Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use (Popular Woodworking)

This book is excellent for showing a few different workbenches and giving full plans for each of them. A popular bench for many people seems to be the Roubo ([...]), and I fall into that camp as well. It's massive construction lends itself well for working with hand tools. I've been working on my bench based off this book ([...]). The book was a fun read while being useful and it definitely got me energized to tackle my own workbench. Ultimately, that's why you'd buy the book, right?

If you are a woodworker or looking to get into woodworking you will need a bench. In this book Chris examines the different pieces of benches and that are vital to how you use one. Should the legs be flush or back, how high should the bench be, what width, how does the thickness change things, and this is where you work so how you hold the wood in place to work it? I am still working through the book, but Chris gets right to the point about different aspects of woodworking work benches. He actually gives his opinion about styles and tools explaining his perspective. Brilliant!

The only minor gripe I found is that matching up the pictures with different sections could be a little more defined. There are headings for different sections in the book and notes under the pictures but they do not match. Since I am new to some of these tools it requires more concentration.

Excellent read! Great for planning to build or purchase a work bench.

I've been doing hobby/semi-pro wood working for almost 15 years now and know enough to know I don't know everything. I've also developed an ear for what to listen too and what's just fad, glitter, and ranting. Here is what I have to say about Christopher Schwarz, 'Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use'.

First off, this isn't a 'scan and learn' type book. All you see doing that is Chris likes two workbench types and hates drawers. The real value in this book is in the cover to cover read, and it's worth every page. Chris explains the various designs, the reasoning behind them, and how they have evolved to become the benches of today. He even goes into point-by-point analysis of what makes some ideas work and others fail. So even if you disagree with his conclusions you will still have all the information you need to come to your own.

Second, Christopher Schwarz is a hand tool fanatic. Just expect that slant when you read the book. Every other picture will have a hand plain or chisel in it. That said, I'm more the power tool type. My favorite tool is the router, and the band-saw is a close second. I still found the book excellent, if for no other reason than it provides a well supported alternative perspective. Furthermore, whether your the caveman with a rock or Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor you will eventually have need to assemble something. For that alone the benches Chris describes are worth knowing about. I'm building the second of the two he described and fully expect to cut the number of clamps I need in half.

I also would like to point out all the pictures are black-and-white. This is a plus, not a minus. Often authors will try to make contents 'flashy' to get the quick buy from a page flipper in a book store. This author relies on content over color. The black-and-white also helped me in visualization. There's less guessing 'is that an angle change or a color change'. Don't know what I'm talking about? Look through your favorite color diagrams, then look through this book. You will be surprised what color will hide.

Conclusion: If you own more than three wood working tools and know which end is sharp you can benefit from this book, if you READ it.

I bought the book before I read the book reviews. I would not trade it in nor let it out of my house to let someone borrow it for anything. Hey dip, get your own book. Chistopher, I started a bench and then got your book. It had skirts like the English bench, but then I got this book and modified the design so it is a bastardized Roubo/English with skirts and straight legs.

To all of the negative people in the world that would find fault with ice cream for crying out loud, "I SAY, HEY BUDDY, STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES AND GET YOUR HEAD OUT THE MANURE PILE". I had to say it nicely because this is a family show.

In two words GREAT BOOK. If you are out there and are thinking about building a bench, I highly recommend purchasing this book with extreme prejudice. There are two time tested benches in the book that can be modified to suit your needs with little change. I have multiple physical limitations and need a bench that was only five feet long with a height of 30 inches and 30 inches deep. Like I mentioned earlier, I made a very usable bench using both designs that will suit me since I cannot get out of the chair and still I can reach the back of my bench and do all of the clamping on the faces and top.

In the process to decide wether to buy or build my (first) workbench I had decided to first understand the basics and I got to this book. It not only happened to be very usefool in my process but also it is a very beatiful book to travel through. As I'm far from being a pro at woodworking this book has been exactly what I was looking for.