I’ve been tinkering with the idea of starting a business selling workbenches for a little while now and am about to jump into it soon. My targeted audience are woodworkers who want a really usable workbench but when they see the time and cost involved, they would rather buy than build (some people like working wood no matter what its for, some people would rather spend what little time they have for their hobby building furniture, boxes, etc.) I’m a woodworker and a hand-tool user and it became apparent that the bench I wanted didn’t seem to exist commercially. The commercial makers all seem to make the standard face-vise and tail-vise style bench. We have these where I currently work, and the face vises work well for holding 3-6″ wide boards on edge, but thats about it. I built a Tage Frid bench and I’m a big fan of the shoulder/tail vise combo, although I would have preferred to make the legs flush with the top and include a sliding deadman if i could do it over again (I’ve gleaned this from Chris Schwarz’s Workbenches book, which I highly recommend). I’d like to offer a couple of different models, a massive bench and a more affordable one that is lighter in weight/materials but still fits all the criteria for proper work-holding and rigidity. Obviously a shoulder vise complicates the design and would be more expensive to build, but worth it to those who like shoulder vises. Twinscrew vises and leg vises are another option and seemingly more simple to incorporate. I want to offer semi-custom benches, based on a similar platforms, but with adjustable dimensions, length, height, and possibly different species, hard maple, white oak, southern yellow pine. Basically a workbench for woodworkers that isn’t designed solely for ease of manufacture but more for functionality.
So tell me, what is important to you in a workbench. What vises do you like and do you like tool trays. Metal hardware, or would you like to see wooden vises incorporated? I want to build benches for woodworkers based on what they need, not what I think that they need.
Replies
From the ashes scattered about, it seems like a tough business segment. You are in a catch-22 situation when it comes to using a variety of hardware in a semi-custom operation. Different hardware requires different jigs, and until volume gets large enough, sourcing at near retail prices.
Personally, I do like the face vise with tail vice model. I much prefer the face vise to the shoulder vise which to me has too much "stuff" between me and the clamping place. I can't think of anything I can't clamp with my face vice that I could clamp with a shoulder vise. But this is just personal preference, and I'm afraid I'm not in the market.
Its probably going to be tight, but I'm going to give it a shot nonetheless. I appreciate the advice and concerns though.
Best of luck.
n1k,
I built my own. Here are the important parameters, some realised before I built it and some afterwards:
1) Commercially sold benches are all too flimsy and light - even the so-called upmarket ones. If I were to buy a bench it would need to to have 16/4 legs, 8/4 rails(4 end and 4 long) and a 12/4 top. For weight, all should be hardwood of 0.6 or greater density.
2) The top would need to be close-grained, tough hardwood such as maple or beech. MDF, ply and softer woods might work but they ding much more easily.
3) The bench should be knock-down, to allow it to be moved shipped or stored. Solid joinery in the two ends with bed-bolted long rails and an easily dismounted/fixed-on top would be ideal. Large bed bolts allow easy re-tightening should anything go sloppy.
4) It must be easy to fit and mount a tray, shelves or a cupboard between the leg/rail assemblies. You could offer those items as quick-fit,made-to-measure options that sit in/on the rails.
5) Dog holes should be minimal, round and 4 good quality dogs should be included. You could mark up the top (and vise jaws) at points where additional dog-holes could be subsequently drilled by the buyer, if required.
6) Vises should be de-mountable and replaceable with different types, within reason. Eg a Veritas twin screw should have the holding-bolt holes drilled in both ends of the bench.
7) Avoid in-built tool wells, except as a quickly mountable option to hang flush along the non vise-bearing long edge of the benchtop.
8) 6ft X 2ft should be the standard size. Offer a longer version/upgrade consisting of a longer top & rails (drilled for the same bed bolts). Does anyone need a wider one? If so, make it bespoke.
9) Bench hold downs should be designed-for, even if none are part of the bench package you offer.
10) Make the different finishes an option or sell "bare" at a discount for the user to finish. Options might be: wax everything (stops glue sticking, improves the look a bit, needs maintanance); oil then wax (tougher but takes longer to do and still needs maintenance); wax only on the bottom & oil/wax top.
11) Offer ingenious hold-downs and vise jaws as options. Eg a side dog obviates the need to drill holes in a top edge; "false" vise jaws with leather faces and/or shaped for rounds are useful.
12) Watch out for design-glitches, such as feet too narrow (unstable) or wide (trip uo the user all the time).
13) Offer wnd assemblies (legs + short aprons) of different heights. If possible provide "raisers" in the form of plug-in extensins for the leg-bottoms.
Lataxe, who would probably still make his own bench next time; but the first one seems likely to last forever - another parameter perhaps.
Thanks for replying. I like the idea of "raisers", I had a similar idea of having the height adjustable w/out compromising the bench.
I'm not a guy that leads with his checkbook when woodworking, so I'd build my own (I've built three), but to my rough, uncut mind, it seems like shipping costs are going to be a conundrum. I mean, if you build it fancy enough to justify the costs of shipping it somewhere, it's going to be more like a piece of furniture than a workbench. Maybe there's a market for that, I don't know,...
I built one of my benches to be knockdown and "portable." The top is three inches thick and you need a handtruck to move it around. Frankly I'd rather move a refrigerator than move that thing. The thought of taking the vises off, packaging it up and shipping it somewhere is daunting.
Sorry to sound like a wet dish rag - I'd never discourage anyone from following their dream - just bringing up the first, obvious problem. There's over half a million hobbyist woodworkers in the USA, so maybe you can make it work.
My No.1 Bench top is made of Douglas Fir. All Quartersawn 12/4 material and very heavy. I bang and beat the he** out of it all year, but once a year, I plane it smooth and refinish the top with some thinned out shellac and wax. It is the orange color of wild-caught rainbow trout flesh when the have been feeding on crustaceans. So, once a year, it looks pretty good. If that happens during Christmas season, I might put a little wreath on it and a couple presents I have made in the course of my woodbutchering and snap a quick photo. A couple iced peppermint schnapps, the Dean Martin Christmas CD on the stereo and my No. 1 girlfriend decked out in her Santa's elf outfit reclined luxuriously against the tail vice. Singing along to "It's a marshmallow world in the winter,..." and trying to imagine what it would be like if we had much of a winter in December in Mississippi. Then, soon afterwards, the moment has passed, and I sweep everything clear and commence to banging and beating the he** out of it all over again, for another year. So that's my criteria for a bench top - one that you can plane flat and refinish once a year without being involved in too much of a science project.
Good luck, Ed
I was planning on making a bench that has the top with the grain running in the same direction to ease planing. I might not be able to make a solid 3" top for an affordable bench, but we'll see. Thanks for the response.
I think it is a great idea. Like the other person said, there are a lot of people out there that don't want to spend the time building a nice bench when they have so many other projects they want to build. Go top line, I think there are plenty of wannabe woodworkers (like me) out there that are not concerned with price, they just want something nice and are willing to pay for it. They are not concerned about making money, it is just for fun. Check out the Lie-Nielson website, they have a very nice bench and they are not currently taking any orders at this time. I think that bench has most of the details the other person mentioned. I am currently looking for a bench and the Lie-Nielson one looks very appealing and solid. Sure, it is 2 grand but I saved my money and am getting tired of my bench made out of 2x4's and a sheet of plywood and hardboard all on top of a set of saw horses!
I appreciate the encouragement, and as far as the Lie Nielsen goes, I agree as far as the currently available ones go, its probably the best. But my concern is having the face vise rack whenever I try and clamp a board on edge for planing or installing hinges, or on end for dovetailing, etc. I'd have to keep different sized spacers to counterbalance the other side of the jaws to prevent it from racking, and I don't want a vise that has this inherent limitation. I think either a shoulder vise, twin screw vise or leg vise are more usable, but thats my personal opinion and I'm trying to find out what other woodworkers think. Good luck with your bench search, and if you get a chance, try and visit someone who has different bench orientations to see what you like, and Chris Schwarz's book on workbenches is very helpful whether you plan to build or buy a bench, as is Scott Landis' "The Workbench Book", and Lon Schleining's "The Workbench...".
There was a company called Acorn I believe, that had a commercial operation going for awhile. They were mentioned in Tauntons "The Workbench" book. I d research them and find out why they went out of business before anything else. from what I have seen of their benches, they didnt seem to be all that solid to me and maybe thats the reason they went belly up.
L-N gets big bucks for his bench because he is Lie Neilsen........and its a good bench too. It just might be the best all around tool he has ever come up with.
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
In the workbench book by Scott Landis, I believe it says that the owner was offered a job elsewhere that he couldn't turn down. He was doing well at the time he closed the business though. Thanks for the response.
Look carefully at the L-N benches. Then realize that whatever you do, their price is likely to be an absolute ceiling--probably anything similar could only be sold for several hundred dollars less, given the established brand name.
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