Editor’s note: Mike Siemsen, the host of “The Naked Woodworker” DVD has built a cool little knockdown bench designed for traveling and apartments. Check it out – and we promise that more copies of “The Naked Woodworker” are on the way to our warehouse! Thanks for your patience.
I decided to try my hand at a knockdown bench for transport to shows and demonstrations. Such a bench could also be used by people with limited space.
It is 5’ long so it fits in the trunk of my Honda Civic with its back seats folded down. With the bench’s aprons folded down, it is 6-3/4” thick. If you pull the hinge pins and remove the aprons it is only 4-1/2” thick. It is 22-3/4” wide and stands 32” tall when assembled. The leg sections do not break down. If you leave the aprons attached there is no loose hardware. As to workholding, the crochet is removable for easier transport; there are no vises, only holdfasts and planing stops.
Above is the bench when it is knocked up.
Here it is knocked down. The aprons are hinged to fold flat, or you can knock out the pins and remove the aprons. The leg sections do not disassemble. The legs slide into the large dados in the aprons and pins lock the aprons to the legs.
This is the hardware I made for the leg-to-apron joint. A bolt through the apron and into the leg would work just as well, but I was going for a tool-less knockdown.
The mortise for the crochet before the top goes on.
I made the crochet just a 1″-square stick that slides in a mortise so it can be removed for easier packing and hauling. Chris thinks this is an emasculator, but it is too late for that!
I made a simple planing stop. A 3/4” dowel with a 1/4” x 1” x 1” square of steel screwed to the top. I sharpened the leading edge and cut in some notches. I still need to recess it into the top. I also made a “doe’s foot” and there is a stick that goes in the slot in the center of the bench for use as a planing stop as well for traversing.
Just another shot with one set of legs removed. It is very solid and a bit heavy. I can move it by myself, though.
Here is the hardware for the pins. It is just 1-1/2” x 1/4” steel bar cut to the width of the leg and drilled for a 1/4” x 4 steel pin. Drill them in pairs so the 1/4” holes match up so the pins slide in after assembly. I drilled the apron plate that receives the pin 1/64” bigger in diameter (that’s 9/64”) for clearance and I ground a chamfer on the ends of the pins. The pin is offset because I wanted the holdfast holes in the legs to be in the center.
I used 4” x 4” hinges for the aprons, three on each apron. When you mortise for the hinges make sure there is no gap between the apron and the benchtop.
I used bigger screws than the ones that came with the hinges.
I clamped the legs to the aprons when I bored the holdfast holes through the apron and into the top of the leg. I drew the location of all the hardware and screws on the face of the apron and top of the bench so I wouldn’t hit them when boring holes. You can see that the holes at the bottom of the leg are offset to avoid the screws that attach the stretcher to the leg.
I used the drill press to bore a 3/4” hole through a thick block of wood for a guide for the brace and 3/4” bit. I clamped it for the first hole and then used a holdfast in that hole to clamp it for the next one.
This is a very solid little bench that I plan to bring to Handworks in May 2015.
— Mike Siemsen, Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking
Awesome!
I have seen the DVD yet but is it easy enough to figure out where you need to make changes to build the knock down version?
I have not seen the DVD! Typo.
jmaichel, I would think you could figure it out. I just cut the apron below the cross bearers.
Rusty, I wondered how the holdfasts would work on the seam as well when I did it. They appear to be working OK. I try to aviod using them in the seam if I can. It is fine for just putting pegs in. I consider this a “temporary” bench for traveling and not for everyday woodworking. A standard Nicholson is fairly portable as it is with the legs off.
Thanks for the reply, Mike, that’s good to know. I’ll keep in mind for future use
Reblogged this on Paleotool's Weblog and commented:
Another installment of “which is the right bench for me when I can’t have everything?” in Chris Schwarz’s blog. It’s a knock-down bench that can fit into a Honda Civic. No vises, just holes for holdfasts and planing stops. It’s dead sexy.
Another example of naked leading to knocked up! Soon there will be little benches running around everywhere.
“the leg sections do not disassemble…” too many loose parts for traveling. A pair of small trestles, a couple of good planks, add handscrews and bar clamps to hold most anything. Small bench tops tend to get cluttered with tools, a shelf underneath is most handy.
Three excellent design ideas; hinged aprons, pinned legs, and the little jig for boring straight! More things to add to my library of “things I have for future projects”! I do have one quick question. I noticed that one set of hold fast holes on the front apron go through the seam where the hinges are. Do these hold as tight as those through the solid face?
Thanks for sharing your designs, definitely inspirational