Saw Benches

I've seen those and thought they would be a great addition to the shop, thanks for posting.

Those look great. You will find them more useful than you realize. Mine get used almost as much as my bench.

Rob - where do you connect the plug strip? ;-)

Funny you should post this, I'm in the process of building the very same saw stands. Wasn't planning on being able to stack mine though. I think that's a pretty innovative idea.

The "V" cut. Does that serve a purpose? It looks like one end of a left over commercial door "spreader.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.framespreader.com/images/the_tool.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.framespreader.com/door-frame-spreader-tool/&usg=__lI3TlH7CGQ8cSkwfnkjvu5K5hbs=&h=222&w=490&sz=110&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=eAR6img536S0EM:&tbnh=59&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddoor%2Bframe%2Bspreader%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1":http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.framespreader.com/images/the_tool.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.framespreader.com/door-frame-spreader-tool/&usg=__lI3TlH7CGQ8cSkwfnkjvu5K5hbs=&h=222&w=490&sz=110&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=eAR6img536S0EM:&tbnh=59&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddoor%2Bframe%2Bspreader%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1

Nice benches Rob

The v cut is for supporting a work piece on both sides and cutting down the middle.

Nice benches.

Hi Rob,

Nice job on these. They look like they'll handle some serious use.

Lee

Hey Ton,
Ck out the plans at Lost Art Press. They Stack. http://blog.lostartpress.com/content/binary/2008-Sawbench.pdf

nice benches, Rob. I hadn't seen 'stackables' either. Thanks for posting those. It's on my
'list.'

Very nice workmanship and they work great.

Rob, thanks for posting the link to the stacking saw benches. I've down loaded the plans for later reference. I might build a second set later for the garage because I do some of my work up there too and need things to store more compactly there.

I'll continue with the two benches I've started since they are already under way. Actually, they will stack, just not as compactly because they have lower shelves. I'm going to have a tool shelf where I can lay a hold fasts and hammer, or mallet and chisels. I figure I'll be hammering out mortises on it too.

Velo_tom, two things to consider (if its not too late) about the tool shelf. It is a dust collector and can interfere with sawing. If the legs are splayed (like on Rob's design) you could do a crosscut or a rip on a line that just hangs over the edge of the bench and the blade will run down and pass inside the stretcher. You get a fully supported cut, which is ideal (less chattering and vibration in the board). If you put a tool shelf at the stretcher line, then the saw can't go that deep so you either have to use less than full strokes on the saw (less efficient) or you have to extend the cut line to fall beyond the shelf and stretcher in which case it is hanging farther off the sawbench so it is less supported.

If you use them like I do, you will find that one is the primary bench for sawing, the other is the second runner up and is there mainly for supporting the other end of the wood, or supporting me when I am tired from sawing on the first. My suggestion (not that you asked) is to only put the tool shelf on one of them and make that the second runner up as far as sawing. Use the one with no shelf for sawing.

swirt, Thanks for the comments and providing some food for thought. I need to measure required clearances with the various saws I plan to use with the bench. If I detect a problem with saw clearances I'll need to provide a means to remove the shelf quickly (and easily).

I still think the shelf would be useful when cutting out mortises with a chisel. Don't want to lay those tools on the floor and hope to not always need the bench for that operation because sometimes something else is going on there. Both saw benches would need shelves because my wife often works with me.

Another option I saw someplace, was to only have the legs on one side splay out from the bench, On the other side, the legs vertical. This lets you saw on one side and without needing to worry about where the legs are and a shelf would not be in the way either … and would only catch half the amount of saw dust

What I find is that when I use my sawbenches, my main workbench (normal height) becomes the tool shelf as the tools are up at eye level. They are within easy reach.

I saw one permutation of these benches that had a fold up shelf that still allowed stacking when not on use. Thank you all for stopping by and contributing to the process.

Nice benches Rob. They look wide enough on top to make a good sitting stool too (I think a lot about sitting these days).

They work great as a bench for working at my work bench and as a step stool too. Here is the link to the pdf file of the original PW article describing the larger saw bench with the shelf. http://www.popularwoodworking.com/upload/contents/290/Sawbench.pdf