I don’t know if I have been asleep at the wheel but I just saw the video of Johns workshop bench. It was great to see the bench in action. Way to go John!
For those of you who have built the bench I have a question. I’m wondering about installing plywood on the underside of the pipe clamp well to make a tool tray. Has anyone done or thought about doing this? Pros and cons?.
Greg
Replies
GW,
May I chime in here and ask if anyone has built Mr. White's bench? And, if so, what do they think of it?
Alan - planesaw
I missed it 7 years ago and just saw the video yesterday. Excellent design. I can't do the center panels and pipes on my existing benches, but I plan to retro-fit the jam cleats, the planing beam, and possibly the face vice, and I plan to do it NOW, as in before Easter.
I had a couple of questions, though. First, could anyone see how John attached that lower removable jam cleat to the planing beam? Secondly, unless I am missing something, that bench only required four sets of pipe-clamp fittings and not the six mentioned in the article headline. Here ihow it looks to me: Two full clamps in the well, the sliding half of two clamps to adjust the beam, and the screw halves of the same two clamps to form the face-vice.
What am I missing? John, are you lurking?
Joe
The lower cam cleat simply is attached with 2 small groves that are held in place by the Pipes. Lifting one end will allow it to be removed.
Sort of large tongue and groove with the pipe behind to keep it from slipping?J
Like this.
Aha. After your post I went back and looked at the video again. It now made perfect sense. For some reason, the first time through I thought the lower jam cleat was a smaller piece that was just on the end, and without bolts and wingnuts, I was mystified as to how it might work. Of course, it is NOT short, but rather, runs full length.
Thanks for clearing that up.
You missed the two pipes on the front with only the sliding stops onthem; no clamp head- these support the wood being planed.
No, I did see those. That is my point, actually. Those two vertical pipes use only the sliding heads, while the face clamp set up uses only the screw heads. The long pipes in the well use both. So, four screw heads, and four sliding heads total in three locations, which adds up to four full sets of Jorgensen pipe clamp fittings. Right?Joe
Yes, I believe you are correct at least from my study of the plans, unless I am misunderstanding your comments.Greg
Yup- you're right. I slipped up on my count.
Hi Alan;From previous e-mail exchanges with John, I understand that the bench has been built on a number of occasions.Cheers Greg
I built the bench about 4 years ago and think it is the best tool in my shop! I plan to incorporate his latest additions to the original. I built the bench out of construction grade douglas fir 2x12's. I let them sit in my shop for a couple of months. The boards yielded a lot of vertical grain pieces out near the edges, I used them to make the top. Its been flat and stable since I built it. Great bench.
tom
Anyone happen to have a link to this video? (Hopefully one that doesn't need the paid subscription). I'd like to take a look at it.If you build it he will come.
Hi Douglas;Last time I looked, if you go to the FWW homepage it is right there. Free of charge.Greg
I found this bench 'plan' in the FWW.com archives and built it about 6 months ago. I was sold on the pitch that the bench holds big components to help with my home renovation projects which includes cabinets and full size doors. John White even answered an emailed question I had before I commited to build it - Thanks again John! I downloaded the article and use it as a guide. I took the time to create a detailed drawing - a good exercise for a hacker like me. The only part I found caution was needed was around the size and placement of the pipe clamp holes in the bench - especially for the tail-vise pipe clamps. Too high and the centre well covers will be proud of the top. Buy the pipe and measure all dimensions very carefully before you drill the holes. Otherwise, I found the bench very easy to make over a couple of weekends. I used some nice 2 inch thick KD DF which is locally available here on the west coast of BC. I didn't like the idea of using drywall screws holding the top together so I edge glued them. I haven't added the planing wedges - I don't do much hand planing yet although I'm slowly adding to my plane arsenal. Otherwise I did all I could to duplicate the plan. For instance, I used 1/2 inch pipe clamps and lag bolts for the under carriage. The bench is surprisingly stiff. I do find that when I clamp something in the tail vise, the pipes bend and my work lifts off the table slightly. I can easily put a cambered face on the wooden vise jaws but I haven't bothered. One day.
In conclusion, for me, the bench is great but I'm not very experienced in the craft and have never used a traditional woodworking bench.
Regards, Paul
Thanks Paul, and everyone for their comments so far. Although I like traditional Shaker workbenches, I have thought about alternative designs and was adding to the ideas for which one I should build.
Alan - planesaw
Paul:
I am going to retrofit the planing beam and face vice to an old workbench of mine. One question, though, has to do with the holes IN the planing beam for the vertical pipes. I assume the pipes are 3/4? What size are the holes? Too tight and the beam will bind when it gets out of level when raised or lowered, and too loose, I would guess would be, well, too loose. SO, how big is just right?
Joe
Joe,
I've used 1/2 inch pipes throughout. They are plenty big enough. Anything bigger would require holes which would potentially weaken the wooden structure.
I've attached some pictures that shows how the planing beam is notched at each end. I've left about 1/8 inch of play in the dimension between the pipes and the dimension between the notched ends in the beam so that it doesn't bind as the beam slides up and down. The width of the notch is fairly tight to the pipe. I used a 1/2 inch Forstner bit to drill all of the holes and then used a bandsaw to finish the notch. With the pipe-clamp tail pieces in the bottom most position, lifting the beam at one end will allow the beam to be removed from between the pipes.
Not shown in the picture is the backstop that sits on the beam and also fits between the pipes. The face of the backstop is in the same plane as the face of the bench top. John's video shows the backstop assembly for the planing beam quite clearly.
Regards, Paul
Ahh. Very helpful. Thank you for taking the trouble.
For some reason ("you see, Watson, but you do not observe"), I had thought that the planing pipes went through holes, not notches. Of course, the notches make perfect sense and remove the potential problem that I worried about with the holes.
Joe
John...this bench in simply a genius idea. I have been mulling around for months trying to decide on a workbench design but continuously seem to be put off by the cost and complexity of a conventional bench. This bench is my next project.
I have a couple questions for anyone.
1. Can someone post some additional detailed photos of the underside of the bench top? I want to see how the backside of the intermediary supports were connected to the rear skirt. Appears to be straight forward but I'l like to see more photos if anyone has the time.
2. Also, I curious if anyone has the measurements for drilling the holes for the pipes. How far down on the vertical and horizontal bores to ensure clearance of the clamps and ensure the top MDF boards lie flush to the surrounding surface?
I plan on using Sounthern Yellow pine as its readily available at Lowes/Home Depot.
Again, looks like a great bench that will fit all my needs.
Darren:
If you go back to the video, you will note links to related articles. One of them takes you to a PDF of the original article which has a detailed exploded view, with some measurements for holes and the like. Much of the missing data has been filled in on this thread.
Joe
Thanks Joe,I've got the PDF with the exploded view. I was just hoping to get some better measurements of the 10 inch well design. Specifically how far down to drill the horizontal and vertical holes to ensure proper clearance. Obviously that is the trickiest part of this project. I am assuming that 7/8 inch holes will suffice for the 1/2 inch pipe but I'll just have to measure carefully to get it right.Darren
Darren:
If John does not see your post and answer himself, you might post to his spot in the "ask the experts" section if you are a subscriber to the forum. Then you can hear it from the horse's mouth.
Joe
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