Workbench restoration
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26 August 2016 at 1:11 pm #139703
I got an old Workbench today that i want to restore, thing is i never did something like this before and don’t really know where to start.
Its not in the best shape but the Benchtop and most of the undercarriage are solid, at first glance its only 1 leg and a crossbrace under the benchtop thats rotten and a broken end of a Crossbeam on the legs.
The wooden front vise is gonna be replaced by a quick-release steel vise, not exactly sure on how to do that yet.I’d be really grateful for any pointers on where to start or what to look for.
Regards Philipp
PS: more pictures will follow, as soon as the camera’s battery is recharged.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.26 August 2016 at 2:46 pm #139708That’s a nice find! The long stretchers would be easy to replace if needed, because it looks like they are just tusked in. I’d check to see if any of the legs need shoring up to keep it from racking or twisting under planing pressure, and check the top for flatness. The dog holes may be worn out. The screws look like wood, so you may want to check that the threads are in good order and give them some waxing. Clean it up a bit and maybe give the bench some boiled linseed oil.
I love wagon vises. That’s a fantastic find. I’d also use the front shoulder vise for awhile and see if you like it before deciding to cut it off.
26 August 2016 at 4:17 pm #139711WOW, that looks like an incredible bench – a real thing of beauty (beauty is in the eye of the beholder!) If that front vise (a “shoulder vise” like Frank Klausz uses) is in decent condition, I would not, under any circumstances, remove it. I would do anything I could to restore it to full functionality. With that vise, you can clamp a board vertically and not have any vise rods or screw get in the way.
Anyway, like Derek said, it looks like the stretchers were made to be able to take it apart. So I would take it apart as much as I could and examine all parts. Fine out what is rotten and what is good. Try to replace bad parts and rebuild as closely to the original as possible. Flatten the top. Work on the two vises. Without seeing the bench in person, it is hard to give any specific advise. But please, as you work on it, post more specific questions or progress updates.
There is a lot of good information on this type of bench and both types of vise in “The Workbench Book” by Scott Landis. That could help. Let us know how you make out.
26 August 2016 at 7:20 pm #139714Thanks for the response, yeah it is quite a nice bench typical Austrian/German style though its a bit larger than those I’ve seen so far, beign solid oak makes it pretty damn heavy aswell.
I really would rather not cut off the Shoulder Vise anyways but clamping wider boards might become a problem thats the only reason why i would want a bigger Vise.
Spent quite a bit of time this afternoon cleaning the wooden threads on both Vises, about 2mm glue “hide” on both of them i dont know how they even turned at all, they work both perfectly well now except for 2 chips in the threads of the shoulder vise but they dont hinder it working at all.
Well then I’ll take your advise and pull it apart as much as i can and look at all parts, one leg and a stretcher will definetly need replacement from what i can tell, will try to keep the process updated.
Regards Philipp
PS: here a few more Pictures
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You must be logged in to view attached files.26 August 2016 at 9:15 pm #139722Thanks for the extra pictures. The more I see, the more I would love to look all over this bench. Too bad I’m in California! Looks like the handles (tommy bars?) of both vises have been replaced. They look new relative to the overall bench. The threads on the shoulder vise are very interesting. Maybe it’s just the angle of the photo making it look that way, but it looks like they have a slope on the back of each thread, but more vertical on the front, similar to the metal threads on my Record vise.
One note – when you clean up the wooden guide bars on the end vise, be careful not to take off any wood. They should be a good fit to the holes that they fit through.
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