Thread: Finally started

Cheers Ian and Luke,
Yes I don't see the point in having draws any deeper than the tools it's just wasted space the deepest will suit hand planes and the rest marking gauges and then squares and chisels and yes fitted compartments are the way to go for some items.
Regards Rod.

Any suggestions as to the best oil type finish for the bench I need to get it sealed, since I have had the vices fitted and the out of action table saw repaired I have been using the bench to get accumulating jobs done and I need to get a finish on the bench before I get glue and stains all over it.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by Rod Gilbert

Any suggestions as to the best oil type finish for the bench I need to get it sealed ..... before I get glue and stains all over it.....

Rod, nothing short of a thick coat of epoxy will really prevent stains, oil finishes are quite porous, despite popular belief. However, an oil finish is my preference, no ugly build-up on the surface, dead easy to apply, and re-coating down the track also easy, and it does slow the spills down enough that they won'y leave too many marks if you are quick with a rag...

Any 'Danish' type will do the job, but a polyurethane diluted with about 60% turps is essentially the same thing, & cheaper. When the 'oil' is well-cured, a coat of wax rubbed on with steel wool or a scouring pad will add a tiny bit of extra protection, and prevents glue & paint/varnish adhesion. Some people don't like slippery bench tops, but I've never found it a problem.

I was extremely careful with my bench when I first made it, but inevitably, a few dings & marks started to accumulate and I became far less precious about it. It's a tool, after all, and even the best looked-after tools acquire the scars of honorable service. I've re-surfaced it twice in the 30 odd years since I made it. The first was a very light touch-up when it settled, soon after I made it (the wood wasn't quite as dry as I'd believed!). The second was about 10 years ago, and these pics taken about 2 years ago show it has had plenty of use in the meantime: Bench topR.jpg Bench Top L.jpg

Looking at the pics, I got a bit of a surprise at how many chisel marks there are on the right-hand side. Can't be me, it must be those damned elves that sneak into the shed at nights to make things......

Cheers,

Cheers Ian,
I am not worried about odd stain more about a bit of glue resistance. Oil and wax sounds good to me I totally agree the bench is a tool to be used and on occasion abused to achieve the result,fortunately this one is solid enough to take a serious workout.
regards Rod.

Rod,

I used Cabot's Danish Oil and Feast/Watson carnauba wax. Both come from Bunnings and are very reasonably priced. I used one "flood" coat on all parts, and then a second coat on all visible parts, including the top.

Then some wax.

But I'm with Ian. It's a workbench and, eventually, you will stop caring. My worst habit is catching it with a forward rasp stroke when I'm finishing off the butt end of a turned spindle or making a plane handle or something. There are several tell-tale grooves along the edges at the vise closures that speak volumes about my hand-eye coordination...

Even spilled glue is no match for a quick chisel stroke followed by a scraper, and if the spill is large enough, chances are you're going to stop what you're doing and clean it up with water immediately anyway. In my experience, you'll likely have some danish oil left over for touch-ups anyway.

Cheers,
Luke

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

....... In my experience, you'll likely have some danish oil left over for touch-ups anyway......

Yes, but don't expect it to be usable after a month or three if there's less than 50% in the tin. Damn stuff goes off like no other finish material I know! It's been my favourite finish for many woods, for more than 30 years, and I've lost track of the number of tins of gelled D.O. I've chucked out, so these days I try to buy it in a size that's just big enough for the job in hand. I know the unit price goes up exponentially as the tin gets smaller, but I calculate it's cheaper than throwing out gallons of solidified, unused leftovers...

BTW, that pic of the most-used (& abused) end of my bench made me feel embarrassed. I also had an issue with the inserts for the tail-vise. I used inadequately-seasoned wood when I recently (well, 18 months or so back), replaced the sacrificial wood inserts & leather faces, and they shrank a good 4mm or more below the surface. It both looked bad and was a minor inconvenience at times, so first thing I did yesterday was replace them. I took the opportunity to remove some of the scars from the adjacent benchtop whilst levelling the inserts, while I was at it. I didn't try to make it perfect, but a few swipes with a smoother certainly made a difference: vise jaws replaced.jpg

The scar looks a bit stark now, but it will blend in over a few months, and I will be able to put-off that top re-surfacing I've been thinking about, for another 5 years or so...

BTW, Luke, you're not the only one who has occasional mis-hits with wood-munching tools. I use my tail-vise jaws a lot when shaping saw handles, and it was close-encounters with Mr. Liogiers' products in particular that had chewd out the corners of the previous inserts!
Cheers,

Rod,
Well done on the workbench, looks great.

I am getting there just finishing the tool boxes for under the bench made the 2 small doors for the top of the last box,power was out this morning so I got the hand saw out to cut the panels(and it was a real pleasure thanks IanW) ready for the router table when the power came back on. They came up quite well the 3 wing panel raising bit cut the cross grain beautifully a quick wipe with some 320 grit and done every time I use this bit a am impressed with how well it cuts especially the cross grain.
Regards Rod.

I have been waiting to post again until I could say finally finished well close enough,I have a little to do with Danish oil when I get a bit more but the wood work is at a stage where I am happy to get back into some actual work as opposed to building a tool to work with. The top has had a couple of coats and the rest only one and some still waiting to be sealed. I am loathed to waste space so the cavity at each end of the bench between the top and the frame 55mm. I have made a couple of small draws to fill the gap one end is only half width due to the end vice and will be used to house dogs and the like,and I will use the other end for tapes and what ever I am using at the time. The boxes under the bench have come out very well I think and can be moved when needed either to one side of the bench or taken out when needed to travel to job, I still have to attach chest handles to them for carrying when needed.

Very nice job Rod. I like the concept of the removable boxes. In practical terms, how heavy are they? The reason I question this is I have two tool boxes I use on my ute. One is aluminium and a doddle to pick up. The other is steel, and larger, and even empty I don't attempt to pick it up without having eaten breakfast first.

Regards
Paul

Very satisfying, Rod - now you'll wish you'd done it years ago!

I like the way you've tried to utilise all the available 'space' under the bench; putting a drawer in that gap betwixt the top & stretcher is a small stroke of genius, I reckon. If you are like me, you'll spend a good bit of time over the next few years, re-arranging things in the drawers & boxes to maximise the use of the internal space, or make it more convenient to get at what's in there.

A couple of days ago, I was going through one of my old 'work-books' looking for the dimensions of a small side-table I built for my son about 18 years ago and came across the sketches & details for my tool cupboard. I noted it was started in June '96, just over 20 years ago. I say 'started', because it's had numerous small & not-so-small refits in the intervening years. Just a week or so ago, I modified the layout of one of the drawers, because I wasn't happy with the way it was organised. In the process, I gained a teeny bit of space, which I've left vacant, in case I discover some tool I didn't know I have to have......

Paul, portable toolboxes are an interesting subject. For starters, what I considered 'portable' 20 years ago weighed a good deal more than what is 'portable' today! But the main concern is what constitutes a minimal kit that can get the job done in a wide variety of situations? Whatever I pack when we go up to MIL's, I never seem to have the 'right' tools to do the myriad small jobs she has waiting for me. Even when I'm warned of particular jobs in advance, I still end up wishing I'd packed x or y. I need some sort of 'anarchist' kit that I can carry, but is sufficient to tackle any job. Yeah, I know, a real craftsman could build a fancy glazed bookcase with nothing more than a Swiss army knife.....

Cheers,

Awesome bench, Rod. I agree with the others. The storage you've come up with is great. I really like that drawer as well. That will be a perfect place to keep workbench-related gear, like extra bench dogs, holdfasts, etc.

Bravo!

... Now get to work!

Cheers,
Luke

Hi Paul,
The boxes are 12mm marine ply carcass the draws are Beech and the facings draw fronts and doors are New Guinea rosewood empty they are quite light they are 475x625x315 and with trunk handles fitted they will be quite easy to carry. The main idea behind being moveable is more so to be able to access at all times under the bench, as pointed out early in the post the boxes can often be blocked by the work clamped to the bench and inevitably the tool you need is in the box and covered by the piece you are working on. I can position the boxes opposed to each other at one end or side by side on one side of the bench when needed. But no reason they can't be taken to a job when needed.
Regards Rod.

Cheers Ian,
I totally agree about the layout of storage draws, my original tool box built in 1973 at the start of my pattern making apprenticeship is still in full use and surprisingly the layout is still the same as first set up more due to good luck than experience but didn't allow for increase of new tools to be added.
Thanks Luke,
Yes the draws in the bench top will be very useful for exactly that dogs holdfasts vice spacers and the like. And yes it is well and truly time to get back to some work I have a few boxes under way that have been waiting to long to be finished.
Regards Rod.