I found this by accident, a new plane by German tool maker Ulmia. The Alu-Line HA48-1 is Ulmia’s first metal plane, made of aluminum and recycled plastic. It reminds me a bit of the plastic-metal planes made by Swiss company Rali. It has a solid aluminum anodized plane sole, and a low centre of gravity. Adjustment of the plane blade is provided by an eccentric lever, with a cutting angle of 49°. The plane sells for just under €200 in Europe. The exchangeable knife is held on a solid steel plate with a second exchangeable knife mounted above it and acting as a chip breaker – each knife is reversible, providing four blades. The knife unit is held together by magnets.
Will this plane be popular? Unlikely among core woodworkers, I mean who *really* likes a plane with replaceable blades, although it might be extremely useful on a worksite. The Rali planes have been very successful, at least in Europe, but they offer a full family of planes, including bench and rabbet planes. The HA48-1’s Achilles heel might be the aluminum sole – there really haven’t been too many successful aluminum planes. There is also the aesthetics – it just seems a bit clunky, unlike the Rali planes which seem more ergonomic, and look better (and the seams on the handles are just ugly). Would the fact that it’s made of recycled plastic sway people? Probably not, I’d prefer to see recycled plastic used in building materials. Now a hybrid wood/aluminum plane would have been interesting… perhaps made of off-cuts from the lumber industry?
Frankly I think the biggest issue may be the price – at ca. C$290 you can buy a Veritas Low-Angle Smooth Plane for $7 more, and the equivalent RALI plane, the “220 Evolution N” is only C$227.
Did the Workmate exist half a millennium ago? The concept of using the double screw vise likely predated the works of Félibien or Moxon, but perhaps in a different form? A version appears in “Defensorium inviolatae virginitatis beatae Mariae“, a late medieval typological work which, with images of extraordinary events in history, legend and nature. It was made by Johann Eysenhut in Regensburg in 1471 (from the University of Heidelberg, digital collection). The picture shows two workmen cutting a stone, in which there is the effigy of a king. The workbench has a double screw vise where the screws look to be fixed to the rear jaw. Also, the legs are attached to the vise, making it a medieval version of the ‘Workmate’ as we know it today.
Hieronymous Wierix (1553-1619) was a Flemish engraver, draughtsman and publisher who lived in Antwerp. Wierix is best known for his religious prints, including the series The Life of the Infant which was created sometime before 1619. On the title page of this work, is a bench. The legs and stretchers are all square stock, yet there only seem to be stretchers along the front and back. This implies square joints. The most visible feature is the fact that the front two legs are sloped outward. This design is similar to the bench found in the 1628 Vasa shipwreck. The Swedish warship was built over the period 1626-1628. The ship sank on August 10 1628 just 1300 metres into her maiden voyage. Vasa was raised in 1961, and now can be viewed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. A rebuild of the bench can be found on the Hyvelbenk website.
These types of benches might have been quite common in the northern portions of Europe. From the picture one can surmise that the wooden planes are about 3 to 3.5 inches in width (making the chisels 9-10.5” in length). Therefore the height of the bench is likely in the range 24-28 inches (61-71cm), and a length of 50-60 inches (127-152cm).
We all know that there are a few places in North American to buy bespoke wooden benches, and of course if you are desperate you could probably get hold of a Sjöbergs bench. The Sjöbergs benches aren’t bad, I just think they are a little lightweight for heavy work – that is the ones you can buy here, not the professional line. But there are a bunch of European companies which still make wooden workbenches… some more traditional and others a little more on the contemporary side of things. Now you won’t likely be able to easily find these in North America. Veritas (Lee Valley) once carried similar benches: one with a hardwood base, the other with a cast-iron base. These were split-top benches made of maple with a 26×76” work surface. Even Lee Valley’s maple bench slabs are thinner for some reason, 1-3/4” thick versus the old slabs at 2-3/4”.
The old Veritas workbenches
Ulmia
The top of the list are companies like Ulmia, producing classic German workbenches. As mentioned Sjöbergs also makes a large line of professional benches, such as the Sjöbergs Elite 2000 (shown below). German company Stuermer Machines makes a series of beech benches in their holzkraft line, an example is shown below (Model HB 2080), again made of beech. It sells in Germany for €2,075 (excl.tax). There are also some small companies, such as Ettima (in Toffen near Bern, Switzerland), that make wooden benches locally (their website says the wood they use is 100% Swiss).
Sjöbergs Elite 2000
Holzkraft Model HB 2080
R.Beck Maschinenbau of Germany, makes a bench called the ERGOPLAN EP1, basically an ergonomic workbench with a wooden top (solid red beech), and an adaptable base which allows the workbench’s height to be modified. This model is manually operated using a foot pedal, They even renovate old workbenches, adding a modern base. A Swiss company offering more traditional European style workbenches is Bollmann (Holzwerkzeugfabrik) AG in Kriens near Luzern. They make workbenches for schools, and workshops, and toolboxes (almost like American manufacturers of yore, just updated). Below is an example, the Hobelbank 5U cabinetmaker-style bench, made of beech. They offer the same type of ergonomic bench bases for those interested. Also from Germany is Hofman & Hammer Hobelbänke which offer a whole series of benches.
Bollmann Hobelbank 5U
Beck Ergoplan EP1
There are also workbenches to be found outside Germany and Switzerland. In the southern Bohemian region of the Czech Republic there is Ramia, which produce European style benches, also made of beech. Their Premium 2100 sells for €710 (ex VAT). Also in the Czech Republic is Pinie, who seem to make some seriously heavy-duty workbenches.
Ramia Premium 2100
Pinie Plus 2000
Why then is it so hard to find any of these benches in North America, and why are there so many manufacturers in Europe? I know they are obviously heavy, and therefore expensive to ship, but heavier things get shipped from Europe. Why is it so hard to purchase a wooden bench in Canada? One of the few places you can buy a European type “hobby” bench in Canada is Canadian Woodworker, who sells a series of (rebranded) beech benches from Europe. The Premium Plus with two vises, and storage cabinets underneath is C$$2299.95. The few places you can buy wooden workbenches these days are Benchcrafted and Highland Woodworking. Benchcrafted sell a Split-Top Roubo (US$5,534-5,710), a Classic Bench in 60” and 84” (US$2,796/$2,966), and even a Split-Roubo kit (US$3,306). Highland Woodworking carry a few European-style benches from Hofmann & Hammer. The Premium Large (Senior No.4 2150mm) sells for US$2000.
Canadian Woodworker European bench
Hofmann & Hammer
The problem with workbenches is naturally that they are heavy to ship. Sure, you can build your own bench, but I imagine some amateur woodworkers find that a bit daunting. If there is enough of a market in Europe to facilitate the number of manufacturer’s that still produce wooden benches, then I imagine there is also a market in North America.
NB: The 2008 Taunton’s Tool Guide had a section on these workbenches (I was just reading my copy). There the best overall was the Lie-Nielsen workbench, which at the time sold for US$2000 (now US$3500). It also included workbenches from Diefenbach, Garrett Wade, and Laguna, all of which are no longer unavailable.
I bought my first Japanese saws from The Japan Woodworker, which in the 1990s was one of the few places you could buy Japanese tools (long before it was absorbed into Woodcraft). Back then the use of Japanese tools wasn’t very common. It seems like California was the epicentre of the Japanese tool trade, as it had not only TJW (Alameda), but also Hida Tool Co. (Berkeley), who provided a cornucopia of tools for new ways of doing things.
The problem was there was very little in the way of instruction. About the only reference to their use was Toshio Odate‘s classic book Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use first published in 1984. It took a while for these tools to catch on to the wider woodworking community, partially due to the ingrained nature of western woodworking. But there was also very little in the way of quality western saws, leaving an opening for Japanese saws to take up the slack. In the 1980s there was very little happening in Western tool revival beyond Lie Nielsen and Veritas.
The Dozuki saw is likely one of the most popular saws, used for such tasks as cutting dovetails.
There is no doubt that most Japanese tools still do not have a wide audience in western woodworking. The reasons are many, but I think it boils down to simplicity. Japanese saws are easy to use, and the same cannot really be said of other Japanese tools. Chisels are often reasonably expensive, and require a bit more knowledge to keep in pristine condition. The planes are fantastic as well, but again need a little more knowledge, and fine-tuning to optimally use.
Another reason is that standard Japanese saws are inexpensive, and although blades cannot typically be resharpened, they can easily be replaced. For the connoisseur of saws, the handmade Japanese saws (which typically have fixed blades) can be resharpened, but these saws are also expensive. It is this affordability that likely has novice woodworkers gravitate towards Japanese saws. Although bespoke western saws are superbly made, they have become expensive (which is not surprising considering the work involved).
Japanese saws are likely the one Japanese tool that has made meaningful inroads into the Western toolbox. This is likely for a number of reasons (in comparison to their Western counterparts):
Ease of use − Japanese saws cut on the pull-stroke as opposed to Western saws which cut on the push stroke. While it can take a bit of getting use to, it leads to less binding and smoother cuts. Japanese saws can also be used in a multitude of configurations, such as the low Japanese workbenches. In addition many saws can be used in a two-handed configuration providing better management of cuts.
Thin kerf − The thin kerf, or the slit made by cutting with a saw, means less material is removed, making the process extremely efficient, and requiring less effort than a similarly sized Western saw. Thinner blades means less force is required, providing more accuracy.
High back − High backs, and a lack of the rigid back of some Western saws (except for Duzoki saws) makes it easy to make deep cuts.
In addition there are specialty saws that often don’t have an equivalent in Western saws. For example Azebiki saws which can be used for cutting sliding dovetails, and grooves mid-panel, or Kugihiki saws which are used for flush cutting dowels.
For the young hobbyist woodworker, Japanese saws are easy to learn how to use, and flexible for use in many situations. The saw basically becomes an extension of the arm, offering many different ways of being used. The one downside is still a lack of literature – while there are books for planing like Discovering Japanese Handplanes (by Scott Wynn), there isn’t much in the way of knowledge surrounding saws. Also the task of choosing the right saw for a particular task can often become quite confusing when you consider the sheer volume of different saws produced by Japanese manufacturers.
working by hand 