Thread: Bench - big, solid, cheap, no tools, no bench to build on

Ok, Tool storage.

(Yeah, I said "no tools to build it with... restrained wasn't I?" ) )

Some of the underbench space should be devoted to veneer storage, off cuts, strange 'shorts' timber seasoning. 1/4 or thereabouts. That will be a drawer just under the top and between the strechers.

If I fit a long 'timber storage drawer' between the 'bottom of the top stretchers and the bottom of the top; and another long storage drawer (metals) between the top of the bottom strechers and as 'low as I can fit it and still get access'...
I'll have 2 drawers, each in a space of 510wide x minimum 90 deep x 1530mm long.

Other 'often used tools' need to fit in a space of 635 wide x 640 high x 1530 long.

At the front of the bench needs to be a bench slave, for wide board support when edge planing. This will add complexity to drawer size/access.

Add the complexity of wanting the drawers to also act as tool chests for portability and transport.
Add the fact that I will want some more stuff stored in the drawers.

These are the tools I'd like ready access to, its the result of 15 years of buying, and sees me through both restorations and furniture making.

Saws:
Hacksaw, 26" blade Rip, 24" blade Crosscut, 18" Mitre saw, 14" Mitre saw, Gentlemens saw, Jap saw (add another 2).

Hammers:
Club, Claw, BallPein, Carving mallet - (a lead filled lump of wood - not shown)

Screw drivers:
3 x flat, 4 x phillips head, 3 x turnscrews.

Files:
Mill file, Rasp (saw sharpening files, the saw set (shown), saw clamp (two boards) will all be stored in the 'panel rack' I'm making.
Set of small Rifflers.

Pliers:
Needle nose pliers, maybe 2 others as well??

Planes:
Moulding planes 5 shown, add another 12-ish.
Muji smoother, 3, 4 and 7 versions. Block plane. Jack plane.
Stanley 3-052 Rebate plane, Stanley Bullnose 90, Stanley 45 (in biscuit tin).
Tongue and groove plane (add another),
Large shoulder plane, Carriage makers rebate plane plane,
Router plane (2nd home made wooden one not shown).
Heel shave.

Spokeshaves:
x 2. Hag tooth beader (not shown).

Drawknives: 2 x. Large and medium.

Drill and bits:
Hand drill, bits not shown (usual forstner, brad point, and junk sets)... add tenon rounders, if I find some cash.

Squares:
6" engineers square (not shown), multi-square.

Stones:
2 x waterstones. Add Diamond plates x 2.

Mitebox
Gouges and Carving chisels:
7 x (these will breed over time and as jobs demand)
12 x Bench Chisels.
5 x Pigsticker English mortice chisels.

Odds and ends, some not shown:
Frame saw and 3x bow saws (small/medium/large.
About 4 blades each for the above.
Scrapers and scraper holder.
Knives and doobiewhatsits for veneer work.

Clamps/level/winding sticks/story sticks/carpenters square will all live on a rack.

Bench hold fasts and dogs will live on the bench.

A wheeled cabinet will live near the bench.
Iit will fit under the benchtop for storage space saving, but will have an 'adjustable height' section that will allow it to be the same height as the bench as an 'extender'.
This adjustable height section 'should' be a router table, with the router mounted under it, or removable. (Permanent mounting would be preferable, removable router more sensible from a space perspective)
This will allow timber which is longer than the bench to be supported on the bench; and will allow the bench to be the 'run out table' for the router table.

Tools bought for rehabilitation and resale, and 'other stuff' will live in a cupboard near the bench... including spanners, shifters, socket sets, bolts, carriage bolts, screws/nails, reclaimed restoration 'bits' and other hardware.

All stains, glues, pigments, brews, and other potions and chemicals will live in another box, (organics and non-flammables in the cupboard) and nasties and flammables in the outside laundry in a metal, lockable, cabinet.

This will keep me thinking for ages.... HELP!

Pic attached.
Not attached is the pic of the 2 large dogs, security system and locking doors. Go to your own garage sales, and buy your own junk!

Hey Clinton,

Where was your SWMBO when you took that picture??


HazzaB

Originally Posted by HazzaB

Hey Clinton,

Where was your SWMBO when you took that picture??


HazzaB

Hazza I think Clinton is divorced as per 1st page of this thread? Some advantages to that

Yep, divorced.
15 years minimum of getting tools = 180 months of looking around for stuff... very few of those tools were bought new.
A lot of rust bought on ebay, and time put into making the tools work.
All the $ saved not buying that $2000 18" bandsaw or a jointer or thicknesser (and the time spent doing it by handtools)means I feel free to buy a mix bag of saws/chisels or whatever for $20 on ebay and then drop them in the electrolsis bath.
I'm a tight #####... but consistent.

Example, last year was a 'recovery year' and I bought nothing.
Last month I got 5 saws on ebay for $10 + $10 p/p.
All oldies. 2 S&J full size saws, 2 mystery panel saws, 1 2-sided branch lopper. 1 mystery panel was on its last legs and has been turned into scraper blades... the others will go in the bath this weekend.
Effectively, $20 + time and consumables for a decades worth of scrapers, 3 user saws, and one gardening saw. I'll re-sell the 3 users... if I get $10 each, I'll pay myself 50cents an hour for the rehabb, and get 'free scrapers'. ;-)

Jointed out a board today... about 8" x 2" by 7'.
Vices are off for fiddle factor, so used a G-clamp and bit of scrap timber to hold the board.
I'll fiddle with it a bit more, as I work on the bench I'll get more of an idea as to where the dog holes should be.

Pic 1: rough board.

Pic 2: Knock off the saw marks... planing skew (so pushing the board away from me).

Pic 3: 'Get down to grain'... still skew, but starting to run down the board. Ready for a lick or two with the jointer plane.

Pic 4: Bugger. Its fancy grain... quilting all over it and grain reversal every 1/3". Going to have to put a bevel on the BU Jack, or make a scraper plane.

Anyway, the point of this is Dogs will be 3/4" posts (thats the common size)... I'll use Carbatec $9 for set of 4 plastic bench dogs, LV Dogs (the $18 or $22 each, "Blade" ones) and get 2 holdfasts (Grammercy $80 for 2)... all 3/4" posts.

Fiddling around will allow me to figure out exactly where they should go for the most efficient/elegant layout.
(and I've already identified a modification! )

and yeah... I know I used a jack before a jointer (wrong way around), but i like to knock off the saw marks with a jack, allow that to identify the grain, then go the jointer or stick with the BU jack if the grain is twisty.

Well, 4 weekends to make the bench... then a rest for a weekend.
next 2 weekends: joint a 'few' boards, pull all my tools out and start figuring out how to do storage, then make a canoe, and get into cutting out the bench cabinets.
Been busy... compost bins are full of shavings and scrapings... did I really start on the bench on 25 April?
I had the realestate agent come in and run 4 house inspections on Saturday mornings, and 2 on Wednesday evenings... so I'm getting sick of cleaning up the back room (aka the workshop).

One photo shows the teak with a scraped surface, wiped with metho. I picked all 'wild grain' boards, and some are spalted sapwood and heartwood combinations... looks good, but won't plane without tearout, so needs the scraping.

If you open the pic of the blade and scrapings... you'll see the big chip from the buried piece of schrapnel in the 15th board I got through... so 3 boards to do after I take that chip out.

Academy Saws HSS blade from a HNT Jack (blade reversed for scraping)... scraped 15 boards with the factory sharpening and still didn't need a re-sharpen... a very, very good plane and blade combination HNT Gordon and Academy Saws have put together.
As a comparison, I needed 3 sharpenings of the O1 Jointer and smoother planes (each) to take off jointer marks and to re-joint the boards (they had wriggled a little bit), I reduced the boards from 23mm to 21mm.
Boards are 2200mm long, and between 230mm and 180mm wide.

Ouch to the chipped blade

Darn inspections ok if they agent or potentials are good looking though.

Grain looks great.

Now woodwork this weekend woodshow just down the road you could do a brisk walk and be there in 15 or get Pat to pick you up.

I'll be in the ACT... bad timing between work and play.

Originally Posted by Clinton1

I had the realestate agent come in and run 4 house inspections on Saturday mornings, and 2 on Wednesday evenings... so I'm getting sick of cleaning up the back room (aka the workshop).

Get into practice when you get a shed.