Workbench (woodworking)

A workbench is a specialized workbench table used by woodworkers. Features include a flat, solid work surface and one or more means of holding the material being worked on.

There are many styles of woodworking bench. Styles of workbenches include Nicholson (sometimes referred to as the English workbench), Moravian, Scandinavian (or European) and Roubo (or French).

Historically, the style choice was dependent on the woodworker's training or dictated by the region. Currently, with woodworking being so popular as a hobby, workbench choice is often dependent on the type of work being done or the preferred method of working. All styles aim to keep the workpieces immobile while work is being performed. This is accomplished by making them heavy (Scandinavian and Roubo) or in their geometry (Nicholson and Moravian).

A woodworking vise holds work in its jaws, or compressed against a bench dog or holdfast. Holes to receive these stops or clamps are typically drilled in line with a vise in 3-4" intervals, with others added to the benchtop to serve various purposes.

There are two main locations for a vise (vice in UK English sp.) or vises on a workbench: on the front, a workbench's long face, known as a "front" ("face", or "shoulder") vise, and on the end, known as a “tail" vise. Either or both may be mounted on the right side of their face to allow a workpiece extending from them to be more easily worked by a right-handed person, though a common arrangement is with the front vise mounted on the left of a long side and the tail on the right side of the diagonally opposite end.

Probably the oldest and most basic method of holding the work is a bench dog, which in its simplest form is simply a peg or small piece of wood or metal wedged into a hole in the bench top that stands just above the surface, allowing a workpiece to be clamped between it and an adjustable dog on a face vise.

Another ancient method of holding the work is the holdfast, a form of temporary clamp used to hold a workpiece firmly to the top or side of a workbench.

A form of bench dog, a traditional holdfast has either a curved or flat top. Its shank is slid loosely into a “dog” hole in the bench until the tip of its hook touches the work. It is set by hitting its top with a mallet or hammer, which causes the shaft to wedge tightly against the sides of the hole. A tap of its back side near the top releases it.