Workbench

My Grandfather was a carpenter (actually both of my Grandfathers were carpenters).   More than 70 years ago my Father’s Father built a workbench for his two boys.  He believed that the men in our family should be able to use their hands and work with tools.  The workbench was sized for children and had a nice working vise.

My Grandfather made sure the bench was handed down to his grandsons and I used this bench along with my four brothers.  I built pinewood derby cars for scouts, used the vise to hold axes while sharpening them, built electronics and practiced taxidermy using this bench.

My brothers and I were tough on the bench.  It was originally delivered by my Grandfather freshly painted and the vise in good working condition.  My Father brought the bench to my house after I became a father, and it displayed the marks of my previous use and the vise hardware was missing.  I did not do a good job promoting the use of this bench with my Son, but it was important to me that I encouraged my Son and Grandson to use it.

I refurbished the bench by installing vise hardware, nailing the legs and backstop to make it sturdy, and then sanded and painting it in the original colors-brown and silver.  To obtain the vise hardware, I had to cut a vise apart through the cast iron to remove the screw.  I installed a threaded insert into the receiving end of the screw on the bench.   I retained all the saw and hammer marks made by me and my brothers.

I gave my Grandson the bench and a copy of the story about the workbench.  It is my hope that my Grandson will appreciate what his Great-Great-Grandfather start many years ago and prove that he was right in his belief that the men in our family should be able to work with their hands and tools.