Author Topic: Antique Woodworkers bench (Read 8909 times)

Shreckmeister · « **on:** June 03, 2012, 01:53:40 AM »

Well you all know I've been looking to recreate the Shreckengost longrifle shop and today they delivered what I think to be a satisfactory bench. Came from a Harrisburg area auction. The bench is over 9 feet long, about 30 inches
high and 22 inches deep. The legs are morticed the old fashioned way. The vice
is a peach with the wooden screw and adjustments on the bottom. It has holes in the top for wood stops/clamps. I spent an hour hoping to find a name on it. I bet old Shreck had one just like it. What I am trying to figure out is why the rail across the bottom front from from leg to leg is morticed all the way across as is
the bottom edge of the top. Something ran between them. There is some of it
left in the groove. Strange material. A happy addition to the shop.

rich pierce · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2012, 02:13:11 AM »

Great find!

okieboy · « **Reply #2 on:** June 03, 2012, 03:21:20 AM »

Rob, if I am understanding your descriptions of the empty mortises correctly , then they would have been for a board that could slide left or right. The board would have had holes in it at various heights. You would put a wooden pin in one of the holes and it would support the other end of a piece that was being held in the vise. The common example of this is when putting a board in the vise to edge plane it, the pin would hold one end of the board up and you would get it about level before tightening the vise. If it was a longer board, you would move the board with holes further away from the vise. This could be called a built in bench jack or bench slave.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #3 on:** June 03, 2012, 03:44:34 AM »

Okie. I think you nailed it down for us . Thank you very much. Do you have a guess at approx age?

Habu · « **Reply #4 on:** June 03, 2012, 04:00:27 AM »

Neat bench!

Yeah, the grooved crossmember is for a board jack; is the top grooved on the underside, or are there signs of a separate piece that was removed?

I'm going to guess that rather than a hardy hole, the square mortise was for a "board stop" for use while planing surfaces. The stop could be removed, or hammered up and down to adjust height (you want it on the end of the board, but below the surface so your plane doesn't hit it). The two round holes are almost certainly for hold-downs. The mortise and holes are both in the right (i.e., "very common") place for that use.

Age? If the bench I started on had been stored in a barn for the last 30 years, it and this bench could be siblings--or your bench could be 150 years old. ("My" bench was made about 1960.) Nothing that shows in the pictures suggests a pre-Civil War date.

You're probably going to have to start the search for toolmarks, and then it will tend to be more of an exclusionary factor. If you find circular marks from the sawmill on the bottom of the benchtop, for example, it couldn't pre-date the introduction of the circular sawmill. Based solely on what i can see in the pictures, I'd guess no earlier than the third quarter of the 19th century.

Look at the head of the vise screw, and on the garter hardware, for a name--there is a fair chance the vise screw at least was from Ohio Tool Company and will be marked as such.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #5 on:** June 03, 2012, 04:06:43 AM »

Bottom edge of benchtop is grooved. I'll check for the other things and reply. Thank you

James Wilson Everett · « **Reply #6 on:** June 03, 2012, 01:55:09 PM »

This bench is very similar to a gunsmithing bench used by the Fry brothers, late 19th c in Ligonier, Westmoreland Co. Pa. I will try to get photos of the Fry work bench soon.

Jim

rich pierce · « **Reply #7 on:** June 03, 2012, 04:00:50 PM »

Though it likely does not pre-date the middle 1800's, benches like that were made for hundreds of years without a lot of changes.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #8 on:** June 04, 2012, 11:35:34 PM »

There are no markings on any of the bench.

Mark Tyler · « **Reply #9 on:** June 05, 2012, 01:14:47 AM »

Nice add to the the gunsmith shop.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #10 on:** June 05, 2012, 03:20:57 AM »

The saw marks on the plank top are linear on the bottom side

Eric Smith · « **Reply #11 on:** June 05, 2012, 04:08:51 AM »

That is a remarkable bench and a cool thing to have if you are interested in flintlocks and history at all. I am.

tallbear · « **Reply #12 on:** June 05, 2012, 05:18:20 AM »

Suzkat
You have found a wonderful old bench.I do seriously doubt that it is a gunsmiths bench.It is a wonderful woodworkers or Jointers bench.As has been pointed out the vice and jacks are used when jointing(straightening the edge) of a board.The holes in the top were for bench stops as was pointed out or iron bench dogs used to hold boards when planing the flat surfaces.The fact that the bench is only 30 inches high would almost certainly preclude it's use as a gunsmiths vice as it is way too short.It height would work well as a jointing or shooting bench in a woodworking shop.It is not impossible that a bench like this could be found in a gunsmith shop as several shop served several trades but to refer to it as a gunsmiths bench I believe would be inaccurate.But I will leave it up to you as to how accurate you want your museum to be.

Mitch

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #13 on:** June 05, 2012, 05:06:44 PM »

Mitch, I would like the shop to be as accurate as possible given access and funding. This is a labor of love and subject to limitations. In the absence of a more appropriate bench, I think I will attach a post vice to the other side and use it as is until or unless something better comes along. It represents the period I am looking for and might be as close as I may come for awhile to a period gunsmiths bench. I appreciate your guidance.
There was a photo of a bench in Russell Harigers book on Clarion County in Anthony Bonnets shop that looked
similar. I had hoped this was exactly what I needed, but not my first disappointment.
The plank used to make this bench was from the heart of the tree and the center of the underside has half
of it missing as wide as 6 inches where the center of the tree was obviously rotted out. Goes to show they
didn't waste anything in those days. Might this point to it being early?

Rob

Habu · « **Reply #14 on:** June 05, 2012, 07:02:48 PM »

Can you get a picture of the sawmarks on the bottom of the bench? And maybe the top/front edge where it looks like there is some heavy wear?

Some heart rot in a large plank used for a benchtop, wouldn't be unusual even today. Placed with the good side up, it wouldn't affect function--and after all, a bench is a tool. In most cabinet shops today, the benches are cobbled up out of scraps and rejects.

Just an observation, probably of no use dating or determining who made the bench: on the tops of most such benches I've seen, the heartwood goes up. This helps a bit to lock the bench together. The heart rot would explain why this wasn't done.

Robby · « **Reply #15 on:** June 05, 2012, 09:05:08 PM »

That's a great find Suzkat!!! I'd clean and tighten it up and use it. You sure do find some cool stuff.
Robby

Paul E. Wog · « **Reply #16 on:** June 06, 2012, 04:34:02 AM »

Rob,
Wonderful find

Since Shreck was only 5'6'' tall, ( based on the height of son Levi ), I feel a bench height of 30" would be quite comfortable for him...or, if you must, you could always trot on down to Putneyville and measure the original bench yourself!!

Shreck

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #17 on:** June 06, 2012, 04:42:46 AM »

Now that you mention it, The original is not any taller and far simpler.

JDK · « **Reply #18 on:** June 06, 2012, 05:51:30 AM »

Heard about a guy who built a shop in an old chicken coup. Roof was so low he dug a pit to stand in.

Maybe this was his bench.

Enjoy, J.D.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #19 on:** June 06, 2012, 10:46:25 PM »

A shot of the front and underneath

Kermit · « **Reply #20 on:** June 08, 2012, 12:19:57 AM »

Here you can see what's missing from those dadoes in your bench. Lie-Nielsen makes this one. I see this feature in shops today all the time.

Do a google search for "ruobo workbench" and go to "images." You'll see lots of interpretations of this feature, including a second vise that slides. You'll see one here. Keep clicking "newer posts" and he'll take you through the whole bench build. If I wasn't so dang old, I'd build myself a lifetime bench just like it.

http://oudluthier.blogspot.com/2008/05/bench-3.html

BTW, learn to use "holdfasts," cuz they really work and are fast.

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Author Topic: Antique Woodworkers bench (Read 8909 times)

Paul E. Wog