Thread: Time for another workbench

Image eleven is another angle of the dry fit.

Next are the holes for the dowels to draw the feet down into the mortise.

Fitted - image thirteen

Image fourteen - all glued up with the jarrah wedges in the tenons.

Different angle.

The bench top is 2.5" (63.5mm) thick. In image sixteen the timber for the top is grouped in fives for glueing. It is at this point the the square dog holes are marked for cutting.

The dog holes are angled at 3 degrees towards the end vise. Image seventeen shows a wedge being used to create this angle, and the cut being made using a dado blade.

Image eighteen is of the three groups of five with the dog holes cut and ready for glueing.

Prior to glueing the dog holes have to be stretched at the top to accomodate the head of the dog. This is done with a router and a jig. This is shown in image nineteen.

Image twenty is a group of five being glued.

But wait, there's more.

When there were three groups of five all glued up, I then took two groups and glued them together. When these were dry I added the third group. This is image twenty-one.

Next the ends had to be cut and a tongue left to support the end caps. This was achieved by using a 19mm cutter in the router and working in from each side. Image twenty-two.

In image twenty-three the tongue is visible and leveling the top commenced. The dog holes exposed on the front will be covered by the front apron.

Next a dry fit of the top on the frame.

In image twenty-five the front apron is clamped on and set up for the first end cap to be marked for the dovetail joint.

Watch this space for more if house painting does not get in the way.

Looks great Bob. Wish I could build a bench like this for myself - one day perhaps.

10 out of 10 bob

Bewdy Bob!!

Nice work Bob. Look forward to seeing the finished bench.

That's depressing. You did more in a day than I have done in six months.

Nice work all the same.

Wongdai, I can assure you that this was not done in one day. I have just got around to posting the WIP. For a start, each glue up is an overnight exercise. As Wongo mentioned in his bench WIP, dressing the timber is very time consuming.

Thanks to all for the coments so far.

Time to fit the front vise. The left hand end cap can not be marked out for the dovetail joint until the vise has been fitted. The bench top is turned over and a mounting block positioned under the vise mount - this increases the height of the face which is 6" (152mm). Images 26 and 27 show this.

Image 28 is of the vise mounted. However, the front face has not been cut to size yet.

At the moment I am sealing the workbench base and the underside of the top. The last coat will go on this afternoon. There are many suggestions on what to use as a finish, but I have ended up using four coats of a diluted varnish.

I have ran into a problem with the end vise though. This is a Veritas twin screw. I have ran out of room under the bench top for the screw thread shafts. When following dimensions for someone elses plans, the size of the attached hardware can be critical. In this case the front vise. In maintaining an 18" (457mm) wide face on the front vise, the position of the top is such that it has stolen space from the end vise. Obviously, the face vise mount used by the author of the plans is not as wide as the Lei-Neilsen one I am using. At the moment my thinking is to widen the distance between the screws, putting them outside of the legs, and drilling a clearance hole through the top of the trestle. This will require me to get a longer chain and cover plate. At the moment this is on the back burner.

Looking good Bob.

Bring it along to show and tell on Saturday

Thanks for the WIP Bob, it makes my job much easier.

Tell me, did you just glue the front apron directly to the top?

Wongdai, the apron has not been fitted yet. However, it is just glued on the the front. Each end of the apron, via the dovetail joints, is then glued to the end caps. The end caps are also glued to the tongue at each end of the top for the first 75 - 100mm from the front. This allows for any movement in the top.

Originally Posted by BobR

Wongdai, the apron has not been fitted yet. However, it is just glued on the the front. Each end of the apron, via the dovetail joints, is then glued to the end caps. The end caps are also glued to the tongue at each end of the top for the first 75 - 100mm from the front. This allows for any movement in the top.

Bob, when I did mine, I elected not to glue the endcaps at all. Instead, I let a nut into the bench top from below, and bolted the endcaps onto the spline, at (near) the front of the bench.

regards

Originally Posted by BobR

Wongdai, the apron has not been fitted yet. However, it is just glued on the the front. Each end of the apron, via the dovetail joints, is then glued to the end caps. The end caps are also glued to the tongue at each end of the top for the first 75 - 100mm from the front. This allows for any movement in the top.

Thanks Bob

Also, why did you go the Veritas Twin Screw over the traditional end vice? Do you believe it has more utility, or does it suit the type of work you do better?

I know they sure are expensive!