Solid European beech work bench:
This 7 foot by 2 foot bench is where I do most of my hand-tool work. I have added a small shelf which rests on the two large trestle cross-boards for extra tool storage. The back of the tool rest has an architects light which slides along the maple board. This was a great and very useful project partly inspired by one of my CFC instructors.
Solid European Beech workbench made in 2019/2020.
Needing a “real” workbench as a place to do my woodwork, I purchased a large set of boards from a local hardwood shop (Aura Hardwoods in Sacramento, CA). Using the UC Davis Craft Center’s wood studio to mill all the wood, I slowly assembled this monster. The trickiest parts were creating the tail-vice from scratch and figuring out the back tool bin so it was integrated into the main table-top. The table-top is almost 3 inches thick and the legs are all over 4” x 4”. Most of the joinery is mortise and tenon joinery with the trestle cross-bars being pegged/wedged through tenons.
Bench pins.
I made the bench pins from a small board of Santos Mahogany I had. To make them 3/4” rounds, I milled them with a large router bit on my router table and then fine-tuned their shape by hand with sand paper. I trimmed stainless steel bicycle spoke is embedded into a groove of each pin which allows the pins to be held in place by the spring action of the spoke inserts. The tops of all the pins are shaped so that pieces of wood rest flat on the face of the pins. The tail-vice and end-vice both can be used with these pins to hold wood in place when I am working on the wood.
Main Vice.
The main bench-face vice is built so that the main table-top acts as part of the clamp. The vice parts were purchased from a recommended vice manufacturer. I have large pieces of thick leather glued onto the faces of the vice which allow for a solid slip-free and soft clamping of whatever is in the vice. The two holes you see in the vice have custom short bench pins which slip in when needed.