Hi all, I have noticed that there is a significant difference between
jeweller’s benches used in the US and the UK. UK benches often have a
cut-out at the front to catch scrap and lemel. Personally I prefer
the cut-out version because this allows you to sit much closer in to
the work and obviously the problem of filings and the collection of
scrap is not a problem because a leather skin is hooked under the
bench to catch scrap. I would be interested to hear people’s views on
the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of bench. Richard
Hi Richard & all…
I asked the same sort of question back in March when I was looking
into a bench purchase; the name of the thread was ‘Benches - to
cutout or not to cutout’
and you can find all the helpful replies in the Orchid Archives.
There are also many other threads on this topic in the Archives if
you search under ‘Jeweler’s Work Bench’ or some other similar phrase.
Hope this helps!
Jessica in famously foggy San Francisco
Hi Richard,
It looks to me that the cut out bench top versions are more popular
if you have the room for the larger benches. I work with both
styles. My straight bench has a steel plate countersunk into the
center behind the bench pin in a 2" butcher block top…lots of
surface area to work with and very strong when shaping metal. With
the cut out bench I like the ease of catching filings, & cuttings.
Helps keep a leash on stones when setting and I drop one too. They
both have their strengths. For repairs I like the larger surface area
to lay out jobs. For wax model making and setting I prefer the cut
out.
What I noticed was in the US we tend to have drawers to catch the
filings or stones, in the UK it looks like they use a cloth or
leather sling more often. ( I don’t know the proper name for it)
Mark