Recently I wrote a post about why you don't need a tail vice on your workbench. now we're looking at the other end of the bench and going through my favourite options when it comes to choosing a face vice.What Do We Want From A Workbench Vice? A face vice should be strong, dependable and … [Read more...]
Why Your Workbench Needs One Vice (Or Less)
A workbench is only a success if it can keep itself still and provide means to hold your work.A vice is not an essential feature of this. Typically though we can expect to see two vices on a workbench today.One will be installed on the front of the bench, towards the left. We tend to call … [Read more...]
Holdfasts – How Should You Be Using Them?
When I started building workbenches, I pushed my way of working on to my customers.I wasn't aware I was doing this. But my cave's a small place, and I forget there's other people out there.Every workbench went out complete with sliding board jack, large planing stop, a pair of bench … [Read more...]
Face Vice Rack – How To Work With It
Can't be Bothered to Read? Click Play: https://www.development.theenglishwoodworker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Nice-Rack.mp3Without a reliable way to hold your work for woodworking we'll quickly become frustrated. Whilst I'm a firm believer that a lot can be achieved with an old nail stuck … [Read more...]
Drawer and Carcase Holding
A planing sleeve is a work holding method for things such as assembled drawers and open carcases, so you can plane or work on the outside faces.These are enormously handy when the carcase is too big for your vice, and knocking one up is as easy as fixing a couple of battens to your bench top, … [Read more...]
Arnold and The Bench Knife
Today I wanted to share another work holding method that's as simple as it is effective (the best ones always are) and is suited only to those who've broken the fear of scathing their bench. 'The Bench Knife' is an old method certainly used for holding lengths at the sticking board, and it's a … [Read more...]
Workbench Holdfasts
For a simple woodworker when it comes to a problem in life the best bet is to hit hard with a hammer. It's an effective if not delicate approach and once you get in to the mind set there's little that can't be solved.If you find you're spending a lot of time at your workbench stood head … [Read more...]
Help Me Decide?!
In the new year I'll be building a workbench. That's not unusual except that this particular workbench will be forming part of a lengthy chapter within our book. 'The French Bench' (not the Roubo) is where the design will be based and I've come to a bit of a head scratcher at the vice hardware. Why … [Read more...]
The Stick With A Notch Cut In It.
The first time we took our benches to see the public I was a bag of nerves. We took along a huge fancy Roubo type thing, but it was the other, simple bench we took that was my favourite. I hoped to focus on the idea that a good bench could be simple so the tail vice was absent, I never use tail … [Read more...]
Oh So Tempting!
I am now fully committed to using a wooden screw in this workbench but oh... the temptation! I had Mr Arnold's beautiful old metal screw looking at me from across the workshop as I started to assemble the bench this morning, so I just had to poke it in! I'm very much looking forward to telling … [Read more...]