I love this workbench! It is a fine, beautiful tool that is a pleasure to use and inspires me to do my best work.This workbench is a cross between a traditional European workbench such as popularized by Frank Klausz [FWW issue 53 and in Scott Landis' book on The Workbench Book: A Craftsman's Guide to Workbenches for Every Type of Woodworking] and a Shaker workbench. The basic design is that of a European bench, with the recognizable shoulder vise and the 5th leg. However, the dimensions are a bit different, the core of this bench is 8' rather than 7' long and it is 30" rather than 26 3/4" wide. My bench does not have a tool tray, just as the Shaker benches do not have one. The reader should know that my first bench was made from a full sheet of plywood and I appreciated the space it afforded me. The support is pretty much the same as the Klausz bench, except that the stretchers are a slightly larger (1 1/2 by 5 1/2 and so are the bolts: 5/8 by 7".)
A feature that is distinctly Shaker is the fact that the top is made from three pieces of lumber, each about 10" wide. I chose Mahogany because my lumber dealer had only two species of lumber in that thickness: Mahogany and Basswood. It also helps that Mahogany is such a pretty species of lumber. I orginially was going to sandwich together 2" pieces of Maple, however, I very much like the simplicity of the three boards. The front board is 16/4 thick and the remaining two are 8/4 thick.
The use of a non-sandwiched construction meant that I had to drill and chisel the 12+1 dog holes. Not a big problem.
The end-vise is a slightly improved version of the Shaker end-vise. I moved the guidebar further back to increase stability. I made it from 4 pieces of 1/4" x 2" Mahogany that I glued together, to eliminate movement of this crucial piece. Additionaly, I used nylon glides on all crucial contact spots, to reduce friction and for easy adjustment of those parts.
The vise screws are made from maple; I purchased them from Lake Erie Toolworks and they are true works of art. The end vise only takes a quarter turn to lock a piece in place or to loosen the dogs to comfortably take a piece out of the grip of the bench dogs. To reduce the chance of failure, the end vise screw pushes on the block which houses the dog hole. This is in contrast to the neck of the screw pushing on the screw housing.
I decided to use traditional steel bench dogs. Unlike wooden ones, they do not give. I find it straight forward to use them as intended and hence have not ruined any of my tools.