I've had my Nicholson bench for a few years, and it has served me pretty well. Recently, I've added dog holes as needed and have a few jigs I plan to make since I'll be spending more time in my unconditioned shop. I've been using a simple peg as a front support for planing longer boards and other tasks. While I see many folks using a crochet, I initially skipped it to keep things tidy until I figured out my daily usage of the bench. Now, I'm curious if there are benefits to having a crochet that I might be missing and whether I should consider adding one at this point.
4 Answers
I'd suggest a removable crochet if you decide to go for it. On my last bench, it was always getting in the way when I tried to move around, which was pretty annoying.
I had a crochet on mine, but I hardly used it, so I ended up removing it. Honestly, I think pegs do just fine for most stuff!
I've got a crochet on my bench, and I really like it. It keeps the board solid while I'm edge jointing, and I can reposition the board without needing to deal with a holdfast. It’s placed well enough that it doesn’t crowd my workspace either.
Crochets are usually handy when you're edge jointing, right? If you've got one end held in a vice, you might run into trouble using a crochet since it can twist the board. If you’re just using pegs, a crochet can help stabilize the boards you're working with. For surface planing, though, I'm not sure a crochet adds much value at all. Also, I might not be getting the full picture, but just thought I'd throw in my two cents!
Yeah, I get you! I use pegs too, but I have my crochet set up where the board rests on pegs and the crochet holds it against the side. It speeds things up and makes it super stable, especially for long boards!