Bob reviewed his first year experience with his Nicholson bench in a podcast. In it he talks about a planing stop he built for the center opening in the top that is really neat. It's just a board with notches on one side that fit over the transverse bearers and sits level with the top of the bench. When he turns it over, the board sits on top of the bearers and extends above the bench surface so it can be used as a planing stop. It's a simple but highly functional idea that I'll definitely be incorporating in my bench.
This podcast is interesting in its entirety, so check it out. In addition to confirming that I wanted a Nicholson bench, it convinced me that you can make most of the bench out of construction lumber but the top needs to be a full 2" thick. Christopher Schwarz came to the same conclusion. Yes, you could put in a lot of transverse bearers and get by, but you want your holdfasts to hold anywhere you place the holes for them.
Andy,
ReplyDeleteI am following your blog eagerly since I am planning on building a construction lumber Nicholson in the next few months. Might want to think about this: if you make the transverse bearers out of 4x4 material, space them every foot or so, you could drill your holdfast holes through those and they should work fine, plus a holdfast hole every foot should work pretty well. Just an idea to think about. Cheers
Matt,
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. If anyone uses construction 2x12s for the top, I definitely think they should consider it.
I think I have a similar planing stop that lives in my top. I tapered the notch sides, so I can just slide the stop in or out to adjust the height. It's looks cheesy, but I was in a hurry...
ReplyDeletehttp://gallery.me.com/amaxwell#100191/IMG_2793&bgcolor=black
Adam,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all of the pictures of your bench in your album. I highly recommend them to everyone.
I'm undecided about what I am going to do. I've seen pictures of people putting chisels and other tools in the gap when they aren't using the planing stop, which appeals to me. I don't have a shelf underneath so shavings falling through aren't an issue. No reason not to go back and forth to see what you like best.