Читать книгу Workshop Projects - Jeff Jacobson - Страница 16

A family tradition of matching the workbench to the worker continues with this no-nonsense maple workbench. Granddad would likely have approved.

by John English

The worktop on my grandfather’s bench consisted of a pair of railroad ties with an 8" gap down the middle. Granddad, who lived in Ireland, was a skilled artisan who built coaches and wagons.

My father is pretty good with his hands, too. The bench in his Dublin workshop is better suited to the work he does—refinishing antique furniture and tuning small engines—than Granddad’s would have been. The 3"-thick hardwood top rests on an iron frame, but the vise is a metalworker’s, and the top shows scars of butane torches, solder, and even a few hammer blows.

The point is that a workbench is personal—it must match both the work and the worker. Neither of the benches described above would be suitable for fine woodworking, but the model shown here is ideal for building furniture and casework. And it’s easily modified to suit an individual craftsman’s needs.