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Thread: Dogs Split Top

  1. #46
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    Gidday

    I wouldnt just check out the feet of the many Benches you can look at online and here. My current solution for my 1st suck it and see Bench was to use really big feet to increase the surface area & also add my own weight by standing on them [But I won't be doing this for my final Bench design] If i owned the Shed I'd just Dyna bolt it into the Floor But this can cause headaches if you ever want to move it!

    You can also increase the mass of your Bench by adding shelves weights and so on and so forth in an infinite amount of ways anything that adds weight is your friend

    That said the fun part is to try not to overthink it and see how you work on your freshly minted flat new work surface Then you can make innovative adjustments as you go adding to the collective wisdom

    Just a few thoughts that are definitely not definitive just some grist for the mill!

    Ultimately, always remember if any problems/issues come up where theres a will theres a way!.................... the engineering team of forumites here will help you get out of any JAms

    Enjoy the build!

    Regards Lou
    Just Do The Best You Can With What You HAve At The Time

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  3. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogs857 View Post
    ....... this bench should top out around the 160-180kg mark, will I need to worry about it moving noting that I am doing everything by hand?? .....
    What do you do on your benches, Dogs?

    My main bench is something south of 100Kg and it has never moved on my concrete floor under any woodworking activities. I have a smaller 'portable' bench that weighs half that again, & it is fine, too, for most purposes. If your bench skids across the floor in use, I will be most surprised (& whats more, I would never pick a fight with you under any circumstances! )

    Cheers,
    IW

  4. #48
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    Thanks New Lou and Ian, Ok so this might be in the truly overthinking it category then. Excellent, one less thing to worry about.
    Oh and I made a calculation error when tallying up the final weight. It should be around the 140kg mark, not 160-180. Don't drink and do maths kids

    Onto tonights lesson - things I am really bad at.

    1. Freehand sharpening. My Luban number 5 arrived this week and I have been merrily working away with it and enjoying the regular planes again. After being seduced by a couple of Rob Cosmans youtube videos I thought I would just freehand sharpen this thing from the off, to Hell with all these sharpening jigs. It was a truly liberating experience and I was starting to feel like a real woodworker. Unfortunately after a couple of days my plane blade was looking a little weird. There were different bevels and bright spots all over it and I was never really sure if I was actually sharpening the working edge. No worries says me, I'll just run it over the grinding wheel quickly to reset everything and start again. Which leads me to number 2

    2. Grinding plane blades. This I suck at more than freehand sharpening. All my little micro bevels turned into a lot more weird angled bevels. Ok must have skipped a step there, check everything, check it again, run the blade over it, freak out at the new set of weird bevels I have created, turn off the grinder, put it right in the back of my deepest storage shelf and pretend I never saw it.

    So after a few days of random sharpening and less than 1 minute of actual grinding I had done more damage to this blade than Keith Richard has done to his liver. Pulled out my flat stone, sandpaper and water stones and 3 hours later had the face re-established with a 25 degree bevel using the excellent Veritas honing jig, with a blade so sharp it will slice the hairs off a fly at 50 paces.

    Instead of working on my bench tonight I spent the entire time trying to fix my blade. So for now that jig is my best friend. Here endeth the lesson.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  5. #49
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    Hi all
    I just saw this. I use the Veritas honing jig as well, I've tried freehand, and I'm not as accurate.
    It looks like it would work ok
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKg_rJA4uS/

  6. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by pedrogb View Post
    Hi all
    I just saw this. I use the Veritas honing jig as well, I've tried freehand, and I'm not as accurate.
    It looks like it would work ok
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKg_rJA4uS/
    That's certainly the higher tech approach.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  7. #51
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    Ok today was the day.

    Broke down the temp bench, moved things into place and put the first half of the top on to check.
    Needed to shorten the tenons on the legs a smidge after flattening the bottom, and still need to take just a hair more off to get everything sitting nicely but it's starting to take shape. Pulled out some more timber to get a feel for the gap in the bench and make sure that things don't just fall through and I am good to go.

    Need to phone a friend again tomorrow to pull this section back off to adjust the tenons again but we are making progress.



    So far everything but my small starrett square can be stored in that gap. I'm not expecting to keep stuff in there all the time but it should come in handy.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  8. #52
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    That's going to be one solid little bench alright, Dogs.

    Have to say, seeing that saw sticking up in the middle of the bench makes me wince a bit. I could see myself swinging a job round while I'm working on it, & doing the saw a serious injury! Long ago, I saw a bench with a rack attached to the back, where tools being used were put 'out of the way'. I thought it was such a good idea I immediately made one & attached it to the back of my own bench. It lasted about a week, I found the handles sticking up like that were continually getting in the way.

    So I removed it, & started training myself to put any tools I won't be needing within the next few minutes back in their place in the tool cupboard, which is a short step to the right of the bench. Thirty years or more on, I'm fairly consistent (most days!), but I have occasional lapses & the bench-pile starts to build up until I realise I'm spending more time looking for tools than using them & stop & clear the deck....

    Cheers,
    IW

  9. #53
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    Hi all
    I'm with Ian on this one. I Have two 3 metre long benches, one a roubo type. With all that space, I seem to struggle to find a clear spot unless I make myself put my hand tools back (into Dutch tool chest). I have looked longingly at the split top design, but I have (like IanW) tried the rack at the rear of the bench, and the handles all sticking up do seem to get in my way. My Roubo is only 480 wide, which does make a difference. Maybe if I didn't have 6 projects going at once, all staged all over both benches.....
    Don't stop now! It looks great.

  10. #54
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    Gidday

    Yes im much the same if its sticking up or even landed on the worksurface i'll invariably either ding it or make a good go of knocking it off the work bench..................... Murphys Law.................

    Im toying with the idea of some kind of Sink space or recess in mine Just and I mean just big enough to drop most used goodies into [located in the least used position of course] having seen many workbenches over the years im convinced man is hard wired to mess em up quickly lol

    Perhaps theres something unconscious going on another excuse to enjoy the tools................haha

    That said my best success at reducing clean up cycles for me is to clean as i go and put tools back to their home base immediately after use

    66 days to hardwire the habit in I believe LOL still shooting for this after many years

    Regards Lou
    Just Do The Best You Can With What You HAve At The Time

  11. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post
    That's going to be one solid little bench alright, Dogs.

    Have to say, seeing that saw sticking up in the middle of the bench makes me wince a bit. I could see myself swinging a job round while I'm working on it, & doing the saw a serious injury! Long ago, I saw a bench with a rack attached to the back, where tools being used were put 'out of the way'. I thought it was such a good idea I immediately made one & attached it to the back of my own bench. It lasted about a week, I found the handles sticking up like that were continually getting in the way.

    So I removed it, & started training myself to put any tools I won't be needing within the next few minutes back in their place in the tool cupboard, which is a short step to the right of the bench. Thirty years or more on, I'm fairly consistent (most days!), but I have occasional lapses & the bench-pile starts to build up until I realise I'm spending more time looking for tools than using them & stop & clear the deck....

    Cheers,
    Thanks for the input mate.

    My thoughts exactly, this is really supposed to be just for tools I am currently using for a specific purpose. The idea is that the saw (for example) will come out, and I can park it there in between cuts, or while turning or adjusting the piece I am working on. I agree that storing stuff there for the day could be annoying / costly. I was also toying with the idea of the rack at the back, this was just the easier option.

    I guess it comes down to what to do with tools you are using. I don't like wells as they just seem to fill up with junk very easily, and I wanted more flat surface. This idea appealed to me when I started planning the bench but I am unsure if I will go through with it. I can create a solid top (it's set up for it anyway) and then just have a 20mm overhand at the back. This is not a huge deal as I don't need the back of the bench to be level with the legs. I have a week or so while my next metal plane turns up to flatten the top with, so I will spend the time really thinking if this gap will be useful, or if it will just start to annoy me every time I drop a pencil through it. Another idea I have had was to put a small tool rack on the left edge beside the tail vice (to be installed). It's going into end grain but would be glued in with wooden dowels and only needs to hold a couple of things at a time (saw, chisels, marking gauge).

    Of course this means my next project needs to be a chest / cabinet to keep all the tools in. They are currently sitting in a set of drawers attached to my garage storage. Not even remotely airtight which I am sure is not helping.

    Lots of thinking to do.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  12. #56
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    Dogs,
    I’ve been following along watching the progress.
    Very impressed please keep the pics coming.

    Cheers Matt

  13. #57
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    Agreed

    I love the heft of this behemoth looks like she'll be a cracker lasting for generations............................Keep em coming

    I also love the discussion and your openness to feedback and some of the ideas being addressed all great food for thought and helpful for other Benchmakers [Ultimately what its all about]

    Cheers Dogs ***********Clink*************
    Just Do The Best You Can With What You HAve At The Time

  14. #58
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    Rather than attach a tool rack to my bench, I attached one to the wall behind my bench. That keeps the bench clear and the tools are always close by ...





    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  15. #59
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    Thanks for the support and advise all.

    If I really think about it I need something to stop stuff rolling off the top while I am working. I did buy an apron to wear but it's so freaking hot and humid up here I sweat just looking at it.
    I do still use it, just not by wearing it. The apron hangs off a hook on my storage rack behind the bench and I dig around in the pockets from there

    So bench chisels and saws can lie flat, mortise chisels, marking knife (only ever went "digging" for that once, and once is enough) and marking gauges are really my target items. As I am using a HNT tail vice there is an effective dead area on the left edge of the bench that is taken up by the screw part of the design. Plan B is to fill the top but leave that small space open to house things in. I would then put a blocking piece at the very end to make sure things couldn't bounce out while mortising (not that I think they would but you never know). By limiting the open area this would also discourage using it for longer term storage.

    I will mock this up tonight and have a look.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  16. #60
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    Ya got me confused here, Dogs! You say the 'wagon vise' is going on the left, but it looked in the pic above (bench sitting on its top with front vise) that the slot for it is on the RHS, which is typically where a right-hander would place it. Did I mis-interpret, & is it actually on the left, or what??
    [Edit - woops, forget that, I just checked & I'm getting two threads confused! Apologies!)

    Really, there's no perfect solution to keeping the tools in use handy and ensuring thy are safe & out of the way, all of the time. I just try to keep the clutter down as much as I can, & don't always succeed, as I've admitted. My bench does have a tool well, and it is indeed a receptacle for junk, shavings & sawdust, but also very handy, most of the time. I particularly dislike the way it scoops up router chips, almost as if there's a vacuum created in it as soon as you turn one on! However, I'm a very occasional router user, so it's not a major issue, but if you use one a lot, tool wells of any description are not a great idea - at least a slot lets 'em through to the floor.

    In my case, the tool well is an integral part of the bench design - you can do away with it, by careful management of the end-caps as Luke did on his bench a few years ago (afaik, there have been no serious repercussions), but perhaps it's safer to stick with the 'traditional' design that allows for expansion/contraction of the bulky top boards if ever you go that route.

    So, man being inherently a messy soul, as Lou has pointed out,it would seem that some sort of temporary tool storage that doesn't get in the way is highly desirable. A detachable tray, as suggested, is one good solution (easy to tip the shavings & sawdust out of at the end of the day!), or a rack up on the wall a bit above benchtop height like Derek's, or a slot in the bench top - all serve the purpose, so it's a matter of personal choice.

    Cheers,
    IW

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