Reader Charles W. Luetje sent me a link to this New York Times story that features Zach Braff sitting on a fantastic workbench with a beautiful deadman. I will definitely be stealing this form for a future bench.
From the wear marks on the bench, it looks like the deadman panels are stationary – not sliders.
Braff’s bench is quite similar to one I discussed in my 2007 book, “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use.” That bench was featured in the August 1882 edition of Carpentry and Building magazine (see page 58 of that book for details).
— Christopher Schwarz
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To make things even more interesting, from the wear on the outside of the circles, it looks like the 2 vertical bars turned like the hands of a clock to adjust the holes to any height. There may have originally been 2 complete circles, the missing halves where his feet are resting. It looks cool, but it sure eliminates a lot of storage space.
Someone needs to go to his house and ask….
Are benches allowed to have stalkers?
I would love to!
Does a stationary deadman have any advantages over a sliding one?
That 1882 bench looks a lot like the Vasa workbench.