Arts and craft Style work bench WIP...

[Brown Dog]

Those of you following NewLou's thread bout his work bench in progress may be interested in checking out my attempt at a bench. In his tread Lou mentioned an article in Woodworkers Journal about an arts and crafts bench that gave him some inspiration. That is the bench I am going to build.

Ive been planning to build this for a while now and finally started it about about 4 weeks ago.

Its a simple bench with a top made of 16 laminated strips (about 45mmx70)of Vic ash. This should make a top roughly 700mm wide, 1500mm long and 68mm thick. The Base will be made from Jarrah with wedged mortise and tennon joints for the bottom rails (long and short) and a bridle type joint on the top rail on the short side.

progress so far:
*Milled all stock to rough dimensions and allow to settle for a couple of weeks.
*Started glueing laminations for bench top (pic 1). as the top has already got so heavy i cant move it by mysef so I have to glue one at a time. So to pass the time while glue is drying i knocked up a couple of tools (see other pics)from the off cuts.
The first is a mortise guage I needed to mark the moritises for my bench. Second is a dead blow mallet (head is hollow filled with lead shot) and third is a shooting board.

[NewLou]

Great to see you get a start on it Brown Dog

Buy the look of the quality of your work she should be a cracker. Am watching your progress with interest!!!

Very nice tools you've made there too...................did you melt the lead for your mallet ???

Regards Lou:D:D:D

[Groggy]

Great work there, another WIP to watch!

[Brown Dog]

Great to see you get a start on it Brown Dog

Very nice tools you've made there too...................did you melt the lead for your mallet ???

Regards Lou:D:D:D

Thanks Lou.

The lead is just lead shot it rattles around inside. The idea is to transfer more force to the object as the lead moves. It also deadens the blow so the mallet doesnt bounce..used mainly for persuading joints such as dovetails together.

[AlexS]

nice tools.

...used mainly for persuading joints such as dovetails together.

Don't force it, use a bigger hammer.:D

[floobyduster]

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the bench come together. How about putting up the costs and time spent as you go.

Love the tools - how long did it take you to make them? How did you go about it - any tips or trick you learned? What is the bench the shooting board is sitting on made of?

[Brown Dog]

. How about putting up the costs and time spent as you go.

Love the tools - how long did it take you to make them? How did you go about it - any tips or trick you learned? What is the bench the shooting board is sitting on made of?

Thanks alex and floobyduster

As far as costs go... the timber cost from memory around $750 . The vice which is the large generic front style vice from timbecon I bought at the Wood working show and was about $60-70 I think. Other costs are a couple of veritas bench dogs ($34 a pair)and a couple of wonder dogs ($ 43 each, instead of a tail vise).

So all up when finished, it should come in just under $1000 most of which was funded by selling old gear and some of the accesories were gifts from my generous girlfriend.:D

Time spent so far...
1/2 day to mill stock to rough dimensions ( all stock was 200mm x 50mm boards) at this stage stock was stacked and left to settle for about 4 weeks
1/2 day to mill stock for top to final dimensions.
2 hours a day for glue up of top over a few days couple of glue ups a day.


The guage took me about 2 1/2 days, The first one I made i stuffed up :( (got a bit over zealous with the drum sander).

The dead blow I did in one day while waiting for glue to dry.

the shooting board also took about one day

The ideas for all three were borrowed from various people. The guage I got the idea from the latest woodsmith magazine. I pretty much copied the way that was made and just adapted it slightly to a mortise guage.

The mallet I down loaded some plans from somewhere. I have the PDF if anyone is interested.

The shooting board is my attempt at the ones Micheal O'connor makes http://www.michealconnorwoodwork.com.au/workbenchesaccessories.htm
pretty straight forward. The tapered pieces were cut using a jig on the table saw. then they are glued to the top part, then planed flush when glue set, then that assembly is glued to the base. Screw on a couple of stops and yar done :D

The Bench that the shooting board is sitting on is the the side extension table for the table saw. Its made from KD hardwood (frame) with a MDF top with laminex glued to the top. The steel legs come with the saw

regards
Paul

[Waldo]

G'day Brown Dog,

As others have posted, another bench to watch :cool: Your work on the mortise guage is really smick, a few others have been posting with their creations of mortise guages, and I'm very impressed with them all.

Top stuff. :cool:

[Brown Dog]

Heres where Im at.

I have finished glueing up the top. It has been planed flat on both sides (photo 1). I had a little more planing than I would have liked, as the top developed a little bit of a cup. I should have checked with a straight edge earlier in the glue up :o .

Photo 2 shows the ends being trimmed. I had too cut as deep as I could with the my little 185mm circular saw (just sold my 235mm saw, mabey I should have waited ;) ). Then it was cleaned it up with a flush trim bit.

Next job was to mount the vice. A front and 1/2 rear jaw were made from the vic ash and a handle was turned from jarrah. Photo 3 shows the handle ready to be parted off. One knob was parted off then had a 28mm hole drilled to fit the handle shaft. The knob can then be held on with a screw.

Photo 4 shows all vice parts ready to be attached


cheers Paul

[Brown Dog]

hello all
since my last post I have milled all the stock for the base to final dimensions and begun to cut the mortice and tennon joints for the base.

photo one...trimming short rails to final length

photo two... glueing short blocks to long rails

photo three...cutting mortices for long rails

photo four...cutting tenon cheeks on long rails

photo five...trimming tennon height...

[Brown Dog]

this photo shows the setup I used to cut the wedge shape in the mortise. Never tried it before but I thought it worked quite well. Only needed a little bit of a tidy up with a chisel.

[Brown Dog]

today while cutting the bridle joint in the top of the leg for short rails. I had a mild brain fade :o and cut the joint in the wrong face on the leg. The photos show the rapair I had too make. Luckily I realised before I went to far and just had to glue in a couple of thin strips(photo 1). Photo 2 and 3 show before and after a bit of a scrape. Good as new:D


cheers Paul

[NewLou]

Great work Dog

Is fantastic to see her evolving. Is it my eys or does your slab look unusually short??

Lookin Sweeeeeet

REGards Lou:D:D:D

[Brown Dog]

Is fantastic to see her evolving. Is it my eys or does your slab look unusually short??

REGards Lou:D:D:D


Thanks Lou :D

By slab Im assuming you mean the bench top?... cause I dont see any half empty cases of beer in any of the pics ;) . The top is 1500mm long which is how I planned it:cool: . I think its just an optical illusion... and it wont be a monster of a bench when finished anyway.


cheers Paul

[Poppa]

I'm following this with avid interest Brown Dog. My bench is still in the planning stage - I've drawn up scale plans from all sides, but haven't chosen wood etc yet. And the plans are still subject to change (right up to and past completion I reckon!). I'm a fan of the Arts and Craft movement, so I'm very interested to see yours completed.

Oh, and I love the mortise guage. Like to do that myself as well but not sure I have the skills yet. Only one way to find out I suppose....

[Brown Dog]

Oh, and I love the mortise guage. Like to do that myself as well but not sure I have the skills yet. Only one way to find out I suppose....


thanks poppa :D

Ive seen the work you did on your box and reckon you could knock up a guage like mine..no worries. They are easier than they look. Check out the article in the latest Aus Woodsmith about the pencil/cutting guage... some helpful tips there.

oh... and good luck with your bench..

cheers Paul

[numbat]

Paul,

Great work on the bench - keep the progress phhotos coming.

Cheers

[Brown Dog]

thanks numbat:)

Here are some more photos of the progress I've made on the base frame

photo 1. rough and ready jig for cutting the wedges. I tried doing it on the tablesaw first with little sucess. If I had two mitre slider thingys it would have been easy(one set at 90 the other at the wedge angle), but with those tiny pieces its just too dangerous :eek: without building a more complicated jig. The bandsaw was quick and easy:)

photo 2. end frame parts dry fit ready for glue up.

photo 3. glue up.

photo 4. cleaning up end of the tennon.

photo 5. Tennon cleaned up and sanded.


cheers Paul

[Brown Dog]

one assemled end frame...one more to go:)

cheers Paul

[jaspr]

Love your work - obvioulsy you're a true craftsman!

[underused]

Great work so far Brown Dog!
Watching your progress with interest. Looks like you have a nice full workshop full of tools there

[Brown Dog]

Thanks underused and thankyou jaspr, although I think I am far from craftsman satus yet, as underused mentions I do have a nice workshop full of tools, I think they more than my skills have helped acheived these results :D

anyway enough horn tooting back to the pictures.

photo 1. final glue up of the under frame

photo 2. under frame ready for final sanding

cheers Paul

[Brown Dog]

heres a little preview of the finished bench...once the underframe was assembled I couldnt help myself :D ...I had to see what it looked like with the top on.

jobs left to complete the bench

1. apply a finish to the base
2. attach vise
3. attach top to base
4. finish planing the top
5. drill some dog holes
6. apply finish to the top.

cheers Paul

[Clinton1]

Its looking good so far, very clean. Looking forward to the final pics.

[Brown Dog]

thanks Clinton

Here is a couple of shots of the base after one coat of Organoil Hard Burnishing oil, left to soak in until saturation then rubbed with 400 grit wet & dry. Once cured I will probably give it a wax and polish.


cheers Paul

[Brown Dog]

hi all

getting close to finishing of my bench here is a couple of pics of work done for the bench top.

photo 1... While planing the top flat, the plane snagged a splinter on the edge and ripped out a big chunk:mad: . To repair it I used a rebate bit in the router then glued a scrap piece that was the best match I could find,when dry planned flush. Not an invisible repair but its okay.

photo 2.. had to knock up some cleats to stop it sliding around while flattening the top. Even though the bugger weighs a ton four little pads didnt offer much friction on the painted floor. Now its rock solid and doesnt move an inch :) . Its about time I had a bench that didnt move or rack when planing:cool:

Photo 3...shows the set up I used to drill the dog holes. First the router was used with a 19mm bit to a shallow depth. Then I went back and drilled all the way with a 10mm bit in the cordless (this was done to make it easier for the router bit). Then deeper again with the router, finished off with a 19mm forstner bit in the cordless and a bit of scrap underneath to stop blow out. The hard board screwed to base of the router has a fence to reference the edge and a 19mm hole to index from the previous hole.


cheers Paul.

[Brown Dog]

:D :D :D Nearly finished:D :D :D

here is a couple of pics of the almost but not quite finished bench. Only jobs left are another coat of oil on the top and attach the front vice cheek.


cheers Paul

[Al B]

Thats one beautiful looking bench Paul.
Its to good for the workshop I would be to scared of getting it dirty:D
Well done.

[Brown Dog]

thanks Al B

Im looking foward to getting it a bit dirty/adding some character.:) It doesnt need to be babied, every few years just run a plane over it to tart it up a bit..should hopefully last a couple of generations..



cheers Paul

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Paul,

Nice job with the bench. It looks a real beauty. Love the cleats around the legs to stop the bench moving.

cheers
Wendy

[Brown Dog]

Thanks Wendy and thankyou to all for the compliments and the greenies:D

Well, its all done now http://www.ubeaut.biz/woohoo.gif. The vice is attached and working remarkably smoothly for a cheapy, Im quite impressed with it so far.

The top has two coats of oil and has been burnished with 800 grit w/d (only sand paper the top saw). The base has had a coat of wax which gave the Jarrah a very nice sheen.

I also knocked up a couple of stops (from 19mm dowel and scraps) to compliment the LV bench dogs. Im sure I will knock up some more too. The only other thing I am considering is to drill a couple of dog holes into the top of the vice cheek to line up with the ones in the bench, I think this will make it easier to face plane thin stock, as I discovered the LV wonder dogs get in the way.

One more project for the shed, well major project anyway, which will be a router table incorporated into the side extension table on the table saw (to save a bit of space). And the shed will pretty much be the way I planned it when I started the upgrade four years ago:D . Then I can start on the real projects that have accumulated over the years. These include:

a hall table with matching mirror and wall lamps
a spice rack/cabinet
a dinning table for some cops
jewellery boxes x 4 for the missus and her sisters
pens...lots of pens
bowls...even more bowls
set of drawers
bedside tables
and a possum house for the possum that lives in the roof

:eek: I think that'll keep me out of trouble for a bit :D

Cheers Paul

[DJ’s Timber]

Great job on the bench Paul.

Like the homemade benchstops, they look good

[Auld Bassoon]

Terrific bench Paul,

Simple, solid and a credit to any woodie's shed http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon14.gif

[TassieKiwi]

Excellent bench! You should investigate planing stops mounted at the LH end of the bench. Derek Cohen has a nice wide one that slides up, and will cater for the thinnest boards. I really like the versitility of the round dogs, and have installed many more holes in the bench as I've used it, in the face and the top, but you'll find that they will spin when planing off-centre - and even though brass is softer than A2, they will make a big dent in your flash blades.

[Brown Dog]

thanks again fellas:D


Excellent bench! You should investigate planing stops mounted at the LH end of the bench. Derek Cohen has a nice wide one that slides up, and will cater for the thinnest boards. I really like the versitility of the round dogs, and have installed many more holes in the bench as I've used it, in the face and the top, but you'll find that they will spin when planing off-centre - and even though brass is softer than A2, they will make a big dent in your flash blades.


Thanks tassie...I had actually planned on putting a slide up bench stop on the end of the bench...but when I came to install it realised I should have done so before I fixed the half cheek on the vice :o ...because now I cant get a router in there to cut a nice clean hole...and I dont trust my skills as yet to do it by hand. I could cut the hole from the top of the bench but would be concerned that if it didnt line up perfectly I would have to remount the top....not a major hassle but I think there are easier solutions.

I reackon that I too will install more holes as I go along to take advantage of the round dogs. Another idea I read some where that would solve the spinning prob is to attach a board between two holes across the bench...


cheers Paul

[Andy Mac]

Very nice looking bench, real neat job! Hours of fun ahead...:D


Cheers,

[NewLou]

Great work Browndog:)

True to the original design coupled with the stylish simplicity of the arts and crafts style. HAve really enjoyed this thread n watching you bring her all together...................am looking fowar to your next project!!

REgards Lou:D:D:D

[TassieKiwi]

thanks again fellas:D




Thanks tassie...I had actually planned on putting a slide up bench stop on the end of the bench...but when I came to install it realised I should have done so before I fixed the half cheek on the vice :o ...because now I cant get a router in there to cut a nice clean hole...and I dont trust my skills as yet to do it by hand. I could cut the hole from the top of the bench but would be concerned that if it didnt line up perfectly I would have to remount the top....not a major hassle but I think there are easier solutions.

I reackon that I too will install more holes as I go along to take advantage of the round dogs. Another idea I read some where that would solve the spinning prob is to attach a board between two holes across the bench...


cheers Paul

I was referring to a simple solution - look here, post #15........

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=15269&highlight=planing+stop

[tashammer]

That bench turned out rather nicely TanPooch. Looks, balanced and strong. Excellent style, much of that Art & thingy stuff does look very nice.

There is one thing that i haven't seen on your bench or any of the others and that is a short board loose-mounted vertically about halfway along the bench with holes that holds one or more tapered pegs. Very handy it be.

Plonk your workpiece in the lefthand vice and rest the other end on the peg.

When you have finished using it, just pull out the peg, lift up the slotted board and store it away until you need it.

Some folks used under the bench drawers for the same purpose.

[Brown Dog]

thanks Andy and Lou...when do we get to see your beast all finished ?;)

Tassie, that is a good idea, I couldnt quite tell from the pics but it looks like Derecks bench has an apron...which would make it simple to install...but mine is a solid top ...I spose I could use those lag srcews with the machine thread on half...but would it be okay to screw into the end grain ? I dunno...:confused: . The plans that I copied had the block attached to the leg and it popped up through a hole in the bench


thanks Tashhammer...I think things like that will evolve with time...when need arises...the one I was looking at was the one that Micheal O'conor put on his benches... it slides along the bottom rail then clamps there some how and has a suppport that slides up and down in a slotted board stopping where ever you need it.

cheers Paul

[Big Shed]

Thanks alex and floobyduster

The mallet I down loaded some plans from somewhere. I have the PDF if anyone is interested.



Paul,

Great bench, I have followed the WIP with interest.

I also like the tools you made as a warmup excercise, particularly the deadblow mallet. I have a bought one, just a black rubber one. Would like to make one like yours and wonder if you could get the pdf to me or point me in the right direction where to download it.

Many thanks in advance.

Fred

[Brown Dog]

hi Fred

PM me with your email address and I will send you the PDF.

cheers Paul

[Dust Mite]

Very nice job Brown Dog. There is nothing better than having made your own workbench then being able to spent many a happy hour using it.

I paticularly like the bit about creating a nice sanded and burnished surface. I did the same and regularly keep it maintained between jobs, as I posted here http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=40115 but be warned they wont believe you do work on it :)

Anywhos have a greenie :D