| The workbench is the cornerstone of the wood shop, | | | | or bench dogs to hold a workpiece; instead, the task |
| with a history almost as old as woodworking itself. | | | | was done by a system of iron holdfasts and an |
| Examples of primitive workbenches have been found | | | | optional leg vise. One hundred years later, the |
| dating back more than 2,000 years. Woodworkers in | | | | American Shakers improved on the Roubo. Their |
| ancient Rome advanced the basic design, devising | | | | bench was a large affair that sported a laminated top, |
| benches with simple stops that allowed them to | | | | a system of bench dog holes, an L-shaped tail vise, |
| secure pieces of wood. Until that time, craftsmen were | | | | and a leg vise. The Shaker bench was not too |
| forced to hold their work, cutting or shaping it with one | | | | different from the modern cabinetmaker's bench. |
| hand while chopping or planing with the other. Further | | | | The design of the workbench has changed little since |
| improvements came slowly, however, and vises were | | | | the early 19th Century; only its accessories and |
| only added centuries later. | | | | manner of assembly have been altered. In fact, some |
| With each refinement the workbench has assumed an | | | | claim that the only true innovation has been inventor |
| increasingly indispensable role in the workshop. It is little | | | | Ron Hickman's ubiquitous Workmate. Developed in the |
| surprise that many call the workbench the most | | | | 1960s, the Workmate revolutionized the way many |
| important tool a woodworker can own. | | | | people look at work surfaces, because it provided |
| A good workbench does not take an active role in the | | | | some of the clamping abilities of a standard |
| woodworking process-it does not cut wood or shape | | | | workbench with a collapsible, portable design. |
| it-but the bench and its accoutrements perform | | | | Although the Workmater has found a niche in |
| another essential task: They free your hands and | | | | workshops around the world, many |
| position the work so you can cut, drill, shape, and finish | | | | woodworkers-both amateur and professional-still opt |
| efficiently. In the past, even the mostused benches | | | | for nothing less than a solid maple or beech bench. |
| have fallen short of the ideal. With its massive, | | | | Often they choose to build their own, believing that the |
| single-plank top, the Roubo Bench of the 18th Century | | | | care and attention paid in crafting such a bench will be |
| was popular throughout Europe, yet it had no tail vise | | | | reflected in their later work. |