Thread: Anyone making anything big out there??

Woodwoulds doing great stuff with his chairs!!

I have a few big items on my list of things to do... but not enough space to build them until I get the shed. At the moment I am only making pens on the lathe. I do have a Kimono Rack to make but that should be a pretty simple project.

Corbs

Hi again corbs, I will put a couple pictures on of my little workshop this afternoon with this project with the seating benches. I rent my shed space from my parents nextdoor neighbour for very low rent, she just likes having people around a bit I think, I did grow up next door to her so she is sort of like an aunty or something. There is also another old girl that lives across the lane from the workshop so always doing odd jobs for her. Bit like working in an old folks home. My dad wanders aroung a couple times a day to see what I'm building and has a cupa. And a block or so from where my kids live so they wander in out too. Pretty good spot but very cramped for the kind of things I make. Good luck with getting a shed.

You're just the fella I need.

Boban gave me some hardwood from a house demolition. So I am building a new workbench.

It is getting heavy!

Benchtop is about 2100 x 800 from 3 x 2s. Fortunately they are a bit smaller and lighter after removing nails several passes through the thicknesser.

Went down to Toronto and picked up more recycled hardwood.

3 x 3s for the legs and braces for the trestle.
Lower stretchers are big lumps of 7 x 2.

Apron for the benchtop will be more of the 7 x 2s.

So far I have laminated the 3 x 2s for the top,
thicknessed the rest of the boards,
Cut out the trestles.

After I finish my Wheat bix I will start on the 16 mortices for the base.

I am not looking forward to moving that benchtop again either.

That electric hoist is looking very attractive.

Scally, that sounds like an awsome bench what are you building battleships? No, it's great to have a good solid bench that doesn't dance around on you. I have an old doctors desk wich is reasonably heavy and then put a sheet of 25mm ply over the top. Most of my projects are big so a lower bench means the big items aren't too high. Also have a normal height bench for general pottering with the metal vice etc on made from a solid core door. The extra big projects go from the bench to the saw horses or the ground.

Not a big project, but I will be finishing a Windsor chair for myself soon. I don't have a shop any longer and I work at a vastly reduced pace these days, but once I get it under way I'll post some pictures.

Well I try to make a bit of everything.

This was my first decent workbench. I like the length, about 1800mm.
It is good but a bit narrow, about 400mm wide. It is a pain trying to hold a chair on it.
I like the vice along the end but you can move the bench when planing harder stuff.

I also have a bigger one for glueing up and things. It is heavy, three sheet of 1800 x 900 , 19mm MDF glued together with a hardwood trim (3 x 3).
Great top but a crappy pine base. A job for another day.

This one certainly wont move.
It is only a bit longer than the other and I hope the width will be enough but not too much.

I have a twin screw vice to go along one end.

Still 14 mortices to go!!

I'm doing a boardroom table that goes together in a recatangle with the big hole down the centre for cords etc. 5m x 2.5m made out of 6 torsion box tops.
The tops are being veneered with 4mm jarrah in our new vac bag.

Then I've got to make a credenza to match at 5m. I think that one will be made as two separate units.

Everything goes a little slower when working wih heavy projects.

Good stuff guys, as you say Marinata things slow down as the projects get bigger. For me sometimes just turning things over becomes a logistics and timing exersize and if you put it off or have to wait to do it the whole job slows down. That must be one big vac bag!!
Woodwould, some of your pieces I imagine would be quite delicate to roll over and upend. You do nice work. I would like to get one of those bench/jigs they straighten cars with where they can just put the chasis in the jig and roll it over. When I get a bigger workshop I might build something ike that.

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

I would like to get one of those bench/jigs they straighten cars with where they can just put the chasis in the jig and roll it over.

How about using a couple of engine stands to make a 'rotisserie' to revolve the WIP? You can buy really cheap engine stands at places like Supercheap Auto or on eBay.

That's the sort of thing woolwould, not sure how practical it would be but it's worth at least a few minutes of thought.

How big is big?

Big for me, will be the chest that's still a WIP at present and the rustic hall table out of Camphor laurel. The table will be at the top of the weight range of what I can lift and the chest will simply be unwieldy rather than heavy.

I started cleaning down some foot wide sides from an old one tonner. Solid spotted gum by the looks of the timber after the belt sander's cleaned off a lot of gunk. These two boards are about 2000 long by 300 wide by approx 30 thick and they are Heavy! I was going to make them into shelving supports, but they keep screaming rustic bench seats at me

cheers
Wendy

My kitchen(its in the woodwork pictures thread), the 40mm jarrah bench top needed about 8 blokes to lift it in place!

Hopefully starting this bookcase for a client this week. 4.8m long and 2.3m high - does that qualify as big?

Cheers
Michael