Workbenches, Chris Schwarz & better late than never

Alas and alack, my fledgling review of Chris Schwarz's new book “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction and Use” takes second fiddle to an excellent review on Amazon.com.  I received mine earlier this week and immediately dove into it. Unfortunately for me, the remains of a mild concussion (never argue with a mailbox, it will win) seriously slowed my intellectual processing power (Please enter your 'oh so sorry to hear that' comments here _____ ). Never-the-less, I too will jump in with a few words of effusive approval. Mind you, I did review the expected appearance of this book a few weeks back. Unlike the fledgling mercantile leanings of Chris' progeny, my copy will remain with me.

Everybody loves workbenches. Everybody loves articles and books about workbenches. Lots of everybody's love to build workbenches worthy of artistic commentary. Few everybody's have spent the time Chris has in pondering the functional behavior of workbenches, the historical development of workbenches through 'form follows function' as well as the nationalization of workbench design through the ages.

Let's assume for a moment that the modern workbench is the offspring of the manufacturing and marketing process. Ever try to fit an eight foot workbench into a UPS shipping box? Ever try to market a manufactured workbench that doesn't have loads of do-dads and gadgets to set it apart from the masses?  Ever try to tell someone that your workbench won't necessarily make them a better woodworker but it will look great in the photographs?

Sure, other books have discussed the development of the workbench. What sets this book apart is Chris' focus on his personal observations while building and using each bench.  He has considered the 'why' of bench design when the bench functions as just another tool in the shop, albeit a vital one.  Don't just skip to the dimensioned plans with visions of making your own perfect workbench. Read the book carefully. Read it again and pay attention to the discussions of why a design does what it does... or does not. Chris took the time to carefully study old photographs of workbenches in action, to visit working shops that care more for functionality than for the BLO surface and to distill all this into one book.

I must confess that before Chris asked to use some images from my collection, I had never really examined them with attention to the workbenches. My focus was on the people, the hand tools, the tool chests, the stuff being produced. The workbench simply supported the woodworking planes that held my attention. It provided a convenient arm rest for the patternmakers while they posed for the camera. After reading this book, my eyes are more attuned to the nuances of the positioning of the bench within the shop, the placement of the wood stock on or in the bench and why the hand tools are scattered as they are around the work area. While reviewing an image for scanning, I had missed that the benches in the shop displayed a distinctly Holtzappfel design (the last image).

Upon reading this book, you will discover that there is a rhyme and a reason to the interaction of the bench as a work surface and a work-holder. These classic designs are neither rudimentary nor primitive. Chris exposes these functions through his review of design development and through hands-on experience. Many years ago Fine Woodworking published an article on the building and use of a Roubo style workbench. The presentation of this article was 'oh! look what those old craftsmen had to use and isn't it amazing that they could produce anything that looked so nice from something so rough. Imagine what they could have done with a modern workbench.'

These classic workbench designs are not the remainders of 'traditional' (read: old fashioned and out-moded) shops. Chris explains what is good, what is not so good and more importantly, how you can choose your own design based upon reason rather than marketing. Plus, yellow pine smells so much better than does maple.

I'll close with a paraphrase of one sub-chapter title: 'Understanding the (French, English, -add your own term here-) Bench". This book is not just about how to build a workbench, it's about how to understand why you should build one of a particular design with particular attributes that are both time-proven and practical. For the purposes of full disclosure, I did have an Emmert vise years ago and sold it. If I ever decide to take up patternmaking, than I might get another one. Or I might just stock up on wedges and battens for my next Schwarz Bench.

Till next
Gary