Workbench WIP

[cpowell]

Started dimensioning the stock Sunday using some 14/4 and 15/4 oak planks I got from DaveO about a year ago. I dimensioned oversized, let sit for a day and dimensioned to final size.

Worked on M&T joints evenings this week and have managed to complete the base joinery. I still need to profile the feet bottom and edge and drill for the draw bore joinery on the leg-to-feet M&tablesaw. Stretcher M&tablesaw will get bed bolts so I can disassemble if needed in the future. Joints are nice and tight.

I knew it would be a lot of grunt work to make this bench. I need to sharpen a few chisels and clean up the shop.

I hope to complete the base by the end of next weekend. King fishing calls me this weekend!!

Base is 48" long, 24" wide (feet), 31.75" high.

I need to get some stock for the top. Gonna shoot for 3 - 3 1/4 thick top, roughly 24" wide x 80" long.


Chuck

[MikeH]

Chuck that looks awesome. You're making me look like a slacker. Of course my gar...shop is 90 degrees right now. Not much happening out there until it cools off some.

[DaveO]

Chuck, I am glad to see you putting that wood to good use. And a very fine use is it. Looking great, I look forward to the day I can make me a real bench.
Dave

[LeftyTom]

It looks snap-diggity from here.

[sapwood]

Great start Chuck
That AC in the background really boosts productivity

Roger

[MikeH]

Originally Posted by sapwood

That AC in the background really boosts productivity

I can guarantee it does. I've not gotten anything done on my workbench base in a week or two because of the heat. LOML frowns on me chiseling the mortises out on the kitchen counter.

[Travis Porter]

Looks good Chuck! Of course I have questions.

Have you decided on your vise layout? If so, any mods you are going to have to do for the base for the vises?

IIRC, this is the wood you were going to use on a project a ways back and you got talked out of it as it hadn't completely cured?

[Gofor]

Looking good!! With the base almost done, you are about to get to the fun part

Go

[cpowell]

Originally Posted by Travis Porter

Looks good Chuck! Of course I have questions.

Have you decided on your vise layout? If so, any mods you are going to have to do for the base for the vises?

IIRC, this is the wood you were going to use on a project a ways back and you got talked out of it as it hadn't completely cured?

I have not sketched up any installation details for the vises yet but planned the base and table top dimensions to accommodate both the front vise and end vise. I measured both vises several times before jumping off the cliff! I am going to try to get the top thick enough that shims will not be required to mount the vises.

This is the same stock I had considered using for a bed project last October/November that wasn't fully cured. I don't have a moisture meter and have fingers crossed that it will be okay. So far the stock has has been stable - no warping/twist. I am not overly concerned about additional shrinkage given the mortise and tenon dimensions.

Chuck

[cpowell]

Well, I managed to add some features to the block assembly I had clamped together for the last update. Finished the thumbnail profile and roundover for the top of the feet and bandsaw'd the profile for the bottom of the feet. I was a little tentative about making the bandsaw cuts on the bottom after investing so much time in the feet joinery and top edge profile (didn't want to screw it up) but made a few practice cuts on same dimension scrap and the real deal went just fine. Sanded about an hour to clean up all the edges.

Made the drawbore M&T joints for the leg-to feet/top joints, a first time for drawbored joints but it went okay. Sanded all the leg assembly pieces before driving the 3/8 dowels home.

Routed 1/8 roundover on the long grain edges then sanded all surfaces with ROS to 120. I considered softening the edges with sandpaper alone but some were pretty shattery and I wanted to minimize risk of a tearout down the line.

I was goind to use bed bolts for the stretcher-to-leg joints but the best price I found was 3 dollars each...24 dollars for bed bolts?

I ended up buying 3/8 inch hex bolts and square nuts from the BORG. Counterbored, drilled then mortised the slot for the nuts yesterday. Went to put it together last night and discovered I needed longer bolts. BORG closed of course.

Oh well, got the 4.5 inch bolts tonight and snugged everything up. The fit is pretty decent. Time to slop on a few coats of arm-r-seal and be done with the base.

I attached a pic of the assembled base, a closeup of the "bed bolt" detail, and a shot showing evidence of drawbored M&T joints. For some reason the bed bolt mortise closeup pic makes it look squirrely edged but I just walked back to the shop and looked at it again and the actual mortise is flat edged. Trick photography I guess.

Now I need some wood for the top!! That's where the REAL fun begins, right?

Chuck

[jeff...]

Good and clean lines there Chuck, looking good

[Travis Porter]

Looks good Chuck! I like the way you did the captured nuts on the rails. Were they hard to get started?

[cpowell]

Originally Posted by Travis Porter

Looks good Chuck! I like the way you did the captured nuts on the rails. Were they hard to get started?

Travis,

I used a small bar magnet to position the nuts as I turned the bolt. Each bolt had a slightly different approach angle since they were hand drilled. I partially inserted each bolt in the stretcher (tenon) end hole and laid a straight edge along the bolt axis to center the mortise for each nut.


Chuck

[JackLeg]

Chuck: That looks EXACTLY like the bench I built about 10 years ago with plans from Shop Notes I believe. It's still serving me well. I built a composition top using plywood and MDF and have had NO problems. I mounted a vise on the side as well. Good luck finishing it. Keep us posted with pics. AND, good luck with the Kings also!

[cpowell]

Well, the top construction is underway. Grunt work, no other way to describe it.

The stock width I was able to get will mean a design change. The fairly straight boards were 6 to 10 inches wide and 9 - 10 ft long (I only needed 7 ft finished). I wanted 3 - 3.25 inches thick finished but those widths just won't work out. I bought a MINIMAL amount to complete the job...barely. I now hope to end up 2.5 inches thick once done. We'll see how it goes.

Made a neat discovery last night. I had been struggling with jointing this long stock and attributed it to the 7 ft stock length and weight. Finally shut down the jointer and tested blade height with a small straight stick. The blades barely rubbed the stick and did NOT move the stick - they were too low. Raised them a few thousandths and - voila! Perfect joints and easy feed. Believe me they were set up properly when installed.

The work is simple. Crosscut plank. Rough rip on bandsaw. Face joint, plane, edge joint, glue. Clean lightly with planer after glueup. Just takes time. Oh, BTW maple tears out if you LOOK at it wrong! It's as bad as zebrawood.

The offcuts are 24 - 36 inches long so they will be usable for end caps/cabinet frames.

I should complete the top glueup this weekend. Doing it three boards at a time. Then I will glue two of the 3 board assys to make two larger slabs. Will lightly plane and edge joint then make final glue up. Shooting for 24 inches wide. I hope to post pics this weekend.

I'm not sure about flattening yet. I will probably try a router jig similar to what others here have used to flatten then clean up with a hand plane, which I will try to borrow from a very nice fellow NC WWer who lives in Wilson.

If things go VERY well I may get into vise mounting this weekend. No hurry though.

I have reconsidered bench placement and decided to place the bench so it's accessible from all sides, adjacent to the tablesaw. I'd just rather not deal with mobility. I've got a lot of organizing to do to make it happen though.


Chuck