporated to any bench style.

Regarding the built in clamping, it looks handy, but seems like it might not be ideal for luthiery, and might get in the way for some things.

One thing I have to deal with for my bench(s) is, that to some degree, they have to be functional for non-luthiery activities, as they live in a general purpose two car garage. To that end, I try to keep them simple and adapt to whatever the situation calls for as needed.

_________________
Jim Hansen

I agree with Todd on a traditional bench paired with one or two setup tables. I use the front and tail vises on my bench a lot and wish I’d spent a bit more for better quality vises. Also, a StewMac guitar vise or Parrot vise will be very useful.

I’m also not a fan of the shop vac dust collection idea unless it’s being exhausted outside, otherwise the most harmful ultra fine dust can pass through and get dispersed back into the breathing space; a problem with many homemade downdraft tables and even with some dedicated dust collection systems. My preferred routine for shaping wood is to minimize the wood dust generated by selecting appropriate tools and sequence of work. This favors hand tools over power tools where a good sturdy traditional style bench is indispensable.

Joe

Along with a traditional Ulmia Bench, I have several MDF top benches.

It's really great to have at least one benchtop that you can screw, drill,
and cut into without worrying about wrecking the aesthetics.

Thanks or starting this thread.
One thing I'm going to do is drill some holes in my workbench,
for some dowel dogs.
That way I won't be holding stuff with my hands and clamps as much.

The Japanese have worked successfully for centuries without any real workbenches. Sitting on the floor with a beam and set of 6" or so high horses. In the cabinet shop I have big heavy benches made from Melamine board or flake with P-LAM , very glue resistant. We replace the P-LAM every so often as it gets wore out. Furniture and cabinetry are big heavy pieces that require a stout bench. Chopping out the dovetails in maple for drawer boxes is hard work that also requires a good solid bench. I see no need for that here in the guitar shop. The work is lighter, there is no heavy chopping to be done and my benches here are lighter. Plywood tops over 2X4 frames with 4 coats of Spar for the main one and one with a top made of 1X8 pine boards. The front always takes the most wear and it's easy and cheap enough to replace that front 1X8 every now and again. The bench is perhaps the most personal tool in the shop, and no one bench will ever suite all tasks equally. Oh yeah, I have an old B&D Workmate also. Great for quick extra workspace and fairly cheap also.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Something I've noticed lately, is that ss I do more and more operations with forms and jigs mounted in a vice, bench top real estate becomes less and less important.

My Solera and other various workboards have all (mostly) been fitted with a hardwood rail to facilitate putting them in my zyliss or pattern vice, and find myself using them that way more and more. The bench surface ends up being a convenient place to put things down when I'm not using them :p

_________________
Jim Hansen

+1 for Todd

I have an assembly table and a 10' long piece of 3/4" ply on two saw horses for my work area and my first guitar is coming along nice and slow.

_________________
Adam

What I call my "power tool workbench" most people call a tablesaw.
I use an old maple topped mail sorting table as my main workbench. About 5 feet long and 3 feet deep.

Mark,
Beware of thinking that a Shop vac is all that is needed for dust collection. It is a tempting thought that I wish were true. Many power tools need 4x to 10x what they provide. You'll be breathing a lot of fine dust if all you have is a Shop vac.
Ed

Thanks for the heads up Ed, I would love to have a large dust collector. The space i have right now won't allow that. I use a small cyclone along with a shop van to help with dust for the time being.

_________________
Wisdom is justified by her children

FWIW, the "workbench" I seem to use most is an old delta table saw that I've dedicated to fingerboard slotting. It's just a square top...no wings, no fence. I made a plywood top for it years ago that used to hold my chop saw. Now, I do all my carving, routing and sanding on that thing.

If I had to build another bench, and someday I will sell my cabinet makers bench and replace it, I would just have a square bench with a couple of vices, storage underneath, and some holes to attach work boards (or soleras).

I used a door for my workbench, and added laminated pieces of recycled oak (about 1') to the front edge. Works fine.

_________________
"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.