Lost Art Press

Truth be told, I’m happy if you drill an array of 1” holdfast holes on 3/4” centers on your workbench, but I get asked a lot about where my holes are.

So here is my theoretical theory on this.

I bore eight holdfast holes that help me deal with common sawing, planing and mortising chores. Each hole has a particular job to do. Now, I’m no Joel Moskowitz, but I did my best to sketch out the holes in the drawing above (click on it and it will expand).

1. A Hole for a Bench Hook and Mortising
The first hole I bore is 7-1/2” from the front edge of the benchtop and a few inches forward of the face vise. This hole has two jobs. It allows me to hold my work down with a bench hook, which is of a fairly standard size. The key thing is that this hole should be behind the fence of your bench hook. Otherwise, it is fairly useless.

The hole is also handy for mortising. It is close to the front leg so I can mortise on top of the workbench’s leg and hold the work down with the holdfast.

2. A Hole for a Shooting Board
Likewise, I bore a hole that is 15” from the front edge of the benchtop and a few inches forward of hole No. 1. I use this hole to hold work down on my shooting board when I am trying to take that all-critical final pass (for most work on a shooting board I use my off-hand to hold the work).

I usually use the holdfast to hold the shooting board down to the bench when it’s not being used on the final pass.

3. The Hole for Planing Panels
Then I bore a series of holes along the back edge of the benchtop – 3-1/2” from the rear edge is good. Where to locate the first hole? It should be behind your planing stop so you can clamp down a batten to plane up panels. For me, that put the hole 3” from the end of the bench.

4. The Back Row of 5 Holes
From hole No. 3, I measure 15” and put a row of holes on 15” centers down the length of the benchtop. These holes are used with battens for traversing panels. I use them constantly.

With some benches, I add a few more holes in the top, but I usually wait until I absolutely need a particular hole in a particular place for a particular reason.

— Christopher Schwarz

Without a planing stop, a traditional workbench is fairly dining table-esque. So I was eager to get my stop installed so I could use it to finish up the rest of the parts for the bench.

I cut the 3” x 3” x 6” through-mortise in the benchtop using an auger, a jigsaws and a chisel. The mortise is 3” from the edge of the benchtop and 2” away from the front left leg.

(Side note: I meant to film a little video of the WoodOwl bits at work when installing the planing stop. No joy. I’ll film it when I make the holes for holdfasts.)

Here are Roubo’s instructions for the stop:

At three thumbs from the front, you cut through the table a mortise “c,” of 3 thumbs square, which should be perpendicular and well finished on the interior, so that the block “d” [planing stop], which you put there by force, and which you raise and lower with a mallet, does not split the corners, which can happen if it is poorly made. The planing stop should be one foot in length at least, and be of very hard and dry oak, so that it can resist the mallet which one is obliged to hit it with to make it move.  

At the upper end of this block is placed a hook of iron, which is furnished with teeth similar to those of a saw, which serve to hold the wood while you work it. One should note that it is level with the top of the block, and the edge with the teeth inclined a bit, so that in the case of very thin works, one is not exposed to the risk of striking the metal hook with the sharpened blade of the plane, which would happen in the backside of the hook is higher than the front. The pin of the hook which enters into the block, should be of a square pointed shape at the end. For it to be good, it is necessary that the pin and the top of the hook not be welded, but rather of one piece which you bend with fire [forged by a blacksmith]. The teeth of the hook should protrude from the front of the block by 6-8 lines. A larger projection would be useless and even harmful, because the tip would be exposed to breaking.

My “hook of iron” was made by blacksmith Peter Ross. Like all his work, the stop is fantastically made. The “pin” or shaft of the hook is nicely tapered. I drove the hook into a stopped and undersized hole on the stop, wedging it in place.

I’ve made many planing stops, so here are some tips:

1. The walls have to dead perpendicular or slightly undercut. Any lumps in the walls will wedge the stop instantly. Check all the walls with a try square before even attempting to drive the stop in.

2. Use really dry oak for the stop – or oak that is definitely drier than the benchtop. The stop can fall out of the mortise during the winter if it’s too wet when you install it.

3. When you install the stop, drive it in with a wooden mallet. When it stops moving down, drive it out and inspect the shaft for marks on the stop. That is where the interference is. Either pare away the junk in the mortise )my preference) or plane away a little of the stop.

Next up: 100 other things I need to do. Then trimming up the front edge of the benchtop.

— Christopher Schwarz