[off-topic] Riccardo964's workbench

[Riccardo964]

Hello,

Just finished a workbench and thought to share it. It's a Nicholson-style Woodwork Bench ("The English bench, which shows up in Peter Nicholson's 'Mechanic's Companion' (1831)."), ie, a modified English Workbench (because it has a tail vise). It was (heavily) inspired by Paul Sellers' version - check it out on YouTube on detailed building.
Here are some characteristics:

• Build date: July/August 2025
• Construction timber, 2x4s, studs, 2x6s, redwood boards for tool well.
• Dimensions: 96cm height (I'm 6.1', ie, 1.86m tall), 60cm width, and 153cm length.
• Laminated 30cm bench top (I've used two 2x4 and one 2x6).
• Morticed Aprons (each is 30cm wide).
• Through Mortice and Tenon joints on the legs.
• A 25cm tool well.
• 9'' Eclipse Vise and (hidden fuse) tail vise.
• Finish was two coats of Danish Oil.
• Costs: £120 (wood) + glue, screws, bolts, Danish Oil, my time and expertise (almost priceless), etc.
  • New 9'' Eclipse Vise: £99
• --> Total: £219 (UK prices)

Planned add-ons  (over time, now I'll rest a while):

• Drawer
• Underneath storage (and counterweight)
• Sharpening side shelf
• Tool rack
• Install a "Swing Away Seat" (or "swing out seat" or even "cantilevered workbench stool") or swivel chair
• I could 'make' a stool....

Roast it!

Grazie mille,

Riccardo964

[Brad Dorsey]

Congratulations.

One suggestion:  Convert the round dog holes to square or rectangular.  I made a few round dog holes in my bench top, thinking that round holes are very easy to make, that a round dog would be very easy to make from a piece of round dowel, and that round dogs would be versatile because they could clamp any shape.  But I found that clamped objects would shift a bit as the dog rotated.  Objects can be clamped a lot more securely with square or rectangular dog 

[Riccardo964]

1 minute ago, Brad Dorsey said:

Convert the round dog holes to square or rectangular

Yes, you are right - however, I usually use these ones:

Not a perfect solution, but they prevent the issues you raised, at least partially.

Another example:

 

Cheerios,

Riccardo964

PS: it looks brand new, however, my intention is to beat it mercilessly from now on.

[Brad Dorsey]

3 minutes ago, Riccardo964 said:

...I usually use these ones...

Those should work well, because they won't rotate.  I was just using round dowels.

[Riccardo964]

Great!

Just for the sake of 'how I got my inspiration', I'm posting next some examples I've seen on-line of English style workbenches:

[Jeffrey Holmes]

On 8/23/2025 at 10:16 AM, Brad Dorsey said:

Congratulations.

One suggestion:  Convert the round dog holes to square or rectangular.  I made a few round dog holes in my bench top, thinking that round holes are very easy to make, that a round dog would be very easy to make from a piece of round dowel, and that round dogs would be versatile because they could clamp any shape.  But I found that clamped objects would shift a bit as the dog rotated.  Objects can be clamped a lot more securely with square or rectangular dog 

Think that may depend on what round dog we're talking about and what wood the bench is made of.  My Ulmia bench was made with round steel dogs with square heads. The heads are sized so they can be pushed down into the round hole in the bench top when not needed. There is a tension spring on the dog's shaft so it is retained firmly.  Never had any difficulty with shifting.  I've had the bench for over 3 decades and owned one with rectangular dogs before it.

 

[Riccardo964]

10 hours ago, Jeffrey Holmes said:

what wood the bench is made of

Mine is pine, with redwood ("scots pine") for the tool well. It shall work well for my intentions.

And, most importantly, using pine and laminating boards altogether is how I kept my costs down (£120 in wood, ie, a bargain). I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome.

Riccardo964

[Hippolytus Huffmaker]

16 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

round holes are very easy to make

Always remember -- everything exists...

[Riccardo964]

51 minutes ago, Jacobus Drainer said:

everything exists

Yeap. It's called Square Hole Drill Bit, or Mortise Chisel Hole Saw Drill Bit. You can buy a set.

On my list of 'things to buy next'.

Best,

Riccardo964

[JacksonMaberry]

On 8/23/2025 at 7:16 AM, Brad Dorsey said:

Congratulations.

One suggestion:  Convert the round dog holes to square or rectangular.  I made a few round dog holes in my bench top, thinking that round holes are very easy to make, that a round dog would be very easy to make from a piece of round dowel, and that round dogs would be versatile because they could clamp any shape.  But I found that clamped objects would shift a bit as the dog rotated.  Objects can be clamped a lot more securely with square or rectangular dog 

I haven't had any difficulty with that personally, maybe it's due to the design of the veritas dogs. Ten years on since I built my bench with the veritas hardware and no issues. Those quick release vises sure are nice 

[Riccardo964]

6 hours ago, JacksonMaberry said:

Those quick release vises sure are nice

I agree. As I use my quick-release 9'' Eclipse vise and the non-quick-release tail vise, the difference is brutal on the time it takes to rotate it. And for £99 (new), it was a bargain.

 

The Eclipse EWWQR9 Woodworking Vice specs:

• Weight: 15.5kg

• Opening: 260mm

• Throat depth: 106mm

• Jaw width: 230mm / 9 Inch

Best,

Riccardo964

[Riccardo964]

Good morning,

   Documenting some improvements over the week:

• new two-dog support/holder
• holes for my holdfasts
• added some leather in the vise

   Enjoy the next images:

Cheerios,

Riccardo964

 

 

[Riccardo964]

I'm thinking on buying some heavy duty retractable casters, like this one:

Use:

Does anybody have any experience with this, or a better model to share?

Thanks in advance,

Riccardo964

 

[Brad Dorsey]

I don’t have experience with the model in your pictures, not do I know of a be better one.  I find it very convenient to be able to move my table saw around using the portable base that came with my band saw.

But a work bench is not usually something to be moved around.  It is most useful if it is immovably fixed to provide a solid platform to work at.  You don’t want it to slide around under heavy planing or pounding.  A simple way to immobilize a bench is to fasten it to a wall.  I did this with mine by cutting a slot in the back of the top that fits around a cleat that I bolted to the wall.  This makes it rock solid, but I can easily pull the bench away from the wall if I want to.

Here's a picture:

If you don't want to cut a slot in your new bench, you could bolt cleats to the wall at both ends.

[Riccardo964]

15 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

But a work bench is not usually something to be moved around.

I see your point, and you are not wrong, indeed, that is something to be stationary.

What really discouraged me using these things, was Wood By Wright's YT video here (as he shows some ups and downs of that model):

Despite the fact that he uses a much better model/design.

Best,
Riccardo964

 

[Riccardo964]

Just for the sake of 'completeness', I will leave here Paul Seller's links to his workbench, if anyone is interested:

https://paulsellers.com/paul-sellers-workbench-plans/

Those are valuable resources for anyone thinking about building a steady bench to use over years.

------------------------------------------------------

An interesting add-on I'm giving serious thought is this one next:

A sliding box, to put on the back side of the apron, removable when required.

These T-Bolts for sell in Amazon are 'interesting' (they could be wood, innit?)

Combined with this T-track (for £8), they might do the trick:

Best,

Riccardo964

[Carl Johnson]

The oval T-bolts move a bit better down the t-track, ime, and the AL track is a bit disposable which may/may not matter.

I made a modified English bench like so (not my picture, can’t photograph it in shop atm). No tool trough, but a rack on the back. Storage shelf is nice for all the planes… and accumulating sawdust. It was a nicer bench when it wasn’t against the wall.

[Riccardo964]

22 hours ago, Carl Johnson said:

No tool trough, but a rack on the back.

Good idea - thanks for sharing.

-----------------------------------------

Just showing off a bit (if you would indulge me), here's my plane "collection":

I have three luthier thumb planes (one straight, two concave), one small little plane (Stanley 12.101 small trimming plane), two block planes (different widths), and one old wooden plane  (still working, but I keep just for historical/collection reasons).

Then, I have one N.3 plane, four N.4 planes (one with a N.3 blade, one heavy-duty, one lighter shavings, one scrub plane), a N.4.5 (4 and 1/2), and a N.5.5 (5 and 1/2).

I did this holding board a while ago, still needs some improvements:

Hope you like it!

Cheerios,

Riccardo964

 

 

[MikeC]

That's a nice collection of planes!   I have some old wooden ones that I want to restore after my violin build.  

[Riccardo964]

5 hours ago, MikeC said:

That's a nice collection of planes! 

Thanks!

I only bought the one I use as a scrub plane, a Silverline one, for £14, and I regret doing this enormously. All the rest were bought used, and I did a lot of restoration(/repair?). One is a complete "Franken-plane" with parts from different planes altogether, and that's my best plane, a N.4 which is lighter.

In a while I shall post here my plough plane collection as well. Those are beautiful old-timer planes to look at and be marvelled.

5 hours ago, MikeC said:

I have some old wooden ones that I want to restore after my violin build.  

I have also an old wooden "Old Woman's Tooth" router plane, a bit like this:

Again, I just keep it for historic purposes, as I usually use my Record N.71 Router Plane.

Best,

Riccardo964

[MikeC]

I have an antique router plane also, it's a different design though.  Maybe I can post a picture later.   I also have a transitional plane, wood body and adjustable metal framework.   All cool stuff,  but all need some restoration. 

[Riccardo964]

On 9/7/2025 at 1:54 PM, MikeC said:

transitional plane

Great, please, do share those in here,  I'd like to  see it.

What I find really fascinating by looking at those planes altogether, from wood to metal versions over hundreds of years, is that it took some time to achieve a (near?)perfect balance in terms of usability and convenience that, despite efforts on redesigning a plane, that one design stands the test of time. And the same principle is what attract me to fiddle making.

Cheerios,

Riccardo964

[Riccardo964]

Nice latest addition:

PS: I got injured in a freak chisel accident recently, so, please, "Safety first" at all times!

Enjoy your woodworking and fiddle making session.

Cheerios,

Riccardo964

 

[Hippolytus Huffmaker]

3 hours ago, Riccardo964 said:

I got injured in a freak chisel accident recently, so, please, "Safety first" at all times!

My mom cut a tendon in her finger while opening a can of food that left her unable to straighten the finger.  The lid cut it somehow.  I'm now ultracareful with anything sharp.  Or halfway sharp

[Riccardo964]

1 hour ago, Jacobus Drainer said:

cut a tendon

Yes. I had to reconstruct some tendons as well. On the left hand, so less important (for me). I can't feel the top of my hand, they say it might return to "original specification" within 18 months time. Let's wait and see.

From the accident on, whenever I touch anything sharp I think at least THREE times to make sure I'm safe.  AND, I  take chisels with both hands now...

It was a very good learning episode for me.

Stay safe and stay warm!

Cheerios,

Riccardo964