Project Information
Last summer I saw the wedge vises that Shipwright showed on the Lumberjocks site and really liked them. You can see these at http://lumberjocks.com/projects/70524. Shipwright has a nice little video on how they work and a Sketchup drawing showing the details.
Later I saw the "milkman's workbench" in an article by Chris Scwarz and immediately liked it too although I didn't know what I would do with one. You can see the original article at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workbenches/schwarz-workbenches/the-modern-milkmans-workbench and an updated article at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workbenches/schwarz-workbenches/the-milkmans-workbench-in-use which includes a video of it in use.
Why not combine the two? I didn't want to spend the time to make the wooden screws anyway. Of course as I was typing this up I found that Ilkka Sivonen of Finland had already done something similar. You can see his version at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/milkmans-workbench-without-screws. Sivonen's version is really nice but he used big wedges whereas mine uses small ones like Shipwright's to allow a plane to get at the project easier.
So here is my version, warts and all. I tried it out on the deck and really liked it. It works better than expected. The front vise has a removable spacer which is just a super-wide version of the spacers in Shipwright's vise. The bench is made of pallet wood and I haven't cleaned it up yet but you can look at the different versions for ideas to make your own.
It's a fun project. A view of the trees sure beats a windowless basement when the weather is nice.
Later I saw the "milkman's workbench" in an article by Chris Scwarz and immediately liked it too although I didn't know what I would do with one. You can see the original article at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workbenches/schwarz-workbenches/the-modern-milkmans-workbench and an updated article at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workbenches/schwarz-workbenches/the-milkmans-workbench-in-use which includes a video of it in use.
Why not combine the two? I didn't want to spend the time to make the wooden screws anyway. Of course as I was typing this up I found that Ilkka Sivonen of Finland had already done something similar. You can see his version at http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/milkmans-workbench-without-screws. Sivonen's version is really nice but he used big wedges whereas mine uses small ones like Shipwright's to allow a plane to get at the project easier.
So here is my version, warts and all. I tried it out on the deck and really liked it. It works better than expected. The front vise has a removable spacer which is just a super-wide version of the spacers in Shipwright's vise. The bench is made of pallet wood and I haven't cleaned it up yet but you can look at the different versions for ideas to make your own.
It's a fun project. A view of the trees sure beats a windowless basement when the weather is nice.