Woodworker: John Stair, Jr.

Based on the original, which is housed at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and appears in Scott Landis’s The Workbench Book (The Taunton Press, 1998), this mammoth Shaker workbench measures 37-1/2 in. deep by 148 in. wide by 34-1/2 in. tall. Stair made the base from pine, using mortise-and-tenon joinery with walnut pins to secure the tenons. The top is constructed of three different woods: maple in the front, oak in the middle and poplar in the back. The tall vise is made of maple, while the leg vise and board jack are made of cherry. This bench took Stair a year to complete. The base is painted, and the top has a shellac finish.

Photo: John E. Stair, Jr.