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I recently picked up an old workbench and have been wondering if anyone on the board knows anything about these, have been wondering how old it might be? The only markings on it are underneath the top, in crayon it says "Starr Piano Co, Richmond Ind" and they were in business from about 1872 to 1952, so that's my starting point. It has two wood screw vises and the older type of square nut hardware. The base has four drawers that have hand-cut dovetails, but I'm not sure if the base is original to the top - they're the same "patina" but the locating dowels for the top are clearly not in original holes. Anyway, I've been unable to locate much info on the web about these, was just curious if wood screw vises were replaced by metal ones at a certain time or anything else that might narrow down the date of manufacture? Thanks

post some pics many craftsman made the benches to suit the needs of the trade

Thanks John - a few below

that is a nice bench

Are you sure the dovetails are hand done? Machinery for them came early on and I believe by 1880 they could have been machine cut. The look of the bench is pre-1900, but hard to know.

https://www.harpgallery.com/library/dovetails.htm

The company was started in 1869 under a different name and was not named "Starr" until James Starr bought it in 1884. I can find no catalog pictures or listings of workbenches. Could it be a workbench used in the plant? Did you find it anywhere near Richmond IN?

You can still buy wooden screws from several sources, and at least in Europe they have been available continuously through the last century I believe. Here is my Moxon with 12 year old screws available commercially.

Nice find

Ed

The bench is probably f rom the factory, , sold off when the company went out of business. l wouldn't be surprised if it was made in thefactory though. If you can build puanos, yyou ought to be able to build a pretty nice workbench.

Richmon was quite a nusic center years ago. In addition to the Starr pioano factory, there was also the Gennett recording company. . It recorded a lotof the jazz greats, who would take the traiin down to Richmond to record.

many of the trades people were required to make their benches through the apprenticeships. And of course they were available I am sure through trade houses .
Great find.

I found it in New Castle, IN, which is about 10 miles from Richmond so that part makes sense. It seems to have a lot of finishing material on the top - not a ton but enough that there are drips under the edges. The tool tray is covered and appears to have been done a while back since its the same color as everything else, but who knows. Another thing I thought was odd is that the base is on casters. When I saw the leg with the 2x4 I figured it had had water damage at some point, but when I got it home and looked closer the damage was from fire, and there are scorch marks on the two drawers on that side. My assumption was the casters had been added later and would be the typical modern type, but they're not - oddly, they also look original. But what workbench would be on casters that don't lock?

More pics attached - if you zoom the center one you can read the writing on the bottom

Pics of drawer dovetails and front

Those are handcut dovetails. That's a wonderful find! I'm jealous. It's a beautiful bench. The casters may have been added aftermarket, by the buyer. That would account for their age and the fact that they're not necessarily the right kind.

It's no wonder that the entire bench didn't go up like a blowtorch, with all that finish. Lol. Just a joke. Shellac resin itself isn't flammable (if it's shellac).