Sometimes the biggest challenge of a project can just be getting the wood to stay put while we try to work on it. I suppose it's why it's so easy for us to get lost in the hunt for a perfect workbench design. And drawn in towards all kinds of vice bling and fancy work holding … [Read more...]
Building A Workbench For ‘That’ Screw
I’ve been having a good old tidy up and done that thing where you stumble upon a great big sod off vice. Now, if you've been lingering around from our old days you may remember this thing. It was rather nicely given to me by my good friend Richard Arnold. He mentioned he’d had it for … [Read more...]
Choosing The Best Face Vice
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 woodworking 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 … [Read more...]
Choosing Timber – The Best Wood For Building A Workbench
If you're going to build yourself a chest of drawers, what wood would you build it out of? You'd build it out of whatever you fancy building it out of. What you like, what's to hand, what's cheapest. Who, bloody cares? It's the same when you're building a workbench. Obviously, I can't … [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.theenglishwoodworker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Nice-Rack.mp3 Without 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 in to your … [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...]