Thread: A "make it up as you go" bench

IMHO it needs 2 top rails to counteract any raking effect from lateral forces like when planing, etc. There's a lot of leverage on those M&T's at the bottom if vigorously working on the bench top

Thanks Ray, you confirmed what I suspected.

So now I have 2 bottom rails in meranti and 2 top rails in oregon.

The through tenons are about 31 by 78mm for the bottom rails and 31 by 58 for the top.

Current thinking is to use through wedges only on these so the frame can be dismantled if need be. Is this a good idea or should I cut the tenons flush and use end wedges with glue? (I'm not planning on moving but it seems like it would be a convenience at some stage.)

As far as the 'wedges only' method goes I am leaning toward 2 wedges through the side rather than 1 vertical. This is because my perception is that it will be difficult to chop out the hole through the 78 mm wide meranti. Are there any general design rules on this and is it likely to be easier than it appears to cut the hole for the single vertical wedge ?

These are one each of the top and bottom joints as they are now.
Top rail joint [1024x768].JPGBottom rail joint [1024x768].JPG


This is the type of wedging I'm considering using.
Double wedged thru tenon.jpg

This is a 100 year old work bench plus or minus. It would have seen a lot of work

Clasic Work Bench at Hall Men's Shed

It has wedged M&T

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

1 wedge through the width, more shear area strength in the tennon, the other way there is relatively small shear area and the chance of popping the tennon at the wedge

So, just when I thought I was finished chopping out mortises - again - .

Thanks people, I think it's good advice. I was worried about messing up chopping a narrow tapered mortise through the width of the boards so started on one of the small ones. Found it takes a while but is quite doable.

Here we are then - 2 down, 6 to go.

P1030164 [1024x768].JPGP1030159 [1024x768].JPG

If you think the wedges look small then you're right. Figured it was better to have a wedge break and have to go up a bit rather than have a tenon shear out. At the moment it all seems strong enough.

Looks good

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Well it went together OK and feels rigid enough but is a little lighter than I'd hoped for. Adding vices may help a bit there.

Still working on the ends at the moment. There are some things I feel should be tidied up a bit but it is usable at present and the old bench has been moved into it's new position so the grand shed plan is progressing.

Assembled 2 [1024x768].JPG Assembled 1 [1024x768].JPG

Slowly making headway.......


One end is on. The timber is a low density meranti.

Fastened with 3 lengths of 10mm threaded rod with a nut/washer on the exposed end and a tapped steel plate on the other. The tapped steel plates are about 150mm from the end of the top. They are this far because I was worried about the pine pulling out.

P1030180 [1024x768].JPG P1030184 [1024x768].JPG

The bench itself is finished - other end is on and a splash of diluted BLO applied.


P1030194 [1024x768].JPG P1030192 [1024x768].JPG

Now just have to work out the vices.

Having decided I did not want to use my old vice on this bench I went looking for a new front vice. Saw 3 for sale in Aus on line but I was unsure about which ones would fit and how to mount them. So I had a trawl through old threads for info on mounting vices and came across the advice to buy the vice first then design the bench. Makes perfect sense really - but too late now .

Anyway I finally found enough info on one site to enable me to buy one with some confidence that it will be suitable and the order is placed.

While waiting for it to arrive I can design a bench on bench that will use the old vice.

Cheer up, Bob, with a little ingenuity and a few packer strips you can attach most vises to any bench. It looks to me like you've got plenty of overhang, which should easily give you room to mount a standard front vise. If you want a travelling dog system, aka 'wagon vise' (highly recommended!), it would've been better to have been pro-active, but even there, you have a choice of some that can be retro-fitted. Looks like a good, sturdy bench & once you get yourself some holding gadgets fitted, it should serve you well for a long time. There is no such thing as the perfect bench, it's just a matter of how many compromises you are prepared to live with....

Cheers,

Well done Bob!!

Good to see the mix of recycling and new working out so well.

Sometimes all the best intentions of we scroungers run foul of practicality.

I guess that all adds to the fun and the ultimate satisfaction!

Thanks for those replies. I actually did have some consideration for vice fitment when deciding on the length of the rails so there is considerably more room on the right for the tail vice. At that stage I did not know that I was going to end up with through tenons that protrude as far as they do and also the fastening system for the top is quite bulky so now a large front vice will not fit at the left hand end unless those things are trimmed. I'm not willing to shorten the tenons unless it is absolutely necessary so a smaller vice is the go.

As for satisfaction, yes I'm feeling quite good about it at present.

Today I found out that the vice I ordered will not be available for 8 weeks .

Was offered the large size instead so came home from work and double checked the limiting dimension - not even close.

It's going to be a long 2 months .

Hmmm....wonder if I can slip the tail vice past the chancellor of the exchequer.......