Thread: Beginner's first project - simple workbench

Spade bits work well.

3/4" is a standard size for bench dogs. (several jigs such as veritas wonderpup come in this size.)

You can use a roller as it will be quicker and you can put the roller in the roller tray and cover with a plastic bag (If you can find one) and this will keep the paint and the roller tray fresh and ready for the next coat or next couple of coats. Make sure you close the open end of the plastic bag. Or you could wrap the roller tray with the roller in it, with plastic wrap. Use two pieces one on top and one underneath and join the two pieces together to exclude the air from your paint.


Good luck with your build.

Mike

G'day,
Thanks again to everyone for the advice - I managed to finish the workbench frame over the weekend. It took me a good day and a half - don't ask me where the time went haha! I still have to bore some peg holes in the legs and rails. Just thought I'd share a few things I learned and a couple of pictures in case any other beginners read this thread, and I've got a few more questions that I'd appreciate some help with.

Lessons learned:
- it is much easier to bore through MDF than I thought - lowering the torque setting on my drill sorted this out
- pocket hole joinery seems very forgiving (thanks for the advice bsrlee). Despite my best efforts, and taking a day and a half to build the bench, I made a number of mistakes, like boring out a few pilot holes, forgetting to drill a few pocket holes after most of the frame was assembled etc. But it was quite easy to just add another few pocket holes and keep going
- a speed square is a great little piece of equipment, both for markings and also as a guide for the circular saw when making small cuts
- decent clamps are worth their weight in gold. I started off with a cheap plastic one and it was no help at all
- taking the time to draw the bench first (I used Sketchup) was worthwhile as I was able to keep checking the build at various stages to make sure I hadn't botched anything serious
- as everyone else on the forum advises, work in a well-ventilated area, especially when cutting MDF

Questions:
- if you need to cut 4 pieces of pine to the same length, and one ends up being 1-2mm longer than the others, what is the best way to get rid of the extra 1-2mm? Would you take another pass of the circular saw, or use a file/sander?
- when using a hand drill to drill a countersink and pilot hole, I found it hard to get them exactly staight - is there a way to get them done dead straight without having a drill press?
- how hard is it to add some drawers to an already-assembled frame? Does anyone have any plans that show how to do this?
- what is the most useful type of clamp to start off with? I have a couple of face clamps which are quite good, but their jaws only open about 4" so there were a couple of times that the materials were almost too thick for them.
- a woodworking vice - how much is reasonable for a beginner's vice? I've seen people talking around $200-$300, but that is just too expensive for me at the minute. Is this one any good, or is it better to just save and buy an expensive one when I can afford it?
WOOD WORKING VICE - 200mm WIDE JAWS - NEW IN BOX. - eBay Vices, Hand Tools, Tools, Home. (end time 09-Apr-10 19:34:27 AEST)

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by smcg

G'day,

Questions:
- if you need to cut 4 pieces of pine to the same length, and one ends up being 1-2mm longer than the others, what is the best way to get rid of the extra 1-2mm? Would you take another pass of the circular saw, or use a file/sander?
Saw if you have a bench/table saw. Else hack away with something like #40 or #60 grit paper with either a belt sander or slow orbital or by hand.

- when using a hand drill to drill a countersink and pilot hole, I found it hard to get them exactly staight - is there a way to get them done dead straight without having a drill press?

Hand drill ?? Do you mean one of them funny ones you actually turn by hand
There is/was in Home hardware something to mount your electric drill in to keep it vertical/perpendicular to the work when drilling. No idea if it works or not.

- how hard is it to add some drawers to an already-assembled frame? Does anyone have any plans that show how to do this?
- what is the most useful type of clamp to start off with? I have a couple of face clamps which are quite good, but their jaws only open about 4" so there were a couple of times that the materials were almost too thick for them.

Depends on what you are doing. I just went for a huge bunch of F clamps of varioau sizes. But others have their preferences and needs.

- a woodworking vice - how much is reasonable for a beginner's vice? I've seen people talking around $200-$300, but that is just too expensive for me at the minute. Is this one any good, or is it better to just save and buy an expensive one when I can afford it?
WOOD WORKING VICE - 200mm WIDE JAWS - NEW IN BOX. - eBay Vices, Hand Tools, Tools, Home. (end time 09-Apr-10 19:34:27 AEST)

Ah vice! Wine women and a dash of song..

Looking at that e-thingy I would for the price and transport costs go for a similar one at a place called Auto Cheap. I think they sell them for $30 - $40.
Thanks again!

Besides that nice bench and glad to see you had a good learning lesson with it.

Hi cultana - thanks again for your continued advice - all good stuff.

I only had 120 grit sandpaper handy and it was hard work taking off about 1mm by hand

By "hand drill", I just meant a normal cordless drill, and not a bench/pedestal drill . I'll try to track down that device that keeps a normal drill vertical - if it's solid then could save a bit of money not having to buy a proper bench drill for the odd time I might need it.

Cheers!