Rex Krueger
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Early Access Video: Knockdown Workbench Joinery
🕑 Added 2021-05-22 11:01:01 +0000 UTCFriends:
I know many of you are contemplating that all-important first bench build and many folks don't even have a proper shop. For those intrepid souls, a knock-down bench is the most attractive solution.
At the heart of all good knock-down designs is some kind of keyed joint that holds strong but also comes apart. These joints aren't easy to cut or even that easy to understand, so I've prepared an introduction to the most common knock-down joints. I cover the theory, stock selection, and cutting the joinery.
All of this is research for upcoming bench designs. So get pumped!
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
Yang Ji
https://rexkrueger.discourse.group/t/modified-split-top-roubo-style-mobile-workbench/8941?u=yang_ji If you are not on Rex’s discourse group, you should go and register now. I have my workbench detailed there, and mine implemented similar taken down structure. It was made out of Douglas fir, and light enough that I can move each part around by myself.
Gerald Eddy
I too fall back on Rex and Paul Sellers for my how to instructions!
Walther Grube
I am currently building a moravian workbench. And coincidently I am making the tusk tenon right now! Your video came at a good time to help me figure out some details. Thanks!
Paul Howard
I bought lumber for your Roman bench in the past few months, just waiting on tools in the mail!
David Coxon
Nice timing Rex. I have just made my first mortise and tenon, which was also my first tusked tenon, as a test of my new mortise chisel. I was using very small (1" x 2 1/2") timber as it was available scrap, I had to make the mortise for the wedge across the tenon since the tenon was only 10mm thick, but the purpose was to practice using the tools and the end result was a very tight joint. My next project is your Joiners Workbench since just being able to remove the trestle legs will meet my needs.
Tello De Santis
I wonder if you can repurpose your Roman workbench. Either remove the legs and put the seat on top of a new frame or make the legs removable so you can go back and forth for a high/low workbench.
stlmch
This seems to be a the right time and place to mention Christopher Schwarz's "The Anarchist's Workbench" book, where these and other methods to build a workbench are described. Especially because it's available for free as PDF under CC-BY-NC license.
Donald Hulson
Love to see a follow up about the different ways to attach the top on a knock down bench.
William Allen
"good enough" lol, nope, you are more than "good enough". Best on YouTube, you and Paul Sellers. Yes, you heard me.
Rex Krueger
Damnit! I forget to mention that.
Csongor Halmai
Brilliant video, Rex, and very well timed. I am planning to build a bench for myself and maybe I will use this idea. Thanks. :)
Matt Evans-Koch
Thank you Rex for showing the making of these joints. Always educational. For those who may wonder how strong the tusked tenon is, Roy Underhill did a video with a gentleman who makes the Moravian style workbench and they tested the joint with a hydraulic strength testing unit. It took somewhere around 1 or 2 tons of pulling force to break the joint. So properly built, this joint would last a lifetime.
Gerald Eddy
they did great joining , albeit they used nails... but I think I can convert it into a joiners bench
Gerald Eddy
post on Discourse which I figure in the past had a lathe on on it considering the motor and opening in the top...itts been brutally hammered on so I am thinking I can convert it into a joiners bench
Gerald Eddy
I have an old bench in my basement which ai eill
Kenneth Carlile
Great video! I really appreciate the tips about how to cut the mortises. That is my main concern about doing a Moravian (that and whether I can actually lift the tops by myself) Had to go back and re-watch the bit about using vertical shoulders before I understood what you were talking about. Maybe a brighter highlight on the vertical part in the historical bench?
John Griswold
Always possible, would put opposing gravitational forces inward at all four corners, would have to lend rigidity given that stone gains strength in compression...to tip any column away from the structure a lateral force would have to lift the roof load as column tipped to vertical, another strengthening factor, I bet you are right to some degree!
Kevin S Thomas
Great presentation, I like that you showed 2 different build techniques. The tip about hardwood wedges was right on point.
Rex Krueger
The pine parts were SUPER light.
Rex Krueger
Right here! https://rexkrueger.discourse.group/
Rex Krueger
I suspect that it's true, but I have no evidence.
Rex Krueger
Damn, Eric! That's a lot of questions! I think 3x3 is fine and 1" tenon is also fine. Yes, 6* on top, 16* on the bottom where the "hook" is. Tenoning through the top is very strong, but dowel pins are easy to just lift the top off of. That strange vise is a "miter-jack". Plenty of info on the google.
Rex Krueger
Did you ever write about your experiences building the Moravian on the forum? I would love to read about how it went.
Sudden Rain
Thx!
Randy Gardner
If I had the room, I would have built a Moravian style workbench but as it is, I could only accommodate a Roman style that I can tip up against the wall when not in use. I have the plans and video for the Moravian bench but I doubt I will ever build one though. If you choose to feature a build of one, I would be interested in seeing that.
Ragnhild
The tusked mortise and tenon joint is common in trestle tables, and easy enough to put together or take apart that the most difficult task is moving the heaviest part — usually the tabletop — around.
Ragnhild
Ancient Greek temples have a very, very slight inward tilt in their walls, and it’s often explained as making the building appear visually “lighter”, but I’m wondering if what you’re saying here may be a better explanation. After all, it’s so slight that you don’t actually see it, but it may still be enough to make it structurally stiffer.
Dustin Light
Nice video! I love seeing diffent designs for benches. I still need to build one. I have a store bought one at the moment.
Tom Manseau
Chris Schwarz a while back made plans for a knockdown Nicholson/English style bench. I can vouch it is a very good bench. The downsides are that the construction lumber it's made from is typically very wet, at least here in the PNW. This can lead to significant warping and cupping. The legs are created using laminations, screws, and glue. They have not budged in all the years I've made them. Remember that comment about wet wood? Well, the wood in my "knockdown" bench has shrunk enough that pulling it apart even after removing the bolts & without glue it is simply not going to come apart. Yep, might as well be one giant piece of lumber at this point. https://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/knockdown-english-workbench/
Steve (Woodprobie) Howard
Oh... my only concern is this: Am I now too old and weak to be able to lift the beefier stretchers and even beefier leg assemblies? (I should have thought ahead when creating a family... need more sons now!) LOL
Steve (Woodprobie) Howard
PDG (Pretty Damn Good)... I can do the laminated joint with hook... I can also laminate two "one-bys" to make a "beefier" stretcher. I'm gonna do it, "fur sure." The only glitch is when? Where may I share progressive and final pics with you?
Ton Wanten
Thank you.
Bill Smithem
Horizontal vs vertical wedges. Somewhere along the way I'd heard it claimed that vertical is preferred as the wedge tends to fall into the stretcher if it moves, keeping the joint tight, whereas the horizontal wedge would require the occasional tap with a hammer to tighten it. Is there any actual evidence of that?
John Griswold
One genius of the Moravian is in the geometry. Most benches have legs at 90 degrees to the top, an inherently unstable arrangement. Carpenters know that any four sided shape with 90 degree angles can also describe an infinite number of parallelograms, that "racking" which makes a bench unstable under the lateral force of planing. They cure this by "triangulating" their rectangular walls with added brackets or plywood. The legs of the Moravian effectively add triangulation with an inward tilt at 16 degrees, like the legs of a good saw horse or the legs on the low Roman bench. The top drops onto dowels in the leg sections, preventing it from lateral movement and making the bench a trapezoid that functions much like a bridge truss.
The Poor Man
Man I’ve been building my bench slowly over the past year or so, I’m using pallet wood so from time to time I need to let it sit. But I’m getting to the point where it’s time to start fully planning how I’m going to do the legs, so this video came just in time- I’ve got everything I need to finish the top and am currently breaking down pallets for the leg and stretcher material, since I have to laminate everything due to my material that second one looks like she might be the winner. Here are my questions: how thick should I go?, like should the legs be about 3”*3” with a 1” tenon or would that be to thick/thin?; and does the 6 degree go on the top of the joint or the bottom after it’s all glued together? I’ll post a progress pic of where I’m at on my bench later today, also would you pin the legs to the top or mortise them in? I’m a little confused on this step, like I know most people mortise the top to the legs, but James said that he and Sarah were going to dowel pin the top on and I’m wondering about the benefits to each approach. I do need my bench to break down quickly so I don’t have to leave it behind if I have to move quickly. Also at 46 seconds in what on earth is that big vice looking thing sitting on the top left of that bench?
Daniel Bohrer
Oh yes, I also have one of those WorkMate clones, and you can't really plane on them unless you sit on them :D
Peter Schmiedeskamp
Well done, Rex! I’m pretty novice, and I managed to build the Moravian design from Will’s DVD with some modifications and simplifications… but I wouldn’t say it was necessarily easy! I definitely learned a lot during the process. I absolutely see value in a bench design that demands less from the beginner workbench builder. I also like that you’ve done some historical research to find some other workbench designs aside from the Moravian design. There is a paucity of knockdown bench designs, and if you’re able to resurface a new iteration on a historical design, with novice woodworkers and cheap available materials in mind, you’ll be a hero.
David Bumpus
Cheers to the Adequate clever woodworker! Really enjoy your videos and I've learned a lot!
Skully Wood and Metal
I love that second joint. It would also be awesome built with 2x6 lumber.
John Hiemstra
Excellent teaching as always. It got me wondering. What about a take down picnic table? Hmmm....Easily stored in winter. Picnic chairs too? I'll bet somewhere in the Utubiverse there's something like that. Thanks Rex for the inspiration!
Christopher Orso
Great video except for one myth. The moravian workbench is not any more difficult than a french or english workbench to build. I built mine without ever cutting any of the joints (bridle, mortise & tenon, lapped half blind dovetail, and tusk tenon). Cutting all those different joints is not only fun to have variety, but a great skill builder. There are also alternatives like using half lap joints or laminating parts so that the mortises are made with gaps in the laminations. I still recommend going with the original joints because, in my opinion, it’s better to try a joint for the first time on a workbench than a piece of furniture. Also, workbenches are big and almost like timber frame joinery so there is a lot of forgiveness.
Jonathan Keeling
So pumped! Thanks for all you do!
Paul Ladd
I am being goofy and playful here but “Rex, they all ready make a takedown workbench. It is called the Black & Decker Workmate”. 🍅🍅🍅 ok, I know. LOL I have a 13x12 dedicated shop space....for everything. Automotive tools, carpentry, woodworking, etc it is all stored in that space. Due to that I have a Black & Decker WorkMate 425. Neat design, small, etc. it also has the serious flaw of being light. While learning to plane from a Rex video, I noticed the WorkMate decided it wanted to find some saw dust on the floor. No.4 plane in hand, learning from the beginners series video.....slice, slice, slice, slide...., huh? The plane had become a nice handle with which I could put the WorkMate back into position. LOL I really like this idea of a beginner friendly take down work bench. Thank you for the video. As for the workmate, great Swiss army knife type tool, but it can be too light for using a plane. Time to get out the electric sander I guess. 🍅🍅🍅, ok I am kidding.
Aaron Wasielewski
Great timing as I’m considering a Moravian bench! Not really due to space constraints, but I would love to be able to easily take it out of the house if I have to/want to work outside on something perhaps.
Edward Kohl
Combining this joint with a stretcher leg system and your $30 Roman work bench would make a killer knock down work bench for all skill levels.
Hansenomics
This video came along at the right time as I continue to think about how to build the English Joiners bench. I’m not sure if this type of bench lends itself well to the takedown style but it’s worth considering and giving it a shot. By the way, lol @your confession at the end. Also, looking forward to the videos of your new bench builds!
Harold Stone, Jr.
Can't wait!!
