Extraneous decoration or Cautionary Tale?
In times past, carpenters, joiners and masons alike, dated and signed their work. Farmers who built their own buildings often left a great deal of information on posts and beam ends. And many times, some appropriate admonition would be carved into any number of finished products. So I thought it only appropriate to not only date the new workbench under construction, but to also include a reminder to myself to not waste time. It is one of the most valuable things we have.
The base is substantial, but is made in such a way that the entire bench can be dissembled for transport. The routed areas are required for the mounting of the Emmerts vise. Had I realized how heavy the Emmert vise is and the amount of stock that must be required, I may have designed a base with three trestles. I’m anticipating some deflection problems with the 2 15/16″ top sometime in the next 100 years. I’m planning to hang a drawer under the bench to hold bench dogs, temporary jaws etc. And there is the possibility of installing a small antique vise on the right end to act as a tail vise. More weight…but in a workbench, heavy is a good thing.
Another two to three days should put the bench into operation. Then I can get on to more profitable exercises.
Oh! For those of you who are too young to have had classical Latin “beaten into you”,
“Tempus Fugit – Memento Mori” means time is fleeting – remember you will die. In other words, get past the “white paper” syndrome.
Stay tuned for when the vise goes into action…and I’ll close with one other “classical” bit of wisdom…
“Enough is abundance to the wise” – Euripides
Explore posts in the same categories: woodcarvingTags: date carving, Emmert's pattern makers vise, roubo bench
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August 7, 2012 at 2:54 am
Glorious visuals! I love my Emmert vises, and cannot really contemplate doing without them Gotta figure out how to include them on a Roubo bench… Last weekend at Donnelly’s auction there were at least a dozen Emmerts, and I am kicking myself for not picking up a couple more.
I’m making a group of Roubo-esque benches from some discarded 2″ butcher block tops, and am laminated a sheet of plywood to the underside of the top. It helps a lot with rigidity.
Looking forward to next installment.
Don Williams
October 24, 2013 at 11:25 am
Beautiful bench! I’d be afraid to ever work on it! and being a Latin geek myself, love the inscriptions!