Progress on shop

[FredP]

Did I mention that i weighed that slab?

100 pounds and I've been tossing it around all by myself, lifting it up onto the drill press and moving it all over the shop.


Crazy old fat man!

:rotflm:

be careful mike. you'll shoot your back out!:wsmile:

 

[smallboat]

Sometimes its best not to have that kind of information.
At least not until after the moving is done.

 

[KenOfCary]

Mike,

In the other workbench thread you're talking about adding a foot to the workbench legs. Are they too short? If not, I'd think you could cut some square tenons on the bottom of them 1 or 2" deep and then make up for the loss of depth with extra wood in the foot portion. That would be a much stronger joint than a lag bolt into end-grain. Or am I missing something?

Might have to shorten the leg vise if the foot interferes with its operation.

 

[Mike Davis]

I'm not sure yet but the bench may be too narrow for the height. Will have to play with it a week or two and see how it works.

Thinking about adding 36 inch feet to help stabilize against side force while planing across the grain. May go ahead and cut tenons, but thought it would be harder to hold those end sets now that they are glued up solid.

Either way still lots of detail work to do and need to get moving have a lot of work to get done in the next year.

I may make this bench part of the gallery exhibit with all the tools I have made over the years and possibly some new ones. Just as a display, not for sale. Then again I may surprise myself and fill the room with other work. :dontknow:

 

[DWSmith]

Did I mention that i weighed that slab?

100 pounds and I've been tossing it around all by myself,

Imagine how heavy it was before we trimmed it and sanded it down to the thickness. Good exercise?!

 

[KenOfCary]

My bench is about the same dimensions as yours and I've never had any trouble with stability front to back. The 5" thick legs probably have a lot to do with that. The frame for my bench is only about 4' wide and the top hangs over on both ends significantly. Not sure if that is pertinent to the stability of it or not.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I was surprised when I saw the benchtop on the drill press and bandsaw. That was pretty clever. Were you able to do all the holes this way?

 

[Mike Davis]

You can't be as surprised as I was to see it up there, I had to find pieces of wood to level it and be careful to move the wood each time so it stayed balanced up there. Almost lost it once, and had to take the band out of the saw to prevent damage.

Then moving over toward the lathe which is a few inches lower and required more blocking to level again. All while keeping one hand on the bench top...

But it was, in the end, the best and brightest way to get it done, all in two nights with no accidents, no misdrilled holes, and no strained back (The most amazing part), and all by myself.

The legs fit in the holes perfectly.

 

[Mike Davis]

Got a little shop time today and it was not raining so I worked on my old end vise that I bought twenty five years ago and have been kicking around since then.

My daughter helped me pick a color, it is metallic aged copper by Rust-oleum.



I cleaned, filed a few rough spots, primed, and painted.





Then I made one of the parts for the leg vise.

 

[Mike Davis]

Nearly done, close enough I can work with it.













Just a little more to do...

 

[allisnut]

That's sweet Mike! Much respect for making it yourself instep of spending a fortune on store-bought hardware. Is that your design or something that's been around a while?

 

[Mike Davis]

I thought out the basic idea three years ago, then I saw something similar at Woodworking in America at Winston-Salem. I think my design is simpler and more robust. It works very smoothly.

 

[KenOfCary]

Pretty cool - you should patent that. Or sell the idea to somebody.

 

[Hmerkle]

I think Mike's is pretty cool.

the workbench we saw this on was Will Meyer's Morivian workbench and here is a video of his bench assembly and the ratcheting mechanism he created...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cji8ymNjJQ

(The vise ratchet is at about 2:20)

 

[Mike Davis]

mats in shop now

 

[farmerbw]

Mike, are those the Agri-Supply horse/barn mats? I've been thinking about picking up some, but the one I walked on at the store seemed a little stiff to me. Wondering if they give enough to make standing more comfortable.... :eusa_thin

B

 

[Mike Davis]

They came from Tractor Supply, probably the same mat.

They are absolutely better than walking on bare concrete.

I'll let you know in a few months if they are worth the bother and expense.

My wife's dog club had the same kind in their club and I could tell a difference there just walking around.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Nice job on the bench, Mike, and the shop looks really clean and organized. I'm impressed. :icon_thum

 

[Hmerkle]

I like that you have the door side organized so you have room to maneuver around the bench and get to your tools on the wall!


So what is your first project off the new bench?

 

[Mike Davis]

Maybe a small display cabinet...

i really need need to finish the bench and wall cabinets, if I don't it will never be done.