# The Holtzapffel Project



## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*Design*

After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.

I was originally all set to build the Roubo bench in the book, but after discovering Schwarz's blog and his third design, the Holtzapffel, I immediately knew this was the one for me. I love its minimalist aesthetic! I bought the digital 8th issue of Woodworking Magazine with the article describing the bench and started scribbling modifications to the design drawings. My friend turned me on to SketchUp and I'm now using it for my design.



I've made some modifications to the article's design based upon some of the construction techniques in the "Workbenches" book. Since I'll be using 2×12s and 2×8s of Douglas fir from the local Home Depot, I dimensioned the legs and stretchers for 1 1/4" thick stock. I also liked the ready-made tenons in the book, so I decided to use those for the legs and long stretchers. I also added ledgers for a shelf in the bottom.



Here's a look at the joints in the legs. I'm new to designing so if I'm making a terrible design decision here, please let me know!


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


Kem,

This looks like an interesting project. I can't wait to see it moved from design into construction. This is something that most woodworkers, who don't already have one, would love to have in their shop.

Thanks for the post.


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


Looks good I like the leg bits. I am reading the book myself, I got the deluxe version and I am reading the e-version when I get the chance while flying. I am drawn to the Roubo but like some of the elements of the Holtzapffel and may do some blending of the two. I will keep watch with keen interest. Good luck!


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## MikeLingenfelter (Feb 19, 2007)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


You will find a few us building the Holtzapffel bench here at LJ. Here's my blog if you are interested. Here's a blog I also didn't on bench design.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


Hi Mike,

I've been following your blog with great interest. When I first googled "building holtzapffel", your blog came up as one of the first hits! (That's how I found out about lumberjocks.) The #1 google hit demonstrated some of the things not to do in building the bench and, in contrast, your bench really shows a high level of craftsmanship. I aspire to build mine with the same care you've demonstrated.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


FC,

What elements of the Roubo are you interested in? I think the chassis of the benches are pretty much the same, though the Roubo is much heavier with the 4" thick, 8' long top. In my mind, the Roubo is the more graceful looking of the two with the beautiful crochet, leg vise and deadman. It really is a great looking bench. I decided to go with the Holtzapffel because it seems like the workholding of the tail vise would be more secure and require less skill than using the planing stop and I like the versatility of the twin-screw face vise.


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## MikeLingenfelter (Feb 19, 2007)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


Wow I showed up in a google search above Christopher Schwarz on the Holtzapffel bench! What is the world coming to .

I should have the top glued up this weekend, I'll be posting some pictures soon. I really like how the Douglas Fir has turned out. I think you will enjoy working with Douglas Fir.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


I'll be following this one.


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

kem said:


> *Design*
> 
> After reading Christopher Schwarz's excellent "Workbenches" book, I was inspired to build a bench. I am a novice woodworker with only a couple of big projects under my belt: a mobile clamp cabinet and a 4' x 4' outfeed table. I used a workmate for those projects and am completely dissatisfied with its workholding abilities. But being a little more seasoned, I'm ready to take on a workbench.
> 
> ...


I like the heft of the Roubo, the crochet, and the deadman, but I like the twin vise of the Holtzapffel. I also haven't decided on the end vise solution, still reading on it. My bench is a downn the road project though, so I have plenty of time to tinker with the design.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*Spending money*

After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:



I went through and rough cut the boards. From left to right, they are the top pieces, leg pieces, and stretcher pieces. The scrap is in the back. There was still some nice wood left in the offcuts. There might be enough to make this sawbench/sawhorse combo . I also ended up with a full extra board, but I might need it if any of the pieces behaves badly while drying.



The moisture content of the boards ranges from 9% to 15%. I can probably start working on the drier boards this weekend. It was interesting feeling the difference between the boards. The wet boards are so much heavier and feel cool to the touch. I think I know now how to get a feeling for the moisture content by touch.

I also ordered the hardware (twin screw vise, quick release vise, bench dogs, and hold down) from Lee Valley. The total cost of the hardware was $500. The only other thing I'll need to buy is the hardwood for the vise chops. I'll need to stop by a real lumberyard for that.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Looks like you have the makings of a great bench!


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Hi Kevin,

This is looking really good so far.


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## Dorje (Jun 17, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


I like following you guys doing the Holtzapffel benches…keep up the posts - we'll be watching!

The wood looks really good. You stated that the MC was 9-15%...you also stated that you're getting a feel for the moisture content for the wood based on feel - which I can totally support. Do you have a moisture meter? If so, which kind. I'd imagine that the feed back you get from the meter and the physical feedback could tell you a lot!


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


I can't get a good look but is that douglas fir or SYP?


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## Mario (Apr 23, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


keep the updates comming.

Looks good so far, thanks


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Hi Dorje,
I have a Wagner L606 analog moisture meter. Using it has been a revelation in understanding wood. Last weekend, I pruned a tree and it's been interesting watching the MC on one of the larger cut branches!


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Hi Gary, it's Douglas fir. Out here in Colorado, we only have pressure treated SYP in Home Depot and Lowe's. So far the fir has been easy to work with. I was a little worried about ripping the boards without jointing an edge, but with only a couple of exceptions, I didn't have to fight to get them through the table saw. Most of them cut like butter.


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## toph (Mar 29, 2008)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Kevin,

Bench looks good so far! Are you planning on mounting the twin-screw vice on the tail?

I got the Schwartz book and am enjoying it so far. I like his definiion of a bench as a "three-dimensional clamping surface." I find my current benches lacking in the number of ways that I can clamp work. I really want to build one now!

-Christopher Butler


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


Hey Toph,

I'm gonna mount the twin-screw on the front and the quick-release as an end vise. With the wide 24" spacing of the twin-screw on the front, it can hold boards against the face of the bench for edge work. I chose the veritas because it has the chain drive for one-handed operation and costs only a little more than two wooden screws. Schwarz seems a bit critical of the twin-screw face vise in the book (p. 25), but seems to be a proponent of it with the Holtzapffel design. I think the wide spacing of the screws addresses most of his criticisms in the book.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *Spending money*
> 
> After three trips to two different Home Depots over a week and a half, I think I've found enough decent boards for the bench. I ended up with (8) 2×12x12' and (4) 2×8x12' boards. I started looking through the 2×12x16' boards but they were too unmanageable for me to pick through by myself. Most of the 12' boards had the pith running in the middle of the board. I tried to pick the ones that were clear on both sides of the pith, so I could at least rip two top pieces from the sides. The total cost of the boards was $135. Here they are sandwiched between the cars:
> 
> ...


I miss douglas fir. I used to live in California and that's all we got there.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*A shop tour*

It's been over 7 weeks since my last entry, but it took about that long for the wood to dry out enough. For the first 3 weeks, the wood was drying very slowly probably because it was still cold out here in Denver.

In the mean time, I spent some time adding dust collection to the shop and also built this sweet sawbench/sawhorse from Chris Schwarz's design.










This gave me some good practice milling up the lumber and also with some finishing. I used the natural Watco Danish oil on the douglas fir and I really like the warmth it added to the wood. I'm planning on using it to finish the workbench.










I started working on the bench a week ago and have made quite a bit of progress on the legs and top. Before showing that, I thought I'd take you on a little shop tour.










It all starts with the jointer. I got one with a 56" bed which has been very useful in milling up the top boards. I don't really like the mobile base, but I need it to keep using this second bay for parking a car. I've also found that I don't like these pusher pads. For the fir they were ok, but for moving rough 8/4 hard maple, they were useless.










Here's the planer and the first use of the sawbench and sawhorse as a planer stand. I made the crude looking dust collection hood and it works amazingly well.










Here's the table saw. The outfeed table is the second thing that I built after a mobile clamp cabinet. Someday I'll add edging to the melamine and route slots for a miter gauge. The trash can on the left has one of those chip separator lids. It works great. I've found that I need to empty it when it gets about 1/3 full. After that, everything heads to the impeller.










I love this sliding compound miter saw. I plan on building it a nice cabinet home one of these days.










Here's my set of clamps and the first project that I built, the mobile clamp cabinet. There are some more larger quik clamps on the back. I just got the Jet 12" clamps after using the huge bessey clamps for the legs. I like the Jet clamps much better than the Bessey's. There more comfortable to use and there's none of those shocks when a Bessey's handle is flying down the shaft. I should have gone with the Jets when I first started buying clamps.

And finallly, here's one tool that I've found incredibly useful so far. A 72" straight edge made from a jointed hard maple board. Highly recommended for building your top!










Alright, I'm going to finish gluing up the top now. I'll try to post another entry on the legs this evening. Ciao.


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

kem said:


> *A shop tour*
> 
> It's been over 7 weeks since my last entry, but it took about that long for the wood to dry out enough. For the first 3 weeks, the wood was drying very slowly probably because it was still cold out here in Denver.
> 
> ...


thanks for the shop tour. Those are some nice tools that you have there. the miter saw is nice to but i think that it would look awesome with a cabinet like you said that you were planning on building. thanks for the update.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *A shop tour*
> 
> It's been over 7 weeks since my last entry, but it took about that long for the wood to dry out enough. For the first 3 weeks, the wood was drying very slowly probably because it was still cold out here in Denver.
> 
> ...


Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the tour. You have some nice tools to play with.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

kem said:


> *A shop tour*
> 
> It's been over 7 weeks since my last entry, but it took about that long for the wood to dry out enough. For the first 3 weeks, the wood was drying very slowly probably because it was still cold out here in Denver.
> 
> ...


Great tour. I like you planer dust collector; 
i plan to adopt something like it. Thanks for the tip!


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## grovemadman (Jan 28, 2008)

kem said:


> *A shop tour*
> 
> It's been over 7 weeks since my last entry, but it took about that long for the wood to dry out enough. For the first 3 weeks, the wood was drying very slowly probably because it was still cold out here in Denver.
> 
> ...


Looks as though you have plenty of room to work or add more later if needed.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*My first laminations*

I decided to start out with the legs, so I could get more practice milling the lumber and in gluing the pieces up before tackling the top. The idea with the legs is to sandwich a longer board in between two shorter boards to make a ready-made tenon.










Here are all of the pieces for the four legs milled up.










You can see some dark streaks in these pieces. Those are where I ran into sap pockets in the wood. I don't know if that's bad or not, but it is annoying.










I think this is my second or third attempt at laminating. My first attempt was a big gluey mess. I used way too much glue and the pieces slid all over the place as I clamped them down. This shot was taken after some clean up. I waited about an hour after clamping and came back with the crappy plane iron that came with my Stanley block plane. It works great for popping off the beads of squeeze-out.










I used all my Bessey clamps for a pair of legs. It's kind of crazy using 24" and 40" clamps for something that's under 4 inches thick. After this, I ordered the Jet 12" clamps. This is probably clamping overkill but since the jaws didn't reach all the way across the 5 inch wide legs, I wanted to clamp on both sides.

After these dried, I cleaned up the edges with the jointer. That's when this happened:










This little piece got chipped out. Luckily, I found it on the floor and I can glue it back in later.

Here are the laminated and jointed legs:










One of the legs has non-square sides, so I'll have to go back and clean that one up. I also think the legs are going to be too tall for me. I'm going to cut them down about an inch. There's still quite a bit of work to do on these legs: chamfering, smoothing, mortising, and drilling dog holes. But it's time to move on to the top. Those are the boards for the top underneath the legs. More on that next time!


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *My first laminations*
> 
> I decided to start out with the legs, so I could get more practice milling the lumber and in gluing the pieces up before tackling the top. The idea with the legs is to sandwich a longer board in between two shorter boards to make a ready-made tenon.
> 
> ...


That's the way I made the base for my bench:



It's nice as the mortise and tenons make themselves! Great job so far.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *My first laminations*
> 
> I decided to start out with the legs, so I could get more practice milling the lumber and in gluing the pieces up before tackling the top. The idea with the legs is to sandwich a longer board in between two shorter boards to make a ready-made tenon.
> 
> ...


This is a pretty good start on the bench. With those legs the bench is going to be really solid.


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

kem said:


> *My first laminations*
> 
> I decided to start out with the legs, so I could get more practice milling the lumber and in gluing the pieces up before tackling the top. The idea with the legs is to sandwich a longer board in between two shorter boards to make a ready-made tenon.
> 
> ...


you've got a nice start. look forward to more.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

kem said:


> *My first laminations*
> 
> I decided to start out with the legs, so I could get more practice milling the lumber and in gluing the pieces up before tackling the top. The idea with the legs is to sandwich a longer board in between two shorter boards to make a ready-made tenon.
> 
> ...


Looking good. I love a bench blog. These puppies are really a lot of work. Looks like your glue-ups ended up pretty fine. It is nice hearing about the frustrations also. Keep it comming.

Steve


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*The workbench top, part I*

As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.










Joint, joint, rip, plane, repeat. That's all there is to milling up the boards. Actually, I did joint, joint, joint, ..., rip, rip, rip, ..., plane, plane, plane, plane, ....

A couple of problems arose for me while doing this. I lost one board because it turned out I had tapered one edge so severely on the jointer that the max width I could get was 3 1/8". All the other boards were ripped to 3 1/4". It also turned out that the total thickness of the boards that I had came out to about 21". I didn't get as much thickness out of the boards as I had hoped.

Here are some images from the glue up:




























I did four subassemblies of four boards each. I left the front face board unglued, because I had this idea to avoid having to notch a lot of waste from one of the ends to flush the end vise. The idea is to glue up boards to match the width of the end vise, clean cut the ends of these boards, and then offset the other boards to create the notch. It turned out that the first two subassemblies glued up to 10.5" wide. That's exactly the width of the end vise! Cool!

Now I just had to clean cut the ends of those boards. Can my trusty miter saw handle the 3 1/4" thick, 10.5" wide slab?










Yes it can!










That's the biggest chunk of wood I've cut with that thing.

So, back to that problem of only having a 21" wide top. While moving that big slab around, I accidentally dinged it and left a little nick in the wood. Douglas fir is pretty "dentable". It's pretty low on the Janka scale. I decided to add something harder for the front and back face to protect those edges a bit.

I was originally going to use ash and had to pick some up anyway for the vise chops. On Saturday, I went to the Hardwood Emporium in Golden for the first time. The owner, Jay, is a great guy. I can't recommend that place highly enough. Well, Jay didn't have 8/4 ash, so I ended up splurging on 8/4 hard maple. The 9" 10 ft. and 7" 9 ft. boards that I bought cost about the same as all of the fir! But I should end up with enough leftovers to make some legs for a night stand and a table.

This was my first experience with hard maple. It's hard and heavy! Trying to joint an edge so I could rip it was tough especially with that mobile base on the jointer and the uneven garage floor which made it a little less stable than ideal. The jointer was none too happy on the first couple of passes. I had left the depth of cut at closer to 1/16" that I was using with the fir. I backed off on the depth of cut and the jointer didn't whine as much. I hadn't realized how good I had it with the Douglas fir!

I was amazed at how much more thickness I got out of that rough lumber. Close to 1 3/4". Here they make their appearance in the final glue-up:










Yes, I ended up doing this on my kitchen floor! It's the biggest flatish surface I have in my house. Here's a picture from the other end that better shows the end vise notch idea:










I should only have to pare back a little to accommodate the end vise.

Well, that's all for now. Here's a teaser for the next segment:

The raggedy, uneven top.










And the magical tool that will conquer it.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


That's really a great job you are doing there!

Keep us posted!


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## gator9t9 (Apr 4, 2008)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


Can i come and help …..I dont know how to do anything …But It would be fun just sweeping up while that bench gets made ..


----------



## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


You have a wonderful start on the bench. I can tell you without a doubt that I wouldn't have the courage to ask if I could work on a project in my kitchen. My wife yells at me enough as it is simply for tracking sawdust into the house from my shop. 

Nice post. This one is going to be interesting to follow.


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## MikeLingenfelter (Feb 19, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


The Holtzapffel bench sure is becoming popular. The simplicity and functionality attracted me to it. Mine is tuning out pretty well, and really has been pretty simple to construct. I hope I can wrap up the finial touches on mine this weekend. Keep the posts coming, I like to see how everyone else puts theirs together.


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## Backwoods (May 18, 2008)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


That makes for a nice hefty hunk of wood for a work bunch. Good foresight on making a place for the clamp in the design rather then making it an add on. A great workstation makes future projects easier, keep up the good work look forward to seeing how it all comes together.

My clamp collection still has room to grow so when I built my workbenches I slabed off six 2 ½" x 12" x 10' ash and placed them three wide for the mechanics shop. For the woodshop, I built a cabinet with a full 1" oak top 3' deep and 9' long. Then a smaller 2' x 8' with a full 1" ash top on it as well.


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


I ask everyone whose making one of these the same question, how did you handle jointing such long boards, do you have a monster jointer?


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part I*
> 
> As you can see in the picture below, Douglas fir comes in a wide range of colors. These are the boards that I selected for the top. The boards with the wild figure are more quartersawn. I kind of like the straight grain lines of the rift sawn and plain sawn boards. If I had to do it over I might have paid more attention to this, but as it is it's not too bad. Since there was such a wide diversity of colors, I tried to arrange a kind of gradient from dark to light to dark again. We'll see how this turns out. The front of the bench will be to the right. I placed most of the better looking boards towards the front.
> 
> ...


Damian,

I don't have a monster jointer, just a 6" model. I did get one with a 56" long bed though. It really wasn't a problem jointing the boards. Most of the boards were around 75" long. The longest one was 80". I didn't even feel like I needed the roller stand for outfeed support.

The only problem I had jointing was doing the edge of the rough 6.5 foot long, 9 inch wide 8/4 hard maple. That was tough work manhandling the board. The jointer was getting a little top heavy with it on there. That's the one time when the outfeed support was necessary.

You're using hard maple for your top, right? It was noticeably more difficult jointing the hard maple versus the Douglas fir. A lighter cut helped immensely.


----------



## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*The workbench top, part II*

I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.

First, this took a lot of time. Part of it was my own inefficiency. I started by going diagonally across the surface but it was so uneven that it was just riding on the high boards. A more efficient way to start with the roughness caused by an uneven glue up is to plane lengthwise on the high boards to smooth their edges and once those edges are roughly planed down, then plane diagonally.

I was also taking shavings that were too fine. So I was wasting a lot of strokes. Here are a couple of pictures after I realized the error of my ways and started taking thicker shavings.



















It felt great seeing those plumes of wood billowing out of the mouth. The bevel-up jointer really performed well. I did make one change to it though. It came with the plane iron set to a bevel angle of 25 degrees giving an effective angle of 37 degrees with the 12 degree bed. I found this to be too low. I was getting some nasty tearout. I reset the bevel angle to 30 degrees for an effective angle of 42 degrees and didn't have as many problems with tearout. It wasn't noticeably more difficult to make my strokes with the higher planing angle.

The one bad thing with using the jointer for this task was that it is heavy. I really wished I had a smaller jack plane to do the initial work on the rough surface. After suffering through this, I bought a used Stanley #5 (along with a #3) on ebay to try to do some restoration on. I'll probably start another series of posts on that process.

So, once I had the bottom of the top roughly flattened, I squared off one end with a circular saw. That took one pass from one side and then a pass on the other side. The two cuts didn't meet perfectly, so I had a lot of end grain planing to do with a block plane.

Next, I turned my attention to fitting the end vise. I'm using a 10.5" quick release vise in this position. I made a notch for it in the glue-up process and it only needed a little paring to fit the vise.



















I couldn't wait to see how the vise worked so I decided to mount it. I used a piece of plywood as a spacer to get the top of the vise to sit about 1/8" below the benchtop. I then used a brace and a 5/8" speedbor bit to make the holes for the 1/2"x5" bolts.










I stopped just when it punctured the surface on the other side.










This was my first real application of using a brace and bit and it went very quickly. The bit lived up to its name; it drilled through in no time. It does leave a rough hole though, so I used a different kind of bit for the dog holes.

Flipping the top over, I used the small puncture as a guide for a 1 1/2" Forstner bit to counterbore for the bolt head and washer.










My experience with this bit was not as happy as it tended to drift in its hole. This may have been because it was following the larger pilot hole left by the 5/8" bit.

Here's what the counterbores looked like with bolts and washers in them. You can see the tearout in the lower right from my first hole. I used blue tape to try to prevent that on the left side.










Finally, the mounted end vise!










Having gained some confidence with the brace and bit, I decided to make some dog holes. Here are some tools that I found helpful in doing this.










Yes, that's a mitten! When I was doing the holes for the vise, my left hand would go numb from my chin pressing down on it and cutting off the circulation. My chin was a little sore too. So, I tried putting on my mitten to give some padding to my chin and it worked great!

Here's how I used the square to keep the bit straight up and down. I didn't have any problem keeping it straight laterally (left-right). I did tend to be a little too far forward though on top. So by trying to keep the top edge of the square aligned with the screw head on the brace, I was able to straighten out in the forward-backward plane.










I made dog holes about 5" in from the edge and at an interval of 4". I wanted the dog holes in the middle of a board and the next board over felt a little too far from the edge for me. Even though the dog holes aren't in line with the center of the vise, I don't think it should cause any problem.

Here are some of the dog holes and also some holes that I made for holdfasts. You can see the roughly planed top. I just made a few passes to get it "kind-of" flat.










I still have to cut off the vise end of the bench top, but this is starting to look like a real bench now!


----------



## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Kevin,

This is looking really good. You have obviously put a lot of thought and effort into the construction of this bench.

Thanks for the post.


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## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Good job!!!! I'm finishing up my new workbench this week.


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Kevin,

I've just read through the entire blog for this effort. It looks great! I too am considering this type of bench design. Would you be willing to share your Sketch-Up drawing?


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Very nice looking! You are going to put wood jaws on your vise, right?


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## MikeLingenfelter (Feb 19, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Kevin,

Your top is looking good! I admire you for using the brace and bit for all of your dog holes. I plan to give my brace and bit a try, for the last few dog holes I have to put in my bench.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Good Job. That is a lot of work. I love a bench blog, as there are so many steps.


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## jeanmarc (Mar 23, 2008)

kem said:


> *The workbench top, part II*
> 
> I've done a lot of work on the top since the last entry. I started by roughly flattening the bottom side of the top. This was my first big opportunity to use my handplanes and I learned a lot from the experience.
> 
> ...


Very nice looking!Good Job.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*

With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.

The next step was mortising the legs. I laid out the mortises for the long stretchers by laying the ready-made tenons on the legs. I decided to add edge cheeks and shoulders to hide the mortise a bit, so I inset the layout lines for the mortise a half inch in on the top and bottom.










I used a router and a 1/2" up-cut spiral bit to hog out the mortises. I used an edge guide and some clamps as stops. This setup worked ok, but the way my edge guide worked I had to reset my stop clamps when I moved the edge guide in and out. This was a major pain. It also would have been nice to have some way to fine adjust the edge guide. I probably won't be making 1.25" wide mortises (requiring 3 passes) again any time soon, so I'm not in the market for a new edge guide yet, but I'm sorely tempted.










On the other hand, the shop vac did an incredible job sucking up the waste. The slight loss of visibility was well worth using the shop vac and dust collection attachment. Here's a picture that I took right after finishing a mortise. No dust! I hadn't realized that this attachment came with my router until now. What a fantastic attachment.










After routing all the mortises, I squared them up with chisels. Here's one of the mortises for an end stretcher.










With the mortises made, I made the tenons for the end stretchers and reshaped the tenons for the long stretchers using the dado stack on the table saw. While I was able to make very fine adjustments and creep up on the right depth of cut to fit the mortises, I hated having sawdust thrown back in my face. I quickly learned to put a respirator on when doing this. I don't know if this will be my preferred way of making tenons. The amount of sawdust created was probably a function of the XXL size of these tenons, so maybe it won't be as bad on normal sized tenons.










Here's a picture of the end assemblies and long stretchers. I used the drawboring technique to pin the tenons. I did some practice joints with some store bought dowels and found out that they were oblong and left nasty gaps in the finished joint. I decided to spring for the Lie-Nielsen dowel plate that I saw Mike use in his construction.










Basically you just pound a piece of wood through the hole to make the dowel. Here's a case where I ended up with a bad dowel. Two faces on the square peg are not being cut by the dowel plate, so it didn't create a nice round dowel. You really want the wood to 'bloom' all around the hole in the dowel plate as you pound the peg through.

Here's a picture of the biggest mistake I've made so far in putting together this bench.










I had to shim the tenon on the bottom there, because as I was fitting the tenon I removed material from the wrong cheek. The really bad thing was that as I was doing this, I kept checking it by reinserting the tenon in the mortise and the faces of the leg and stretcher weren't flushing up. So I kept removing material from that same cheek! ARGH! I didn't realize my mistake until I had already removed a little more than a 1/32nd of an inch.










So, with the base together, it was time to attach it to the top. After maneuvering the base to get the front face flush with the edge of the top, I traced out the tenons on the top.










I laid out the mortises on the back side a little oversized to handle wood movement of the top.










Here's my last mortise. I was glad to be done with routing and chiseling these bad boys.










The moment of truth! Is it going to fit?










Yes! It fits!










Okay, it didn't really go in all the way the first time. I had to wrestle the base out of the mortises and do some tenon trimming a couple of times before it went in smoothly. But it sure was a good feeling when it all came together!

This was quite an exercise in making mortise and tenon joints. I learned a lot from my mistakes and I'm sure making mortise and tenons for normal sized furniture will be cake compared to this.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Sweet. Good job. Nice and clean. I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into a bench. Also everything is so large.

Steve


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Excellent! Love the pics. Great repair as well.


----------



## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Great looking project.

What are you using to take those pictures? They look so clear and perfect!

Gary


----------



## crookedshack (Jan 17, 2008)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Looking great, Kevin! I'm working on this bench right now as well and I appreciate you posting the pics. I am also contemplating the LN Dowel plate and it looks like it is worth the price.


----------



## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Kem I can see your having way to much fun with this project…great work on all the pic and story lines. It a very self satisfiying project enjoy…Blkcherry


----------



## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Gary,

I'm using a Canon 40D with a 17-55 IS lens. The lens really is fantastic. My first love is photography, but woodworking is quickly taking over more of my time (and money)!


----------



## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Kevin,

This is a very nice looking bench and you documented the construction process well.

Thanks for the post.


----------



## MikeLingenfelter (Feb 19, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Nice work Kevin. I hope to finish my Holtzapffel bench this weekend. Attaching the base to the top a big milestone for me.


----------



## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Really nice looking bench. Great craftsmanship.

Your eye for photography carries well into the woodworking realm. I look forward to seeing more from you!


----------



## Dorje (Jun 17, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Can't beat a bench like that!


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

kem said:


> *Constructing the base: lots of big mortises and tenons*
> 
> With the top in good shape, I went back to constructing the base. I previously milled and glued up the thick (3.5" x 5") legs. Milling and gluing up the stretchers was more of the same, so I didn't get any pictures of that process. I made the long stretchers by gluing up two boards, one of which was 3" longer on each end to make a ready-made tenon. For the end stretchers I decided not to use the ready-made technique since I wanted to try out a new Freud dado stack for the tenons.
> 
> ...


Hi Kevin;

I've been missing a lot of postings lately, as this site is becoming so popular.

I'm glad I caught this one. I have to go back in the series to check the rest of the project.

You're doing an excellent job with both the workmanship and the photos.

Keep 'em coming.

Lee


----------



## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*The end vise*

Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.

Since the last time, I flattened the top and applied some Danish oil to the bench. I also installed the end vise and have really enjoyed using it. Here's a look at the bench while planing the chop for the end vise.










You can also see the slotted tool rack in the upper right from a design in woodworking magazine. This is really a sweet way of holding a bunch of tools. I also plan on adding a chisel shelf and a couple of display shelves for the planes (replacing the bookshelf).

Back to smoothing the end vise chop. I used an old, rusty #3 that I bought from ebay and restored to good working condition. With the new hock iron and chipbreaker, I love using this plane. I also have the veritas bevel-up smoother, but I can see myself reaching for the #3 quite a bit. It just feels good to me.










With the chop smoothed, I clamped it in position with the end vise and laid out the dog hole. I had positioned my dog holes a little closer to the face of the workbench so that they were not in line with the middle of the vise. So I had to position the dog hole in the chop in line with my dog holes.










You can also see in this picture that I made the chop extend out to the right quite a bit. I really like this detail because it allows me to stick up to a 6" wide board on end for dovetailing. With the quick release vise, it is very quick and easy getting a board in that position.

Boring a hole in this hard maple was not easy. After a couple of turns, I decided to try using a cordless drill.










The bit did not budge at all! It was back to the brace and just powering through the chop. I had to use the ratcheting mechanism of the brace, because it was too hard to make a full revolution through the stock.










That was some hard work boring that hole. After this experience, I wasn't sure how I was going to bore the 1.5" holes that I needed for the twin-screw. So I ended up finally ordering a drill press. I can't wait to see how it does with the twin-screw holes.

Here's a pic of the end vise chop in use.










I'm hand jointing one of the boards for the face vise chop since I only have a 6" jointer. The quick release end vise is really a fantastic way to go. I can't imagine a faster way of getting a board in position to plane (ok, maybe a planing stop). It is also very versatile with the extended chop. Hmmm … maybe I don't really need that twin-screw face vise?

The finish line is in sight now! Just the face vise and a shelf to go. I feel a little sorry that this project is coming to an end. It has been a challenge and a lot of fun to build. What'll be my next big project?


----------



## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


Looks like things are coming together, Kevin!!

Thanks for the post and may I add- very nice photos!

Lew


----------



## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


Very nice looking work; I am thinking of the same style bench but with a full width end vise. What do you think?


----------



## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


Hi Chris,
Can you tell me more about what you are thinking of doing? Is it a quick release in the same position with a chop extended all the way across? Or are you thinking of a twin screw full width end vise?

I'm not sure about extending the chop all the way across with this particular 10.5" vise. It seems like you might lose clamping pressure out as you get far away from the screw. The excess weight on the long side might also cause the guide bars to slant a little adding some friction. The effect might be small though. It wouldn't hurt to try it out. If it feels like it is causing a problem, just cut off material from the long end of the chop.

I like the quick release here because I just push the jaw up against the board, and a half turn CW completely immobilizes the board. When I'm done, a half turn CCW releases the jaw and I'm ready for the next board. Using a twin screw end vise would require a little more work and also risk racking the screws when you're using a bench dog on one side of the vise.

Good luck on your bench.


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


I was considering a twin screw vise across the width. Something on that order….


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## Texasgaloot (Apr 8, 2008)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


One for me? Just joking.

My father uses an ancient version of just the vice you are talking about-the quick release. I've spent many hours at his bench as a teenager. Yes, they are very fast.

I'm enjoying your blog! Keep them coming!


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


Hey Kevin,

My, you are one clean machine. That is looking sweet.

A router with a 3/4" spiral bit zips through maple no problem. But not as deep as your chop. Do you plan on going all the way through it?

Steve


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *The end vise*
> 
> Happy Independence Day! I'm looking forward to the three day weekend to put the finishing touches on my workbench: adding the twin-screw face vise and a shelf underneath.
> 
> ...


Hey Steve,

That's a good idea with the router. Unfortunately, I don't have a 3/4" spiral bit. I did go all the way through on the chop so I could push the bench dog up through the bottom.

I got my new drill press on the 2nd. Just in time for the holiday weekend! It made quick work of those 1.5" holes for the twin screws. I don't know why I held out so long on getting a drill press.


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

*Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*

Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.

For the face vise, I decided to use the Veritas twin screw. It's about the same price as wooden screws and I liked the prospect of one-handed operation due to the chain drive. This vise requires two support blocks and a chop. Here are the finished pieces:










I made them out of hard maple laminations of 8/4 boards with 4/4 boards. The finished dimensions were 2.5×3.25×12.375 for the support blocks and 2.5×7.5×34 for the chop. I decided not to do the traditional roundover on the chop and fancy support blocks. I like the minimalistic look of these rectilinear blocks and chop.

Since the holes for the screws needed to be accurate, I used a brand new drill press and a 1.5" Forstner bit. I don't know why I waited to buy a drill press! It was so much easier than boring that dog hole in the end vise with a brace and bit. I'm glad I got the press because as you can see in the photo above, these pieces required a lot of holes.










In the back of the support blocks, the nuts for the screws were mounted. I found out that the orientation of these nuts matters. If you're not careful, your screw handles can be off by 90 degrees. But more on that later. The support blocks were attached to the bench using the bolts and round nuts shown below.










Using the brace and 3/8" auger bit, I bored the mounting holes through the workbench top.










On the top side, I counterbored with a 1" Forstner bit.










Here are the mounted support blocks:










Next, I lined up the chop and fully tightened the screws. The first time I did this one handle was pointing east-west and the other north-south. Argh! I decided to fix this by removing one of the nuts and rotating it 90 degrees. I don't know why the instructions don't say anything about this. It's probably prudent to mount the nuts after checking the orientation with the screws fully engaged. After making this correction, the screw handles lined up correctly.










Next I attached the chain to the sprockets. My screws were 24" apart center-to-center so no links needed to be removed from the stock chain.










I added some wear strips to the underside of the bench to keep the front jaw from dropping too much as it gets extended.










After installing the chain cover, I found that the chain was dragging against the cover. So, I had to install one of the chain rollers included with the kit.










After installing that, the vise purred like a lovable little robot. To test out the vise I used it to cut some notches for the shelf that was to go in between the stretchers below. The shelf was just a piece of plywood 19.5×42.5. It fit easily between the twin screws!










I couldn't do that with my crappy workmate! So cool. It was even cooler clamping the shelf horizontally.










The vise had no problem holding up that piece of plywood! What a grip! The one handed operation of this vise made it easy to hold up the plywood with one hand and crank the vise closed with the other. Sweet! I added the hold down below and finished cutting the notches.










Well, that was the last piece of the Holtzapffel puzzle.



















I hope you all enjoyed watching me make my first workbench. I learned so much in building it and really enjoyed the experience. I'm ecstatic at how it turned out and how well it works for so many different tasks.

I have a coffee table I want to make in the remaining summer months before starting a guitar making class at Red Rocks. I look forward to blogging about that class in the fall. Stay tuned!


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Fantastic, I'm soooo looking forward to getting mine completed  That last pic looks like it came right out of the Holtzapffel catalog


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## Bigbuck (May 15, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing, that is a great looking work bench. If I ever get a proper workshop I would like to build a work bench like that for it.


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Beautiful; Thanks for the step by step on the vise. I know it will come in handy!


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## hafwit (Jul 1, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Wow! Nice job. I wish I had seen your posts earlier.

You obviously put a ton of thought into this. How long do you think it actually took you from start to finish?

I'm jealous!


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Thanks Damien, I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on your bench. Your base is looking good!

Pete, I started the building 7-8 weeks ago and probably put in about 60-70 hours into it. Kinda slow, but a lot of it was new to me. I know I thought about it a lot more than that. I can get obsessive about things!


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


A couple of other thoughts on the twin screw vise:

I decided to leave the handles floating (instead of fixed) so they will fall out of the way after the vise is tightened. This causes a problem when operating it one-handed since the other handle will fly back and forth. This is why I left the little brass screw in the left handle tee. I usually leave it tightened so it holds the handle in place and then release it when I'm done tightening.

My one complaint with the twin screw vise is that it is a little slow to move in and out. I think that is because the screws are only about an inch in diameter with fairly fine threads. The big wood screws are certainly faster in moving in and out. So there is a tradeoff between being able to operate it with one hand and the speed of operation.


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## thetimberkid (Apr 5, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Great job!

Thanks for the post

Callum


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## doubleD (Sep 18, 2007)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


That is a nice looking bench!
Did you have plans to work from…...and if so can you tell me where to go for them.
I need to build a bench and yours is almost exactly what I have in mind.

Thanks


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## kem (Mar 21, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Hi Dennis,

I based my design on Chris Schwarz's Holtzapffel bench (Woodworking Magazine, Autumn 2007) and used some construction techniques found in his Workbenches book. You can find some of my sketchup drawings in the first post of this series. Good luck on your bench!


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## jeanmarc (Mar 23, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


That is a nice looking bench!


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## cylis007 (Nov 25, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting this series. It is very inspirational!


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Ha! I just saw my post from 210 days ago that I'd completely forgotten about. I'm just about ready to install my twin screw and finally get my bench finished, and this is the perfect tutorial


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

kem said:


> *Veritas Twin Screw Face Vise*
> 
> Over the holiday weekend and in between rain delays of the mesmerizing Nadal-Federer final, I finished up my Holtzapffel workbench. The last two things to do were the face vise and a shelf under the bench.
> 
> ...


Great idea I have seen this before but found it to be too expensive and impractical for all situations to warrant the outlay,however nice looking it is ,but that's just my two cents. I am glad you are happy with it.Alistair


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