Another bench build

**rat52** · 2nd August 2019, 08:29 PM

My 1st bench I built was made in the front room of the first house my wife and I owned and renovated in the first year of our marriage 1967. It was made of 70x35 os Oregon frame with chipboard top. Size was 1.800 long x 1.000 wide. That lasted about 10 yrs then I graduated to 2 saw stools, bearers and chipboard/doors/office partition tops.
I have had a long time to think about what style of bench I wanted and with the advent of the Internet and this forum in particular I have finally decided to do it. Also it helped that I'm now retired.
So here we go
The timber is Oregon. Roof rafters from a 1880s church. Legs from a pub verandah circa 1940 and the rails/stretchers from another pub verandah/balcony

**developerdino** · 2nd August 2019, 08:35 PM

Well it's 2019 and I'm making my first bench just like you did half a century ago. I'm also using Oregon for the top and I've hand jointed 4 lengths so far, got a little way to go still.

**LanceC** · 2nd August 2019, 10:15 PM

Rat, it is lovely that your bench has providence from the stock, before you even begin.

Kind regards,
Lance

**rat52** · 3rd August 2019, 05:24 PM

Being a hoarder I can't pass up free timber and being a carpenter on demolition sites the opportunities are too much to resist. Especially when it is being dumped.
15yrs ago I had some free cash and bought machinery from Leda. A 10in over under planer thicknesser, 10in contractor saw, 14 in bandsaw, bench drill press and mortiser.
The church rafters were mainly bowed not twisted and were 150mm wide so I was able to machine them to
down to 65x42mm. I then just glued them together in 2 pieces 450mm wide.

**rat52** · 3rd August 2019, 05:38 PM

Sorry about the other post. Here are the photos.
my old employer makes doors and has in his workshop a 900mm wide helical head planer and a 2 belt 1500mm wide self feed sander and he let me use them to finish the two 450mm wide boards so I was able to join them dead flush with hand sanding only on the joint.
You can see my old bench under the new top.

**rat52** · 17th August 2019, 04:46 PM

Due to health issues, bladder cancer, I haven't got past the under frame.
A very nice person in another club I belong to gave me an old dawn vice from a school. I didn't want to steal it from him so I gave him $60 for it.
I fitted a front rail to the bench top and slid the rear jaws behind it and a new timber to the front jaw. I also slotted a piece of jarrah between the front jaw and timber face for clamping boards between dogs and the vice.

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