18 Work Holding Tricks for the Sculptor's Roman Bench

This is a compendium of all the ways I've found so far to hold work on the sculptor's low Roman workbench. Check out David Walton's KZbin and Instagram for more work-holding tricks with benches like this. / unpluggedwoodworking

[@dpoluektov]

I"ve seen a lot of slick and clean benches on the KZbin, seems this is real work bench of real working man.

[@petercoates2882]

Why thank you. It is certainly for use and not ostentation, as the man said.

[@boydbutterworth2295]

still regard this as the ultimate Roman styled workbench - thanks for sharing your experiences with your take on this workbench

[@petercoates2882]

You are too kind!

[@johnhicks6367]

Awesome bench! Thanks for this video!

[@teeflo2757]

2 years old but still super useful, thank you. 👍🏼✌🏼🖖🏼

[@dustinspinner2040]

Very nice.

[@jexidexi5687]

This is savage. I like it. Of course I subscribed. 👍

[@rossklucker2173]

Best workbench on youtube. Finally being able to settle into my space. I am going to build your version to get started. Brilliant and beautiful. Thank you. I like your Volcom shirt.

[@petercoates2882]

Thanks. It's been a year---did you build it?

[@BobBlarneystone]

Thanks for the vid. I've already seen the first vid. I'll have a go at making one for working outdoors this summer.

[@petercoates2882]

By all means give it a whack. Mine has turned out to be very useful. The shave horse attachment is a surprise hit. It's getting real use.

[@opotime]

Thanks for sharing. I will stop to use a Workshop and need a way to fit it all at Home... And here are lots of ideas to build a takedown bench with lots of Features. Greatz from Germany and have a nice Day opo

[@petercoates2882]

Thank you. Everyone's problem---how to make it all fit!

[@ikust007]

Excellent . Merci !

[@fritzn.9100]

Thank You!

[@dr.christianrapp]

Recently, an old friend from school (he is a carpenter) gave me a red beech board for free ("These days they all want oak" he said). Planned to make a Roman Bench out of it with round legs. Luckily, my cousin is a blacksmith so holdfasts are there too. Your video now shows me how to pull things together. Excellent resource. Cheers Peter!

[@petercoates2882]

I think beach would be a good choice. And I suspect old fasts made by a blacksmith from steel would be better than the ones you buy online. I’ve had a lot of them break. Good luck

[@LarryLeeder]

Wow, you've really presented some invaluable ideas to this brand new woodworker. I'm just about done building my first Roman-style workbench, based on Rex Krueger's video. I've glued and screwed nine 6' 2x4s together and I'll be drilling the leg holes tomorrow. My only contribution to the design was to add a series of slots to the underside of each second board in from the outside, to be used as purchase points for c-and f-clamps should I need to clamp boards to the outsides. I first drilled them with the same spade I'll be using for the legs, then sawed out the waste. I hope my description makes sense. Cheers, I'm off to watch some of your other videos, and thanks for the tips!

[@petercoates2882]

Oh! This reply is so old and I never replied. Hope it worked out. Good idea about accommodating clamps. People forget that they can be very handy and do jobs that a vice will not.

[@rickreed123]

Amazing. The Swiss Army knife of Roman Benches.

[@petercoates2882]

Thanks!

[@robertcornelius3514]

So glad to see someone else doing a video on the Roman bench. Can't stand that Schwartz guy.

[@scottbrown3444]

beautiful! working on my own simpler model. hope it comes out half as well!

[@petercoates2882]

Thanks. I hope we'll see your bench when it's complete!

[@gm2407]

@12:17 just the chance to do this and have the revertable workbench functionality makes this excellent.

[@petercoates2882]

Thank you. Sorry to be so long replying.

[@urhor]

About the face vise at the end: some people say there is a max thickness for holdfasts to hold, but it doesn't seem to be a problem here. Is it that it actually works despite the thickness or is there some sort of gimmick?

[@mizot84]

Using this basic bench is pure rocket science 😉 I build mine today, of course it's still very basic. But this video is really inspiring!

[@petercoates2882]

You built one? Is there a way to post a picture in the comments? Or at least a link to one?

[@paperclips43663]

Really great ideas and explanation of them. If you can, try and adjust your audio recording so even more people can benefit from your wisdom experiences! Looks like you have a lot to share. thanks so much!

[@petercoates2882]

Thanks man. Yes, definitely time to retire the phone and get a real camera and microphone and stop shooting by the candlelight.

[@mmgross144]

C clamp history: There is archeological evidence of screw-type mobile clamps dating from around 362 AD (or CE if you insist) but the first modern use comes from carriage makers in the 1600’s. So I guess you can claim that c clamps are “traditional “. Great video and ingenious idea resurrecting a Roman workbench (knee high) with combined elements of traditional workbenches and saw bench plus great work holders! I am modifying a bench that was built by my wife’s grandfather into a saw bench and I will incorporate some of your innovations.

[@petercoates2882]

I didn't know they were so old. What were they using--bronze? Wrought iron? I'm not actually into traditional tech for it's own sake, btw--I'll use anything! The clamps I reach for most often are actually the Jorgensen hand screws. I love those things. Use them all the time on the bench, most often by using one to clamp down another that can serve as a vice. Be sure to post a picture of what you come up with!

[@joefranich4933]

Thanks for posting this video. Very interesting. I like the heavy under beam idea. The design has a lot of lag bolts holding it together. How is that holding up over time? You find that you need to tighten or replace the bolts very often?

[@petercoates2882]

Surprisingly, no problem at all, especially as it's in shop where humidity is not at all constant throughout the year. As I'm sure you know, people more often use rods that run across the full width with threads on each end. But I had a ton of those long thin lags left over from a long ago project and I wanted to use them up. I did a 30x30 platform of the same height and used rods. It's also extremely robust as I use it for heavy stone. But I've never had to tighten up either one. Go figger. BTW, there was an earlier video you might likekzbin.info/www/bejne/lYfGandmjKaLbdE and another one about a shave-horse attachment.

[@schadik]

Fantastic I want one for my new workshop I will be putting together in the near future!! I just signed the deed yesterday!! ;) Are there any plans available!?! Cheers!

[@petercoates2882]

drive.google.com/file/d/14dQIidz0MqxI0UM1tqfegHlMuY_mdJZ1/view?usp=drive_link Enjoy your new house!

[@JoshIbbotson]

I use mostly japanese planes and saws, but some western planes too, how do you think this bench would work for pulling planes and saws? great vid!

[@petercoates2882]

I use Japanese saws about half the time, usually for lighter work. If I just want to muscle through something, I prefer a plain old Western style saw. The bench is a big advantage for that because the work is below you. It's fine for the Japanese saw too, but not especially an advantage for me. But I find it very convenient to clamp one of those wooden boxes to it and work on that. I've never used Japanese planes, but I know they traditionally sit or kneel for a lot of work, so I'd think the bench would be pretty good for that. Similar position but not on the floor. So far, for me, the big advantage is that it does so many things while being small and portable, which is ideal for a tiny workplace like mine. If you try a version of this with Japanese tools I'd be curious how it works out.

[@spayced]

Thanks for the demonstration. Hitting holdfasts with a metal hammer hurts my ears tho. No idea how people can do that!

[@arrasmithf]

Did you build your shave horse attachment from a set of plans or did you design yourself? Either way, would you share shave horse plans if you have them?

[@petercoates2882]

Hi Frank. Yes, I designed it. I have no plans, but I'll take some pictures for you and make them available. Once you see how it works, it will be obvious. It works great but it could have been much more lightly built and still work!

[@user-qo1ld2lp6o]

Геніально! Чудо-станок. Вперше таке бачу. Дякую. Хочу зробити для себе подібне.

[@tullochgorum6323]

Very though provoking - the most refined Roman Bench I've seen. Do you ever miss a more conventional bench in your work? And if so, what are the tasks that this bench struggles to accommodate?

[@petercoates2882]

Actually, for my purposes, the regular, boring, European style bench is essential. I use the low one for a lot of cutting, planing, etc., but mostly for carving. And I use conventional clamps with it a lot. The traditional tricks are handy for woodworking, but a lot of what I do is mounting platforms on it for attaching a carving vice, etc. So far, 80% has been me straddling it and chipping away at some carving held in the vice.

[@tullochgorum6323]

@@petercoates2882 Thanks. I'm making small pieces of cabinetmaking, and in my small workspace it's tempting to go for one of these little benches. But it may be a step too far - I'll have to think it through. If I do end up building a Nicholson-style English workbench I may steal your idea of leaving a gap between the top and the skirt so I can use conventional C and F clamps. I think that this is your invention, and it looks interesting!

[@petercoates2882]

@@tullochgorum6323 Honestly, if I had to have just one, it would be the 36" high one. The low benches are at their best if you're using all manual tools. The thing my tall bench doesn't have is the ability to use hold-fasts, because only the front edge is full thickness. The rest isn't thick enough to use them. If you're making one, that's a key feature (at least for me.)

[@tullochgorum6323]

@@petercoates2882 I'm 100% with you on the usefulness of hold-fasts. I was trained at high-school in the '60s in an old-school shop and that's how we worked. If I go for the higher bench, I'm planning a Nicholson-style viceless design with a skirt and dog holes covering the top, sides and legs. Thanks to KZbin I've found quick and elegant approaches to holding pretty much any kind of work on this type of bench - and it's a lot cheaper than buying a fancy vice!

[@ryanms60]

It looks like the height is just above your knee. Do you find this height works well?

[@petercoates2882]

Hello. Actually, I think I'd make it a little higher if I were doing it again. But a lot of people do make them pretty short. Me, I'm not a real Roman.

[@LitoGeorge]

Question for you: how would I hold a 1/2" thick piece of oak thats about 4"x4" high and long without a vice, while it stands on edge? I need to shave it with a spokeshave, possibly drawknife, and then plane the edge.

[@petercoates2882]

For such a small piece, I would generally just clamp it in a wooden Jorgensen-style clamp and clamp the clamp to the workbench.

[@LitoGeorge]

@@petercoates2882advice well worth the wait. Thank you kindly.

[@jocelynbeauregard4456]

Nice job Peter by the way what is the total length of this bench and these 2 slabs if you don’t mind…😊

[@petercoates2882]

drive.google.com/file/d/14dQIidz0MqxI0UM1tqfegHlMuY_mdJZ1/view?usp=drive_link Thanks. All the measurements are in this PDF file. The measurements in the other direction are more important, btw. Height and length can be anything, but the width actually matters because it assumes that standard dimension lumber will add up a certain way.

[@slidersson]

Oh look a bench for dwarfs

[@petercoates2882]

Yes. In ancient Rome people had not yet evolved vertebrae so they were able to do this to save wood.

[@slidersson]

Maybe make it even lower, for the hobbits

[@bobwhelk2117]

Very cool bench but my back is killing me just watching this

[@ronharper2272]

Have you posted a plan?

[@petercoates2882]

drive.google.com/file/d/14dQIidz0MqxI0UM1tqfegHlMuY_mdJZ1/view?usp=drive_link Here you go!

[@JB-to8vy]

This is the slickest work bench ive come across This is the inspiration for mine! Thank you sir!

[@petercoates2882]

Well thank you. BTW, the video before this one is also informative. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYfGandmjKaLbdE

[@JB-to8vy]

@@petercoates2882 Checking it out for sure!

[@davetoepfer]

F’n’ brill’

[@makenchips]

Ya Johnson pastes wax, an American staple, but the can's past it time! The can said easy to open lid? BS! If you use often, melt it down and put into a low wide mouth jar with a screw lid, then it will be convenient!

[@petercoates2882]

What a good idea. I've seen people render tallow from animal fat and use it for lubricating screws and such.

[@easterstedman236]

I did it with the Stodoys plans.