Woodworking bench

dubtom

Any one know of suppliers of woodworking benches in Dublin. Ideally one with a front and side vice,of medium size. Any idea's of prices?

Fingalian

I saw some in McQuillans in Capel Street downstairs in the woodworking machinery section. Front and tail vise, think it was about €900?

irishthump

dubtom wrote: »

Any one know of suppliers of woodworking benches in Dublin. Ideally one with a front and side vice,of medium size. Any idea's of prices?

900 lids is a bit expensive. Would you consider building your own? I built mineand you could do it for a fraction of the price.

dubtom

irishthump wrote: »

900 lids is a bit expensive. Would you consider building your own? I built mineand you could do it for a fraction of the price.

I'd like to,but I have never had a close enough look at the vices to see how their put together. I actually checked out a tail vice on dick biz,it was a couple of hundred quid,worked on chains and stuff.Looked way too complicated for my engineering skills (none, my table saw and any other machinery I've put together can testify).I'd be interested in seeing a pic of yours though irishthump, and anyone one else who has one.
Actually I do have a table which I made years ago from a machine pallet, I just stuck legs on. I suppose a beech top and a couple of vices would be cheaper. Bench dogs are another thing that confuse me,why are they so expensive. They look like little bits of metal,yet in axminster and the like they cost 25 sterling for a pair.

irishthump

I can post a picture when I get the chance, but I'll warn you, it's far from pretty!
I built the bench in a hurry when I moved into my house 3 years ago, I needed one quickly as I needed to spend more time building wardrobes and kitchn cabinets. I actually used treated timber left over from when I built my garden fence!!!
I used 3x3 timber for the base which was put together with simple lap joints and coach screws and the stretchers were bolted in between.
I used 2 old crappy lengths of 8x4 salvaged from my old shed. The surface was terrible so I covered them with a sheet of 18mm MDF which actually gives an excellent surface.
I attached my Record vice to the front and have one doghole in the top to use as a planing stop. I also cut a row of 25mm holes across the bench which allow me to position a clamp in the centre of the bench, very handy for clamping wide boards. Incidentally, my bench dog is homemade from hardwood, they are quite easy to make.

Like I said, this bench was done in a hurry. But as I'm planning on getting much bigger garden shed to use as a workshop, I'll be building my "dream" bench soon enough, but my present one has served me well so far.

dubtom

I dropped into mcquillans today,they have several benches ranging in price from
€2000 down to €150 and €125.The €150 bench was made from oak surprisingly, it had two vices,but both seemed a little flimsy. The €125 one actually had quite good vices,they seem firm enough with no wobbles,unfortunatly both of the cheap vices were flat back,way too light. They also have a record vice in there on a special at €160,I'll probably end up getting that.I did a measure up today of my shed and another bench won't really fit anyway.

irishthump

dubtom wrote: »

. They also have a record vice in there on a special at €160,I'll probably end up getting that.

Interesting.

Which model is it?

dubtom

Dont know,it looked quite big though.

doozerie

dubtom wrote: »

Dont know,it looked quite big though.

Did it have a quick-release on it (a lever under the handle on the front - press the lever and the front face of the vice slides in or out without having to turn the screw)? If so, then it may be a Record 52 1/2, or some copy of it.

If it is a genuine Record 52 1/2 then that is a good price. Well, for McQuillans at least - I bought mine there a few years back for €250. For certain things that store is quite expensive, but for other things they can be significantly cheaper, so it pays to compare prices with another source if you can. For example, have a quick look at these copies of the Record vice by comparison: http://www.fine-tools.com/schraub.htm

doozerie

Actually, sorry, the quick-release vice in my previous link is not the same as the Record as the quick release mechanism is built into the handle.

The following is a Record 52 1/2 quick release (claims to be in excellent condition but looks like it could do with a dose of rust remover!):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Record-52-1-2-Quick-release-joiners-vice-with-dog_W0QQitemZ190201348674QQihZ009QQcategoryZ147828QQcmdZViewItem

irishthump

Hey Doozerie,

That site looks excellent, I can't believe their shipping rates!

doozerie

irishthump wrote: »

Hey Doozerie,

That site looks excellent, I can't believe their shipping rates!

Yeah, I've used them a few times and have been very impressed by the quality of their service, as well as the quality of the tools that they sell.

dubtom

That looks like the one alright. I've been browsing and ame up with this one. Some People's ingenuity is amazing.

woodn

you should try XXXXXXXXXXX they manufacture woodwork benches.

Please keep the adverts in the appropriate section, Thankyou.

monkeynuz

very old thread and I am stupid