I have spent almost a year or so using only the Nicholson bench. I am very fortunate to have both the Nicholson and the first bench that Chris made titled “The $175 Bench”. The $175 bench is similar to the Roubo in that the legs are flush with the top which is thick and stiff and there is no apron. I have kept a piece of hardboard on the top of the $175 Bench which turned it into an assembly table.
Some thoughts on the different benches:
Nicholson: First the length of the Nicholson is awesome. In the first picture I have 21 items on it which all fit on the 8 foot top. The ability of a bench this long is that you can move different parts of your project forward at the same time or in my case work many different projects at once and not get any done!
Vises on the Nicholson: These are great. The wagon vise combined with the length of the bench make working the face or edge of board a breeze. I move the dog where I need it and put the other dog in one of the two holes in the wagon vise and I am good. I have also used the apron and leg vise to hold a piece that would have been two tippy in the wagon vise set up. The holes in the apron were perfect for getting the board to the right height.
The leg vise has also been smashing! It has a bit of leather on the inside of the vise and grips like a pit bull on a hobo.It has been a superior means to hold work over the traditional face vise on the $175 bench especially since it is placed on an angle which allows the work to reach the ground without hitting the vise screw.
That said, the one major issue I have experienced with the Nicholson is the inability to use my holdfasts.I am the proud owner of two holdfasts from Phil Koontz. These are perfect and work extremely well. It seems that the thickness of the top does not allow the holdfast to work.I am not sure if another type of holdfast would work or not. Since the Nicholson doesn’t have holes in the top like the other bench, I have tried to work around this with varying degrees of success. The only other complaint I have is that the apron does not allow any clamping to the top and requires me to reach underneath it to push up the bench dogs.I have also noticed that hammering anything is best done over the legs of the bench, whereas anywhere on the top of the $175 bench works fine.
Yesterday I unveiled the $175 bench from underneath its hardboard coffin. I needed to put a card scraper to a thin piece of wood. The ends were mitered and I knew the bench dogs would dent the ends if I squeezed them in the wagon vise. Instead I used a piece of scrap and with a thrill I hammered my holdfast. I did one side then switched it around. This was awesome! I also had the joyous feeling of putting my hands under the top without bending over.That was so nice I felt an urge for a cigarette!
I think I have the perfect setup with the two benches. I am going to keep the Nicholson against the wall which I have found to be an “ok” thing to do. I like the ability to move around a project and have definitely had a time or two where I was in a physically challenging position because of the limitations that were caused by the bench being against the wall. I would like to know if anyone else has been using their bench against a wall and have had problems with this configuration.
-John
Hi John,
I have always had my main bench against a wall. Before the last move to our present house, I also had a freestanding bench as well. To me, it was a best of both set ups. For most things, having the one against the wall was not an impediment to working, but there was aspects of projects having one freestanding was much better.
Now that the shop has moved out of the house, I can again have a second bench and I will make another. For now, the second is an assembly table of sorts. But the main bench is again against the wall. I have always mounted common, oft used tools on the wall behind the bench as you show.
For the freestanding bench, I did have a second set of common tols kept in drawers mounted to a low cabinet within the frame–chisels, some saws, etc. That allowed me to save a few steps.
fwiw, when I do build the second bench, it will be the English bench. I figured I’ll add a couple lengths of boards below the top where I put the dog holes to allow better holding of the hold fasts. My apron will either be thicker to allow the same or I’ll spring for one or two of the Veritas surface holdfasts.
Take care, Mike
John,
I am just finishing up the Nicholson bench patterned after Chris’ book. Mine is made out of 1 3/4 inch southern yellow pine and is 6′ long with no end vise. I really am getting attached to it already, and have used it a bit as a bench to finish up some of the various parts.
I limited it’s length to 6′ so that I could take it with me if I have to move to another house and be assured of getting it into almost any space. I also put wheels on one end under the top so I can tilt it up on one end and roll it around.
That said, I am already dreaming of building a nice, long roubo workbench. I think they would indeed complement each other. I doubt it will happen anytime soon though.
I think they are both fantastic benches, and I can see distinct advantages in both.
Mike —
I ended up doing the opposite of your suggestion.
I liked the solid functionality of the Roubo-style bench, but really liked the look and angled design of the Nicholson-style bench.
So when I constructed my bench, I gave it the massive 3.5" thick 8′-0" long Roubo top, but mounted it on 20 degree angled legs with an angled leg vide to match. I kept the dog configuration (although I’m using a different style vise on the end) and hold-down holes where desired on the top and legs.
My solution seems to be the best of both worlds, but I’ll let you know how it functions over time!
John,
A small comment off topic. I noticed that your furnace sits directly behind your table saw – and ironically your "dust collector" is stationed right next to it. Even though you have made the move towards more hand tool use, you will still be creating plenty of dust. You might consider building a partition wall around the furnace – yes I know it will chew up valuable shop space. Maybe you will have to forego the two bench set up. Just make sure you vent the wall to the main space so you do not seal it in causing other problems(simply accomplished by cutting a hole or two slightly smaller than a standard furnace filter then sealing a high quality filter over the openings). Check with the manufacturer and local codes for clearance and vent requirements.
The benefits may be noticed more by your family than you. Your little ones and animals, not to mention SWMBO, will appreciate the fact that you are not blowing fine dust all over the house for them to breathe since prime shop season and prime heating season generally overlap. For more extensive information on dust and better ways to collect it see http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm.
Great tips John. I have needed to build a woodworking bench for some time. Reading your post has motivated me to get started.
I have wrestled enough woodworking projects and need to just build it.
I have enjoyed looking and reading through the posts on your site.
KJ
Hmm – Two benches? You must have died and gone to hand-tool heaven. 😉
My only comment is that you might want to consider getting some smaller holdfasts to go with the Nicholson. You could potentially have Phil custom-make them for you, or the Colonial Williamsburg Prentis shop carries some smaller, traditional-design holdfasts (these have tapered shafts, and should work better in shallower holes).
By the way – what’s the gizmo on the left side of the top surface of the Nicholson bench – the mechanism from a glider rocker?