Workbench - Neander vs Normite

[Mike W.]

So, I was ready to build a workbench. Complete with a laminated top and a couple of decent WW vices. Then I got to thinking....

I don't have a ton of tools. And some of the tools I have aren't that great (ie My craftsman tablesaw), but they'll do for now. I started on this neander path a while back thinking it would be cheaper... HAH! Seems 2 or 3 good hand planes and I could buy myself a jointer. Then I thought about the workbench. I can't say that I recall ever seeing Norm with much of a workbench. Seems like he has some great big 'work tables', but no bench to speak of. Is this an attribute of 'Normite vs Neander' on the requirement of the true sense of the woodworkers workbench? Or is it just 'To each his own'?

Mike

[Eric Johnson]

Norm's got a workbench he even sells the plans for it at Newyankee.com. It does have a nice spin on it for in use tool storage. Mines a 75 year old maple shop built hand me down from great grandpa (he gloats). Either way every shop should have one.

EJ

[Andy Dingley]

Yes - but only if you're a "Pure Normite" and only ever use a chisel to open paint tins. If you are, then a simple table of 2x4s and a

3/4" ply top (4mm MDF or masonite replaceable wear-top too) is adequate. It's handy for Neanders too, if you have the space for both bench and assembly table.

[Swingman]

No Neander, but I do have intentions of building a nice workbench, one of these days. ITMT, there is too much woodworking that needs doing.

[Bill Thomas]

Greetings,

Some people like narrow maple workbenches. I prefer my wide,

4 foot by 5 foot, work bench with a replaceable l

[LRod]

Norm has an Ulmia in the shop. It doesn't get any more "neander" than that. The Ulmia is a classical European style workbench with front vise, tail vise, and dog holes. For years that was the bench behind him as he fed stock into the saw. He frequently laid a piece of Homosote over it for glue-ups and other tasks, so you might have missed it.

In the last couple of seasons he has been using the work table he built a couple of years ago, but the bench is still around, or at least it was a few months ago when I cyber-toured the shop again.

Also, in the first season, I think, he built a neander type workbench. I think he used it a couple of episodes and then brought the Ulmia back in.

LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[Larry Jaques]

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 23:38:02 +0000, Andy Dingley brought forth from the murky depths:

What's a "paint tin", Andy? Many paint companies over here are putting paint in newfangled plastic jugs with large screw-off tops nowadays. Drip-free, too!

(see pics at URL)

---------------------------------------------- CAUTION: Driver Legally B l o n d (e) Web Database Development =======================================================

[charlie b]

Unless you're really good, or are comfortable with uneven gaps around a flush mount drawer or cabinet door, and want to stick with face framed ply cabinets with epoxy coated drawer guides - you WILL find a bench a necessary or desirable tool to hold things while you make them fit "just so" or to ease an edge or deal with a gnarly grain or ... If you get the handcut dovetails bug it will come in handy. If you start handsawing tenons and chopping mortises it will come in handy. If you get to clamping up stuff that doesn't meet at 90 degrees it will come in handy.

Having said all that, my Real Workbench is STILL waiting for me to handcut the dovetails in the 2" thick (8/4 for the galoots) apron. No router bit will do the job though I did have a go with the bandsaw and the test pieces came out pretty good. But, eventually I'll get off the dime and then only the Veritas Twin Screw will need installing.

'Til then, I cuss and swear and continue using the 4x8 "bench/assembly table" with it's three dog holes and one face vice. But I find having to walk around the damn thing to get something just out of reach is starting to wear on me. A narrower bench with dog holes, twin screw and a shoulder vice should take care of that - eventually.

charlie b

[Conan the Librarian]

Others have answered about Nahm's bench, but I'll toss in a few words about Neander vs. powah tool "requirements" for a bench.

Neander bench height is likely to be different from a bench designed for powah tools. Common wisdom is that a Neander bench is about the height of the distance from the floor to the woodworkers palm when he stands with his arms at his sides and his hand held out palm-down. Nahmite benches tend to be built to match the heights of various stationary powah tools so it can serve as an auxiliary "table".

Neander benches need to be designed to withstand the rigors of planing, chopping dovetails, mortising, etc. Nahmite benches may or may not have that requirement.

Neander benches need a workholding system for jointing and surfacing boards. Nahmite benches may or may not need that.

Neander benches need a tool shelf to hold all of those fancy Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes so that they can admire them while pondering what to build next. Nahmite benches may or may not need that. :-)

Anyhow, you get the idea. Personal preferences will play a large role, as will the particular blend of Neander/Nahmite that you happen to be.

Chuck Vance

[A Dubya]

Back when I decided to set up shop, and head down (or was that up?) the ww highway, a suitable workbench was obviously a neccesity.

With pints of Krenovian blood pumping through veins, I drew up my plans for the ultimate bench, worked out the stock/harware/vise list, and costed out the estimated hours.

The next morning I went out and bought a LV bench.

Not only was the LV bench cheaper, but how on earth was I going to create a bench respectable enough to take up that much realestate on my shop floor, without a workbench to build it.

The LV bench now sits in the shop as a spare and extra workspace, gleaming as the day it entered the shop.

Cheers,

Andy

[Bannerstone]

Actually Norms bench is more of a neander bench with it's tail vice, common to planing applications, tool well and face vice. It shares some similarities to the Scandinavian style cabinetmaker's benches, used mainly for holding the work for planing, sawing, chisel/chopping and other hand tool applications. The narrow top makes it convenient to work from the back side as well which is why you often see them positioned in the middle of the room. While it does get some use as an assembly surface its a bit small which is in my mind a fitting conservation of shop space. I tend to fine tune my joinery at the bench and do my assembly on a seperate surface. I consider doing assembly on my bench no different than tying up my table saw surface for assembly, it happens on occassion but its bound to intefere with my work flow.

David

[Silvan]

Dunno, some of each? I started with more of an assembly table, and only recently retrofitted it with front vises and dog holes. I do use it for holding wood while I plane and chisel on it, which are both very Neander activities. However, it's also very damn handy as a clamping table. I used to have to wrestle with a bunch of huge pipe clamps to hold, say, a big box or a chess board glue-up together. Now I do it all with a couple of dogs and the pop-up dog on the front vise. Throw down some waxed paper so I don't have to peel the dry glue off the top, and away I go. It's one of the most useful things I've ever done in the shop.

[Layne]

Nobody every said going neander was always cheaper.... In fact, once you get hooked on planes it's all down hill from there... *sigh*

The nice thing about doing things neander is you can hear yourself think....and hear your SWMBO, okay so maybe it's not a good thing after all. ;-)

Layne