My New Workbench

That’s a beauty, solid and heavy!

-- John, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada.

Great bench. Last year I purchased alao a patternmaker’s vise and I.m very glad with it. Good choice.

-- https://dutchypatterns.com/

Perfect!

Great work, love it!

-- Live, lathe, and prosper. - William Gwin

Beautiful, beautiful, just plain beautiful.
And I love the shop wall … Alder?

-- Grumpy old guy, and lookin' good Doin' it. ... Surprise Az.

Beautiful, beautiful, just plain beautiful.
And I love the shop wall … Alder?

- Grumpymike

Thanks man!
The shop wall is shiplap Pine.
This is actually the back wing of my house that I have yet to finish. It will become my bench room for lutherie. Have “rough work” shop out in the garage.

Beautiful bench and that’s an interesting wagon vise – this is the first that I’ve heard of the company, but the features/price point is interesting. Let us know what you think of the hardware after living with it for a while!

-- Practice makes less sucky. (Bill, Minneapolis, MN)

OK, I’m jealous, big time.
You should post this in the workbenches of your dreams thread. They will love it. And you will get questions on your Hovarter vise. There was a good discussion on that vise hardware 6+ months ago.

-- I'm not clumsy.. It's just the floor hates me, the tables and chairs are bullies, the wall gets in the way AAANNNDDD table saws BITE my fingers!!!.. - Mike -

That’s fantastic. I just love the black walnut. A great looking bench.

The bench is a beauty. But gotta be honest that big cast iron vice…not so much. I understand you selected that vice for it’s functionality. But a bench is often a design and built to show off the craftsmans ability.

For instance you wouldn’t put truck wheels and tires on luxury auto, yea they work but do they look good and function well?

Anyway, just my opinion. I do appreciate your bench and the work you put into it.

-- Ken, USAF MSgt, Ret.

Beautiful bench and that s an interesting wagon vise – this is the first that I ve heard of the company, but the features/price point is interesting. Let us know what you think of the hardware after living with it for a while!

- WillliamMSP

Thanks. It’s strange that Hovarter does not come up in any kind of Google searching for vise hardware. I was incredibly close to buying either the Lie-Nielsen tail vise, or the Benchcrafted wagon vise. Somehow in my last search, I came across some post in a forum that mentioned the word Hovarter in context of vises. I called the company, the owner himself answered the phone and answered my questions.
For $100 less than the other two, and with all the features I wanted, it was the clear winner and I ordered it instantly.
Time will tell how it holds up.

Thanks. It s strange that Hovarter does not come up in any kind of Google searching for vise hardware. I was incredibly close to buying either the Lie-Nielsen tail vise, or the Benchcrafted wagon vise. Somehow in my last search, I came across some post in a forum that mentioned the word Hovarter in context of vises. I called the company, the owner himself answered the phone and answered my questions.
For $100 less than the other two, and with all the features I wanted, it was the clear winner and I ordered it instantly.
Time will tell how it holds up.

- Ben

Looking at the installation instructions, it looks as if it would be a much easier install than the Benchcrafted wagon vise, which requires a certain amount of precision with the rails, etc. Did this go in as easily as it looks like it would?

I will say the pricing is not quite as attractive as I’d initially thought, since the lever/hand wheel isn’t included with any of the kits, but it still comes out to be less (or at least competitive) and the speed of adjustment is pretty killer.

-- Practice makes less sucky. (Bill, Minneapolis, MN)

Looking at the installation instructions, it looks as if it would be a much easier install than the Benchcrafted wagon vise, which requires a certain amount of precision with the rails, etc. Did this go in as easily as it looks like it would?

I will say the pricing is not quite as attractive as I d initially thought, since the lever/hand wheel isn t included with any of the kits, but it still comes out to be less (or at least competitive) and the speed of adjustment is pretty killer.

- WillliamMSP

Yes, installation was a snap. I had already prepared the cavity underneath before glue-up.
Essentially one hole drilled in the end cap (instructions were a bit unclear how to locate this, but I did it manually by measuring the unit), slide the whole thing in, shim the end bearing block as necessary for the dog to travel parallel, and screw it down. Took about 30 minutes.
I too was not looking forward to a big elaborate install with either LN or BC.

One thing worth mentioning: This vise requires either a minimum 5” apron/top, or an additional block added below in order to not have the hub hanging down below the apron. With my 5” end cap the bottom of the hub is pretty much in line with the bottom of the end cap.

Excellent – good to know. Thanks!

-- Practice makes less sucky. (Bill, Minneapolis, MN)

Very nice craftsmanship!