Workbench Workshop The objective was:
To Whom It May Concern: build 10 full-sized, European-style, hardwood workbenches in 6 days.
The only preparation before the class was for PFW to mill and rough dimension the hard maple.
Led by Alan Turner, the students did all the work. During this 6-day class, students thicknessed lumber, cut all the joinery, glued up the tops, fitted and bolted on end caps, built a tail vise and installed it and a front vise, constructed the complex trestle base, and hand-planed in the tops. Tom said, "This isn't some wimpy table built from 2x4s and topped with particleboard. This is a bench built for a lifetime".
For 6 days, it was pure excitement and high energy. Bill, a building contractor from Massachusetts, said," I shopped around for a serious workbench or workbench class. PFW offered the most ambitious and thorough workshop and bench. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I'm thrilled with my bench." For several students, this was their first major project.
At the end of the course, the completed benches were dismantled, placed onto our conveyor belt for the short trip down stairs, and loaded into pick-ups and SUV's for the trip home. Reports are that these benches are happily accommodating our woodworking students from Mass. to New York to Northern New Jersey to Maryland, and of course in our own home state of Pennsylvania. Congratulations to all!
