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Using the Twin Twin Bench


The purpose of this page is to show a few pics that demonstrate handy dandy usages of the Twin Twin bench.


Updated 3/15/08:
I'm preparing to present a talk on Workbench Design in a few days to my local woodworking club.  So I took this chance to test my bench against Chris Schwarz' "Kitchen Door Test".  To see how it faired check out this page: LINK.


This pic shows how easy it is to secure wide panels for edge treatments (dovetailing in this case). This is made possible by the fact that the twin screw vise does not rack, and the apron is a convenient place to secure the other side with a clamp.

Bench-WidePanel.jpg


This next pic shows how handy the large flat top is to laminate lumber.  Here I'm gluing together two 4/4 boards with a whole bunch of clamps.  The bench top ensures the lamination will stay flat, and the apron is a great aid to spreading the clamp force.  I actually had 9 more long parallel jaw clamps on the rack when this was done, so this is proof one can in fact have enough clamps.  :-)

Bench-LotsaClamps.jpg

Here's one example of the many ways I utilize holdfasts - clamping a stack of drawer sides staggered so that I can chop out the waste between dovetails on the right side of the boards.  The grid of 3/4" round holes makes these holdfasts very flexible.  They hold very securely, clamp and unclamp with a quick rap of a mallet, and can reach anywhere on my benchtop.  These are certainly my most used bench accessory.

DT-16.jpg

And here are a couple not-so-great pics that hint at the amazing versatility of the twin screw vises for dovetails.  The fist pic shows a stack of drawer sides with saw cuts that established the tails, and the second pic shows the stack of drawer sides clamped on their sides so that I can make one cut to free all their half pins sockets.  Amazing vise!

DT-12.jpg

DT-13.jpg

And finally this is the glue I used for the entire bench.  Plain old elmer's white glue all.  It's a great glue that allows about twice the open time as a normal yellow pva glue, plus it's relatively cheap.  With the advent and heavy marketing budgets behind type II and III pva glues, I'm finding most folks are forgetting about this old reliable glue that serves most needs for interior furniture:

Bench-Glue.jpg

I'll attempt to add more pics as I find other interesting uses of the bench.

© Copyright 2008 Chris Billman