First, here is the full view of Felebien’s workbench. Many years ago, a colleague of mine, Paula Marcoux, attempted a translation for us. She got us enough to pore over. An excerpt from her work follows.
plate XXX of Felebien
The Workbench (L’Establie) XXX A with its bench-hook of iron (le crochet) XXX B in its Socket (sa Boete, i.e., Boite) to hold the wood.
The Hold-fasts (Valets or Varlets) XXX C to hold the wood on the Work-bench.
The Mallets (Maillets) XXX D to drive in the Hold-fasts, and to strike the tools with while working.
The Bench-hook (Crochet) XXX E which one sometimes calls Sergent & and in some places David. It’s a bar of iron four or five feet in length and of an inch or nine lines of thickness square ( ligne=the third part of a barley corne, or the twelfth part of an inch in measuring, says Cotgrave), having a hook below, & another which rises and falls the length of the bar which is called the hand. It serves to join & hold the pieces of wood when one wishes to glue or pin them, & to fit up the work (faire revenir la Besogne), that’s to say to press the wood one piece against the other.
The Grippers (les Estreignoirs) XXX F are two pieces of wood joined with Pins; They serve the same use as the Bench-hook (Sergent), & to frame up doors and other things.
The Wood press XXX G which one closes up with a Vise.
January 20, 2009 at 11:35 am
When I learned French I wasn’t interested in old crafts, trades, woodwork etc so it’s interesting to see these translations.
January 20, 2009 at 6:26 pm
The translation’s reference to two very different holding devices as “bench hooks” is confusing. Later in the Text, the Explanation of the Plate refers to what we know as the bench hook as “Chrochets.” The long iron adjustable free standing clamp on the wall behind the bench (Crochet ou Sergent) is not a bench hook. Indeed, its clamping action is similar to the beak of a holdfast. When the sliding “beak” is knocked home against the workpiece, its mortise holds the workpiece in a tight jam fit. The French eludes me but the distinction between the two holding devices and their use is clear.
January 20, 2009 at 7:55 pm
yes, these bench hooks can drive you mad, can’t they? Think about the modern version of a wooden jig called a “bench hook” usually used to hold stock for sawing on top of the bench – it’s nothing like the “toothy critter” as JA has called the planing stop/bench hook for many years…
and trying to plumb ancient French on top of it…yikes.