![]() But we also built the base out of LVL, and that was less successful. I do still love my LVL bench, and the top remains dead flat after 11-plus years of hard use – an excellent result from our material experiment. ![]() The Crucible Planing stop in the Benchcrafted Classic. And then the workshop will be complete (cue the laugh track). Now I just need to figure out what to do with our Ulmia workbench, my least favorite bench in the shop. It’s still a good bench – it has just been eaten up and beaten up by all the workholding experiments I’ve inflicted upon it.Īnd I have 40 more hours this year that I can use to work on other projects – chairs, refurbishing the bar in our storefront, books and new tools for Crucible. Her LVL workbench is going to live in her basement as “an expansive horizontal storage facility.”* And I’m sure it will be used as a workbench. Megan has a new workbench with a leg vise that works perfectly. But Jameel and FJ said they were interested in trading the bench for one of my stick chairs and a Dutch tool chest made by Megan. I was perfectly happy to pay cash for this bench. And they made it for less than I could, at my hourly rate. Benchcrafted got it exactly right with no compromises. If you have been reading my books on workbenches, then you know that this Benchcrafted bench pushes all of my buttons. A straight oil finish adds a little protection and color, without adding any slipperiness that comes from a wax or varnish. Today Megan added a boiled linseed oil finish to the bench, which suits the way we work. The bench even comes unfinished – a real blessing. The craftsmanship is excellent – as good as any workbench I’ve made. And the bench weighs plenty for handwork – 300 lbs. The bench’s form is based on the 18th-century plan. The Benchcrafted Classic comes with a Crucible holdfast and a planing stop (they added our planing stop by request), and the holdfast pattern is the same pattern that’s on my workbench. She worked it hard.įirst, the bench completely fulfills my dictum for a good workbench: That you can work on the faces, edges and ends of boards with ease. Megan’s new workbench after its first day of work. After about 5 seconds of ciphering (and carrying the gazinta), the decision to order the Benchcrafted was obvious. ![]() On the other hand, the Benchcrafted Classic is $2,900. I can build a bench in about 40 hours of work. And when Megan first approached me about replacing her bench, I said I was happy to help build her a new one based on plans in “ The Anarchist’s Workbench” (the book is free to download).īut after looking ahead at our schedule for 2022, my brain began to do the math. I’ve built a lot of workbenches since 2000, written five books about workbenches and have been hailed/derided for popularizing the 18th-century French bench for woodworkers who like to use hand tools. But recently we decided to buy (actually, trade) for the Benchcrafted bench. Megan and I have been in long-running discussions about building her a new workbench sometime during 2022. We have just received delivery of a new Benchcrafted Classic Bench in our shop, which replaces Megan Fitzpatrick’s LVL bench in the center of our bench room. ![]() Megan applies a coat of boiled linseed oil to our new Benchcrafted Classic workbench.
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