Nicholson benches…" Oh, they are bouncy, don’t you know? ".
Well, I made several improvements aimed at making a better bench. A bench with a very solid top, with little possibility for bounce, flex or distortion.
I made a scale model with real joinery to illustrate the construction of the leg assembly and to test out my benches capabilities.
The model is 1:5 scale.
The small size of the joinery required some modification and careful marking out.
The full size leg assembly has a two tail dovetail, the model has one tail. The mortise and tenons on the lower rail are draw bored on the full size version. The model has regular mortise and tenons.
It was fun and challenging working at this scale with normal tools. I now understand the purpose of razor saws with 52 tpi.
I am pretty happy with the end result and I was able to process the small components and hold them with ease.
The vise is killer, it holds like glue, without cinching the handle anywhere near tight.
I am enjoying learning how to get the most from my bench. It will be a fun journey.
I almost forgot; the movable bench light is a game changer.
Even, overhead lighting can make 3 dimensional surfaces look flat. I can light things precisely from either side, making scribe lines and shoulders, pop, it’s awesome.
