"tool" gloat: a new (old) workbench

[brenthenze]

Okay, this is my first tool gloat (and it's only a tool in the broad sense). I was in ReTool (in Greenville NC) the other day--making the usual rounds--and saw this maple workbench, in all its ragged glory. Since my almost-finished new shop doesn't have any benches yet (and my old bench is staying in what will now be a garden shed), I snatched it right up. Isn't she beautiful?





According to Denise at ReTool, the guy who brought it in had been given the bench around 1950 when a cabinet shop somewhere up north closed down. Evidently it was old even then. Even the screws in the front and side vise are wood. The surface has obviously seen its share of chisels and saws, and a few areas have been patched (including the top of the side vise), and some of the joints will need to be wedged to tighten them up. But it's nice and sturdy. As my Dad pointed out, you ought to be able to learn new skills just by running your hand over the top of a bench like this!

(If anyone's interested, I also just posted a few more pictures showing further progress on the new workshop, which is *almost* to the point of being dried in!) The end is in sight.)

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=1292&ppuser=0

 

[ptt49er]

Dude, that's a NICE score!

I'd love to find something like that!

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Nice score!! Are you going to "restore" it or just tighten it up and leave it mostly antique? I usually stop in at Retool but have never seen anything there that I really "need." That will be a nice shop- do you get it all or will you have to share space with others/or other needs like mowers, XMAS decorations? The loft will be great for storing wood, a finishing room, office or any of the above!

 

[skysharks]

Man talk about a VERY NICE score dude.:icon_thum

You should have fun with that for sure.
I would gladly help you out with that should you ever get tired of it.:gar-Bi

 

[brenthenze]

I'm going to leave the bench pretty much as it is, aside from tightening up the joints a bit. The bottom "tray" will be replaced (it's been replaced before--it's just a piece of particle board in there now), and I think I'll add a tighter-fitting piece down there and L-clip it into the frame. That'll stabilize the bottom better than just having a piece laying in there. But I love all the tool marks and patina on the surface--I'm not planning to "fix" any of that stuff. (Hoping to add some of my own.)

The bench dog holes might need to be filed out a bit, since they're pretty gummed up with several decades' worth of gunk. I'll clean and square them up and then make dogs that fit the resulting holes. And there's a crack in one of the vises that could stand to be glued and clamped before it gets any worse.


RE: the shop: it'll be all workshop in the downstairs enclosed part (the main building. My wife will have a bench for stained glass, and the rest will be woodworking. The storage area will be all for lumber storage (and jigs, unused tools, that sort of thing). We added the open shed side so that we could use that for the lawn tractor and to pull vehicles in during storms. It'll be mostly open, but we might put in some lattice and if that is insufficient we could even close it in to protect the mower. But at this point it'll just be an open shed.

RE: ReTool--yeah, they get some pretty good stuff in there sometimes. I just missed a great old industrial RAS a couple months ago. (I wound up buying the Craftsman RAS that they had there--not as nice as the other one, but it was a bit cheaper and it'll do for my purposes.) If you haven't been in recently, they have a great old pre-war Yates-American lathe--12" swing, 48" bed, all cast iron--for less than $300. It even comes with a box of tools, extra tool rests, and face plates. There's some damage, but it's a great price someone looking for a full-sized lathe. It was consigned by the same person who brought in the bench I bought. I've been picking up too much stuff there lately, but everything's related to the barn construction, and I'm milking that excuse pretty good. For the windows alone, I've had to buy the bench, a radial arm saw, a dado set, and a mortising machine! Ahem. Of course, if it were just the windows, I've probably got more money in them than I could ever save by doing them myself. But I figure, I also get the fun of building them, plus the tools to use for the next 40 years. So in that sense it's a decent investment!

 

[Bas]

Fine looking bench! I agree with just fixing the joints, making it all pretty is nice but you'll cry the first time your chisel slips. (especially if you gouge your finger).

My bench is my #1 tool in the shop, it certainly classifies for that category.

 

[Canuck]

Very, very nice, Brent!!!:wsmile: I can easily see that once seeing that bench, it would be a tough one to turn down (at a good price, of course). I agree. Just cleaning it up a bit and tightening a few joints is the way to go.

You will have to share a few more photo's of it when it finds it's way to a final destination and has some wood chips added for decoration!

Great find!

Wayne

 

[skeeter]

Really nice score on the bench. Bet there are some great stories involving the history of that bench

 

[Trent Mason]

Brent, that is an AWESOME score man! There's something about any older/antique tool/etc that just gets me excited about using it. Maybe it's just knowing that that thing has served someone or many people well and now it's your turn. Very cool! :icon_thum

 

[Travis Porter]

Brent you definitely have you a very nice score with that bench!! Where are the pictures of your other tools???

The shop looks great! Looks like you have it dried in just before cool weather starts setting in and that is a plus.

What is this retool place? Sounds like somewhere I need to visit!

 

[nelsone]

Great score on the bench! It looks really nice and solid.

Do tell more about Restore. I've never heard of it. Where is it? Do they have a web site?

 

[Gofor]

Wow, Nice Gloat!! Looks like it even came with its own railroad spike bench dog!! :icon_thum:icon_thum

Ditto on wanting to know the location. I'm not too far from Greenville, and have a BIL that lives in Farmville.

Go

 

[Woodman2k]

Brent,
nice shop and nice score on the bench.I was in a Restore years ago in Minneapolis.I believe they were started by a guy who also has started stores that sell used sporting equipment also, like PlayitAgain I think.

What size is the foot print of your building and how tall are your sidewalls to the overhang.I want to build something similar,I have an area thats 24 x 36 to work with.I like the truss arrangement with the second floor.What size I-joist did you use and what's the span?Sorry about hammering you with all the questions but its always easier when you can see it built up.
Thanx,Greg B

 

[PChristy]

Nice score Bre:icon_thumnt

 

[ptt49er]

Do tell more about Restore. I've never heard of it. Where is it? Do they have a web site?

Unless I'm terribly mistaken (which happens often), he's referring to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The one in Charlotte is just off of Wendover, across from the HD, right off of Idenpendence.

 

[brenthenze]

Unless I'm terribly mistaken (which happens often), he's referring to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The one in Charlotte is just off of Wendover, across from the HD, right off of Idenpendence.

Actually, no, not the ReStore (though that's a great spot to check for stuff too). It's "ReTool"--a used tool store. The one in Greenville is located at the corner of Greenville Blvd. and Mall Road, right across the street from the Ruby Tuesday's (about a mile east of Lowes). For all you Mapquesters, the address is:

ReTool
800 Mall Drive, Ste. E
Greenville NC 27834
Phone: (252) 215-0862

There is also a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Greenville (on west 10th Street), but that's more of a used appliances and fixtures place (some construction-related items--windows, shutters, etc.--but not so many tools).

 

[brenthenze]

What size is the foot print of your building and how tall are your sidewalls to the overhang.I want to build something similar,I have an area thats 24 x 36 to work with.I like the truss arrangement with the second floor.What size I-joist did you use and what's the span?Sorry about hammering you with all the questions but its always easier when you can see it built up.
Thanx,Greg B

Woodman: it's 24x30, plus a side shed (open, but it sould be boxed in) of 10x30. The I-joists are 14" deep, 16" o.c.. You're welcome to take a look at the whole picture series at my Ofoto page:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowseP...67815891905.557468696605.1221918931319&page=1

So far the building is framed, sheathed, and roofed. However, I just learned that some of the sheathing on the front side is going to have to be replaced with marine plywood because it's not 6" above grade. This is of course frustrating, since the first inspector approved our slab preparation (including its height above grade) before the concrete was poured, and now another inspector from the same office is saying that it's not high enough. But it's easily fixed--not worth arguing about. (I shouldn't even say that--I'll probably jinx it.) And I think the complaint is only on the one short side, and, in fact, half of that side is taken up with the big doors, so it's really only a 2' x 14' section of wall that should need to be altered.

I had bought my building plans initially from a company called BarnPlans.com. (Their website is worth checking out.) HOWEVER: if you're in an area where building code requires more than 80mph wind resistance, you won't be able to follow the BarnPlans drawing exactly--most importantly, the plans come with plans for building your own trusses, but they're designed to meet 80mph code, not the 110mph that we have in the coastal plain (even higher on the coast itself). So you either have to hire an engineer to alter and wet stamp the design (about $500) or buy premanufactured trusses that are already designed for your local code. Then that leads to other modifications in the plans, and by the time you're done, there's not a lot left intact in the initial set of drawings. I won't say more about it here, but if you're looking to build something like this, I'd be happy to share more details about my experience. (Not "expertise"--I'm decidedly not an expert!)

I will say, it's been a very enjoyable process, despite three or four goofs (mine and others') and despite the fact that the inspection/regulatory aspects of the process are not particularly amenable to one-off amateur builders.

 

[brenthenze]

Great score on the bench! It looks really nice and solid.

Do tell more about Restore. I've never heard of it. Where is it? Do they have a web site?

Here's the corporate website for the ReTool chain; this shows the nationwide locations. According to this site, the Greenville location is the only one in NC. However, this information is obviously outdated, since for at least the eight years that I've lived here, the store's location has been on Mall Road (the address I gave in a previous post), not at the location listed on the website. (The proprieters are the same: Denise and Don Golden--very nice folks. Nice enough to have helped me load that heavy bench and RAS into my truck!)

http://www.re-tool.com/

 

[Beancounter]

Sweet score on the bench! A few repairs as you've described and it will be good for another 50-60 years at least!