| Review by Tomcat1066 | posted 324 days ago | 362 views | 0 times favorited | 5 comments | ![]() |
When I first looked at this book, it was being touted at the end-all, be-all book of workbenches. Now, in all honesty, I don’t know about that. However, I do know that it is one of the most essential books out there for designing a workbench.
Schwarz details what he feels are the essential requirements for a workbench based on the type of work one does. For example, a power tool only woodworker can get away with an old door on a couple of saw horses. But for those of us who use hand tools, it’s a whole different ball game. We need a bench that will do certain things, and a door just won’t do the trick.
To that end, Chris Schwarz takes you step by step to figure out what kind of wood to use, what kind of vises to use, and is pretty straight forward about the pros and cons of each type. He finishes by giving two types of workbenches one can build that meet the criteria he’s laid out and very detailed plans one can follow to the letter and step by step instruction. However, by that point, one has a better grasp on workbenches and may not actually need the plans.
This book is a must have for anyone who wants to use hand tools and wants a workbench that will meet those specific needs.
-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!
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5 comments so far
rikkor
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8645 posts in 414 days
posted 324 days ago
Chris seems to have had a “workbench fetish” for the last year or so. There have been some really good articles by him. Ah for more space in my cramped shop…
-- Maplewood, MN
MsDebbieP
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12282 posts in 700 days
posted 321 days ago
that’s a nice review—sounds like if you are looking at building a bench you should read this book
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
PanamaJack
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4452 posts in 617 days
posted 320 days ago
The book is great, the companion CD (his site) is also great and really adds to it.
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
John Gray
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886 posts in 425 days
posted 264 days ago
This is a great book on workbenches, I have a copy too.
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
Scott Bryan
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9950 posts in 362 days
posted 250 days ago
TC,
I am just now getting around to looking at your post. Schwarz does an excellent job with respect to workbench theory and design. I have been debating getting this book.
Thanks for the review.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.