Cam went down to Pittsboro, NC to The Woodwright’s School for a class with Will Myers, April 30-May 4th. Cam has a modest woodshop at his house an enjoys remodeling, making furniture, and carving as a bit of stress relief on the periphery of running NEMO. This class was to make a traditional Moravian portable workbench using only hand tools. The frame is yellow pine and the bench top slab is white oak. The oak is beautifully featured old growth with very dense rings. The purpose of the bench is mainly woodworking with hand tools. It provides a level and smooth work surface sturdy enough to take blows from a chisel and mallet without moving around. It’s a simple design. The whole bench disassembles in minutes: the red oak wedges hold the stringers in the legs, and the slab and the tool tray are just sitting on dowel pins. Joiners working in Old Salem in the early 1800s would use a bench like this to bring to a job site.
NEMO
