Make Wood (And Your Shirts) Flat –
An ironing board met a spindly manual-training workbench at a bar. Drinks were consumed. And nine months later, the Chandler & Barber patented “Handy Bench Cabinet” came into this world in 1902.
The “bench” is a testament to human will – that something so odd and ill-conceived could be patented and brought to market.
Observe the arrangement of the vise and the opening of the cabinet. A right-handed woodworker would pretty much slam his or her handplane into the rear of the cabinet with almost every stroke. There is an incredible amount of wasted space in the closed cabinet. And the lower shelves (12” x 18”) look sized for almost anything except woodworking tools. Where do the long planes go?
Other than that, very nice!
— Christopher Schwarz
Thanks to Jeff Burks for digging up this love child.
