Another bench build

[delbs]

hi all, yes this is another bench build but because im conscious of everyones time its not really going to be a lengthy thread. this is due to me taking photos and then promptly getting back to the actual build. I find posting these things online and effectively blogging about them distracts me more than i need when what i really want is a working bench :D

So i'm going to upload all my photos and hope as you flick through youll get the gist of progress in terms of assembly and accessories being added not being added in order like a normal thread.

my general intention was to keep it simple with 100x75 approx material recycled from an old house species unknown until planned. it turned out i was working with a bit of ironbark, stringybark, tallowood, something that resembles jarrah, couple fiddleback pieces of unknown species but all approx 80yr old.

Ive picked up the pattern makers vice from HNT and the tail vice. Ive decided im going to remake the legs and base as i want to add cabinetry with some drawers and doors on the right hand side so the pattern makers free to spin until its heart is content on the left! the drawers and door will assist with humidity living in northern NSW and the constant battle against rust

Ive decided to layout the dogs and tailvice on the same side as the pattern makers as i dont want to have it installed on the opposite side in the event i move house (currently in a rental) and im forced to have it up against a wall and render the tail vice unusable potentially.

Presently unhappy with the legs as theres slight racking but im planing new material as i have plenty left over and will make the shelf lower and the legs slightly wider apart with more domino holding it all together, then use coach bolts to attach the top.

I have some new forstner 3/4' bits coming and a portal drill guide to help me keep the dog hole drilling square as i cant use a drill press at this stage of the build and will put some dog holes in the new legs as i think a wooden dowel would work well assisting the pattern makers vice for bench long material or a sliding deadman if it can stay out of the way of the drawers/cabinet underneath

I started making this by hand denailing and planing all stock but ended up procuring a helical head combo jointer unit to assist me speed that portion of the process up and then some help from the domino. ive enjoyed the hand tool parts ive been able to do :D

anyway better late then never :)

Nathan

[delbs]

Is it more common to build the base frame for the bench and then cabinets or the carcass for the cabinets whilst building the base frame for the bench?

[johknee]

Awesome job, Nathan! So good seeing old timber like that re-used.

Gives me some motivation to get on with my build. I've spent a lot of time de-nailing timber and now know why people have suggested to buy DAR timber.:)

[delbs]

Awesome job, Nathan! So good seeing old timber like that re-used.

Gives me some motivation to get on with my build. I've spent a lot of time de-nailing timber and now know why people have suggested to buy DAR timber.:)

Thanks mate appreciate that!

I can see why they say that also but I couldn’t compete with $7 per lm, I just had to de-nail it. It’s a surprise to what comes out once I clean it up.

Still plenty to go for this build. Some days i don’t make much progress but as long as I keep at it each day it will be ready to use before I know it :)

[Scally]

It is looking like a great small bench.

The weight of the hardwoods will make it good to use.

I love my HNT tail vice and would love the face vice.

I suspect a lot of us have intentions to add cabinets but final plans aren't made until the bench is finished.

Mine drop into the base frame. They can be removed and replaced but I doubt that will ever happen

[delbs]

It is looking like a great small bench.

The weight of the hardwoods will make it good to use.

I love my HNT tail vice and would love the face vice.

I suspect a lot of us have intentions to add cabinets but final plans aren't made until the bench is finished.

Mine drop into the base frame. They can be removed and replaced but I doubt that will ever happen

Yeah I wanted it to be moveable by myself when I move house so picked up some great wheels and floor level feet for it. The dimensions are 1800 x 600 on top and about 1050 high as I’m 6’4” so want it to be comfortable height for me operating at

I’m not sure as to whether I take the time to start building a new base to transfer the top over to because I’m not happy with how the base turned out. Or just leave it and add the cabinetry and just live with it and move onto the other projects i actually wanna get started on.

I want to add cabinets with the intention that the carcass will be built into the existing frame to provide more rigidity overall. Hmmm

[delbs]

Had started on marking out and chiseling away the space for the tail vice install yesterday

Used a spade bit to hog out a bit of the waste but really the veritas router plane came to square up the fit. I’ve used that plane on both vice installs man I’m impressed with its support for the cutters. Has such a rigid hold on it I was able to get a 43mm depth cut out of it. Then drilled holes through to allow shavings fall through the vice to clear in future

Today I was able to find an appropriate sized bit of rosewood to use for the lid of the vice. I think it came up nice

It was easier for me to just mark out and get started hammering away than it was to find my fence for the router then appropriate bits to do this job

Will trim up the end of the bench when I pickup my tracksaw



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Cheers
Nathan

[Mountain Ash]

Looks great Nathan. I'm sure you're happy with the progress

[Brett57]

Hi Nathan,
I am hoping to get some old Harwood bearers and joist very soon.
I was interested in the red implement that was in one of the latter photos where you were showing the detailing. I assume it is some magic piece of detailing equipment.
I would be interested in what it was, name and how well it worked.
cheers

[delbs]

Hi Nathan,
I am hoping to get some old Harwood bearers and joist very soon.
I was interested in the red implement that was in one of the latter photos where you were showing the detailing. I assume it is some magic piece of detailing equipment.
I would be interested in what it was, name and how well it worked.
cheers

Gday Brett

Yeah no dramas mate it’s the Hultafor atle nail remover. I picked it up from here

Buy Hultafors Nail Puller Atle online | Hultafors Shop (https://shop.hultafors.com/nail-puller-atle.html)

Has been the only thing thats successfully removes these embedded stubborn nails before dressing the timber. That I’ve tried at least

Can leave a mark if it has to get below the surface but for a bench I’m ok with how most of it has come up. Worst case I make that surface not visible

Cheers
Nathan

[woodPixel]

that Nailpuller looks absolutely fantastic.

The bench is a beast. It will be great to see it done! :)

[delbs]

that Nailpuller looks absolutely fantastic.

The bench is a beast. It will be great to see it done! :)

Thanks Ev! appreciate it. Its coming along slowly. ill be adding some sides to it in addition to carcass structure to add some drawers etc. Dog holes up next :D

[delbs]

Decided to remake the base. The original base I think I accidentally cut some corners with the number of dominos in use and size of the lower stretchers. So I’ve doubled the dominos and overall size of the base.

Going to re use the slats but recess them in as a lower shelf as I didn’t like the screws. Not sure if I should leave them side by side or shiplap or rebate the edges to support each other. I

think they’ll be fine snug without any glue. Either way will look cleaner and certainly a lot stronger

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Cheers
Nathan

[LanceC]

That's lovely looking timber Nathan, and the combination of vises looks great. If this is a replacement for an older bench, I would be interested to hear what its shortcomings were, and the design considerations you've made to overcome them on this one. I'm always interested in how people design their benches to fit their personal way of using it.


Decided to remake the base. The original base I think I accidentally cut some corners with the number of dominos in use and size of the lower stretchers. So I’ve doubled the dominos and overall size of the base.

If you're doing any operations which will be providing large lateral loads along the length of the bench such as hand planing, I would be a little concerned that you really don't have a tall enough stretcher to resist racking. In fact, the way you have oriented the stretcher by lying it on its side makes it even less resistant to racking. As a remedy you could add a taller one part way up, Klausz style, or like I did, laminate some additional height to the stretcher. What you're looking for is a tall interface between the stretcher and leg. Essentially all the racking resistance takes place at the top and bottom points where the stretcher touches the leg, and the further apart they are, the more the joint can resist the twisting forces imparted.

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[delbs]

Gday Lance yeah good pickup mate

At the moment the new base is using 100x75 lengths all with 4 x larger dominos each joint. Even with out stretchers at the moment I can pull on one side and the entire base and other end lifts up with no movement.

I don’t intend on leaving it this way as I have some spare material I intend on jointing to create rear and side panels to form a cabinet. I’ll most likely joint them horizontally to make up the height of approx 800h d 970 approx in length. Will be a decent size panel for the back but will add a lot of support and weight to it overall.

Half of the underside will have drawers and the other half left for the pattern makers vice to freely move around and a sliding dead man for work holding.

It’s still for a while to go but I just try to work on it but by bit every few days I get a bit of spare time

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[LanceC]

Adding a rear panel to the rear will certainly add all the racking bracing you'll need. I look forward to seeing the progress. Adding drawer unit to mine is on the some-day list, so will follow your cabinet installation with interest.

[delbs]

Thanks mate, i also share the same interest with my own cabinet installation as it will be done on the fly as ive never build a bench like this before haha. Ill be planning and building the carcass for the cabinets as i go retrofitting to the new base, then the bench top can go on.

i also have enough selected hand tools from HNT and the like that i planned on storing them in this white cedar chest that i'm fitting out now just on hold whilst this base comes together. . So i dont even have a plan for what will go in the drawers in the bench, perhaps my marking and layout suite of things that need to stay away from tools in a chest perhaps. I'm sure it will be of use to something but i'm just trying to be intentional around the tools i have, they all have their place and i know where they are when i reach for them :D See how i go with that

Cheers,
Nathan

[yoboseyo]

Looking fantastic, Nathan! Looking forward to seeing the different types of timber pop with some finish

[delbs]

Material dressed as good as I can get it without reducing the thickness a great deal, they’re about 20mm at the moment.

Mixed species from my offcuts pile bits of ironbark,tallow, stringy bark etc. should form a rigid enough frame to brace it up.

I’ll domino it together tonight and use the tracksaw to square it up for fitting

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[delbs]

Panel domino and glued up today. Will cut it to length tomorrow with the track saw for proper fitting between the legs. Should add some decent weight and stiffness to the base. Will test fit the top once this is installed.

Was thinking two or three coach bolts through the top rails to hold the base in place. Coach bolts work ok for holding the top on if others have done it?

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Cheers
Nathan

[delbs]

Panel glued and nailed in today. Has made it rock solid and added some weight to it. Will be working on test fitting the bench soon enough.

Off to pick up a tablesaw tomorrow :D

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[Mountain Ash]

Hi Nathan. Coming together nicely. Love the timbers.

[delbs]

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Dry fit of top to new base. So far rock solid.

Are coach bolts best option for this kind of bench?

[delbs]

I don’t like to use the word finished for this bench but it’s finished enough for me to now begin using it.

Now the vices are fully functional with bench dogs all from HNT gordon and castor wheels I’ll slowly start planning the drawers as I now have a small list of jobs to get started on :)

I just used some danish oil I had left over, will do another couple coats and maybe some wax at some point on the top, not too concerned about it. Just wanted it be rack free and vices fully working.

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[delbs]

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The back panel of the bench, gives me the option to use it up against a wall or in the centre of the workshop.

[Mountain Ash]

Noice!!