Transitioning from a tall workbench to my mini-Roman workbench has been a joy. My old back has never felt better. And I must admit, my planing has improved exponentially. Being above the work makes all the difference.
Year's ago I made a bracket to use on my tall workbench to do scrollwork. Secured in the face-mounted “Moxon” vise, it was at the perfect height for “up and down” sawing. Sitting on a stool brought the work to eye level. I enjoyed the thing for years! But the bracket doesn’t work well with my mini-Roman workbench. Besides feeling crowded, I found I was using poor body mechanics. The “up and down” sawing technique felt awkward. Not to mention painful every time I banged my knuckles on those C-clamps!
The time had come to put the old bracket on the wall and start using my new “turning saw” donkey, patterned after the marquetry donkey pictured on plate 292 in André-Jacob Roubo’s L’Art du Menuisier.
I’m now sitting down unencumbered and comfortably going “back and forth” with my turning saw. Who could ask for anything more?
Thanks in advance for hitting the thumbs-up!
Knowing how to use a tool is more important than the tool in and of itself. - Ron Aylor
I need to think about this as an alternative to a full-blown chevalet. I probably won’t ever be so into marquetry as to need a dedicated tool, but it would be nice to have a more useful setup than I do once in a while.
I've been pondering some sort of shaving horse contraption Ron. I REALLY like the marquetry mule! Don't think I've ever seen one quite like that. Squirreling that in the back of the noggin' for future use 😁
