Workbench project: completed!!!

[Monty]

It's a brand new year, and I've decided to go ahead and start that workbench project I've been procrastinating on for so long. :mrgreen:

A few of you may recall that I bought some maple more than a year ago with the intention of making a Woodsmith "Eurobench" style workbench. Well, I procrastinated long enough that I started having second thoughts about that bench. Then I saw the Lon Schleining workbench featured in last year's FWW Tools & Shops issue, and I decided on that one. Still, it took me until today to finally get started. :roll:

I'm hoping it will eventually turn out looking something like this:

Here's what I did today: I glued up the blanks for the trestle feet and legs.




And here's what I've go so far:

Now I've used up all my 8/4 maple stock that I had on hand... got to go find some more. :-? BTW - I'm going tomorrow to pick up my Veritas Twin Screw vise that I bought last week with that Woodcraft coupon. :eusa_danc

I'll keep ya'll posted on the progress.

 

[SteveColes]

Re: And so it begins...

Yes, please keep us up to date. I really would like to know how it goes. It also might shame me into getting butt into gear on a lot of things

 

[NCPete]

Re: And so it begins...

Sleepless,

that issue of FWW is two years old. It still gets high ranking for bathroom reading at my house, however! I'm sure that will be a nice looking, and hardworking, bench when you are finished.

 

[DaveO]

Re: And so it begins...

Insom. it looks like you're off to a great start. A nice workbench is still on my to do list so you're several steps ahead of me.

Dave

 

[clowman]

Re: And so it begins...

Better hurry Insom, I think I just saw Sapwood headed West down I-40 towards Hickory to camp out on your door step.

 

[D L Ames]

Re: And so it begins...

Looking good so far Insom. Is that hard maple your using? Where did you pick up last batch of 8/4 stock? Did you say last night that it was going to take you 100 bf to complete the entire bench?

D L

 

[Ozzie-x]

Re: And so it begins...

Yes, looking good so far. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Monty]

Re: And so it begins...

Yea I guess it is two years old... I'm just living in a time warp! It's only a year old to me, though - I wasn't a subscriber back then and I had to back-order that issue last year. Incidentally, there is a followup article in the most recent T&S issue that shows a tool cabinet designed for this trestle base. Looks interesting!

This is hard maple. A friend of mine got the stuff I'm using now from a local cabinet shop for a great price - I'm going to have to see if I can get a good deal on some more. It will take approximately 100 bf to complete, all 8/4 stock. So far I've used up roughly 17 board feet. (with 8/4 stock, those board feet add up fast!) I'll post a cut list that I made up for this, as soon as I get some more wood in hand and make sure it's accurate... ;-)

In terms of finish, I really have no idea at this point. Everything I've made so far has been finished with General Finishes products, so unless I learn something new by the time I get to the finish, that's probably what I'll use.

 

[Monty]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

So... made a little day trip down to Charlotte today, and picked up my Veritas twin-screw tail vise. While I was there, I decided to go ahead and get the front vise as well:

No real work accomplished in the shop today... but I did have a great experience today (WW related, of course). I'll fill ya'll in later in another thread...

 

[DaveO]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Nice looking vices. Now get moving on that bench before they rust.
Dave

 

[woodguy1975]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Nice vices. I think having good hardware is essential for a bench. The bench is a seriously important tool for any shop. You'll want that bench when you get to working on your chair for sure. I only wish my bench didn't suck and I had time to make a new one. Right now it looks like it might make the schedule for May.

John

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Insomniac. If you find a good lead on hard maple let me know... It would be awesome to get to a workbench sometime this year.

 

[D L Ames]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Gee only the second day of the New Year and you're already adding more vices to your rather extensive list of the vices you already have. Oh, bench vises.....I thought......never mind. Great looking vices Insom. Is that the same front vice used by Lon Schleining on his bench?

Like Brandon mentioned, if you find a good deal on 8/4 hard maple let us know. Maybe you can work a volume discount by ordering a bunch of it at once. If you can find a good price, I'd be willing to sign up for 150-200 bf for a couple of projects I have in mind. I had a line on 100 bf of Maple at no cost other than the cost of shipping from CA. Unfortunately they wanted just as much to ship it as it would have cost me to buy it locally.

D L

 

[Monty]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

The front vise is the same as the one in the article - the Quick-Release Front Vise that Woodcraft sells. There is actually a bit of difference of opinion whether the QR feature is desirable. I have read arguments from some people who prefer the regular screw type (Bob Feeser on Woodnet was one, I think), but I have QR Wilton vise that I've been using and I like that just fine. Besides, if it's good enough for Lon, it should be good enough for me too! ;-) Costs about double, though.

Regarding the maple, I'll have to see how this works out. The stuff I bought before was a deal I may not be able to replicate -- I'm still kicking myself for not buying 500 bf when I had the chance! :-?

Tonight I made the guide blocks for layout/chiseling of the mortises in the trestle base:

 

[D L Ames]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Cool, are you going to cut all of your mortises by hand? Never-mind, I just pulled that magazine out and I see how you are going to do it now. That is going to be one nice looking bench. Are you going to build the between trestle cabinets to go along with the bench?

D L

 

[Monty]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Eventually.

 

[DavidF]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Any reason why you wouldn't use the twin screw as the front vise? that's what I am thinking of doing this year.

 

[Monty]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Not at all. In fact, it's been done. Take a look at THIS monster:

That's the famous "twin twin" setup that Hypotenuse made. You can see it on his web site here.

IMHO, I don't really see why having a twin screw vise on the face would provide an advantage if you already have one on the end. Don't get me wrong, I think having a twin screw vise up front would be nice and useful. I just don't see how it adds any functionality if you already have a twin screw vise on the end. On the other hand, the face vise I bought is a quick-release, and you know how we Americans like to save time!

 

[DavidF]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

I don't have a twin on the end. I get pissed as hell with all standard vises with the "racking" when you try and clamp anything off centre. You need to apply so much pressure that there is a risk of marking the surface. I generally use my tail vise with bench dogs on the bench top as a clamp for long flat pieces. The front vise is were I do pretty much everything

 

[Bernhard]

Re: Insomniac's Workbench saga!

Keep on posting pictures!
I had planned on building this workbench and finally received the last shipmentof the hardware. But the idea of having dual twin screw sets is interesting. I think I'll modify the design to incorpoarte David's comment.

Also, I am considering making the top bigger and using a torsion box design for stability. Any thoughts?

Bernhard