Thread: Frank Klausz/European Workbench WIP

No stopping you now. I'd think before giving it away.

thanks Bill

Yeah it is so nice to work with a vice and a flat surface.

Most of all as you saw with my garage looking a tad like a a bizaar in Dehli so I took stock and cleaned things up a bit, packed away some clutter and got organized.

I cut the curves on the feet and now I will finish the sanding and glue the tresles up.

Mini me will still be my assembly table me thinks or a good outfeed table for the table saw.

Originally Posted by Milo

BWAHAHAHAHAHA........................... Your a funny guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get some Brazilian Mahogany whilst your over and sail it back!!!!!!!

Would love to do just that!

Big problem Export is strictly forbidden!! Can't cut the trees any more!!

BUT>>>> When I get the photos downloaded I will send you your own personal print of a small Brazillian Mahogany tree personally signed by me!!.

Bandsaw use question:

I have a 4tpi 1/2 inch new blade installed into my 14' Delta bandsaw, I went to cut the curves for the sled feet and was having a very hard time cutting a consitant curve/staying on the line!

I know this wood is damn hard but when I was turning the wood to follow the line the blade was bending/twisting, simply not coping. The result was a pretty average cut, it took a lot of sanding to get things even and smooth and looking good.

I checked the tension - that was all good, in fact if anything it was over tightened a little.

Its a new blade so it is sharp.

The blade is installed fine - running true.

Dust collection is on.

Is it just the fact that this wood is so hard or do you think it is user error!? I am not that experienced with using the bandsaw so I am learning as I go.

Thoughts?

My all purpose blade is 3 tpi x 10 mm. That will cut all but the smallest radius. For a tight radius with that blade, I over cut about 3mm, then cut to the line. Sometimes useing the blade as a rasp.

Bill I took your advice and stayed away from the line by about 1-2mm, I also took it really slowly and it worked out nicley.

I switched to my resaw bio metal blade and used it as a rasp which was brilliant, then stuck it in the vice and hit the rough face with my orbital sander with 80/120 grit and she came up a treat!!!

I have the last of the sanding to do tonight then cut the wedges for the tennons and glue up!

I have been experimenting with this Techniglue on some scrap and because it is really a thick gel it is wonderful for mortise and tennons......sticky and messy though!

I will post pictures of the completed base soon.

Glue up time!

I tried my hand at this draw boring lark, it is overkill for my tennons but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I had some half inch hardwood dowel laying around but no half inch drill bit.

I dipped into my late father’s toolbox and found a roll of auger bits and to my surprise they were pretty damn sharp! He also has an 8' brace but I have never swung one in anger so I took them to the drill press, only issue is that the end that slots into the drill press jaws has a taper on it so it didn't fit.........

So back to the drill brace and I loaded a 1/2 inch bit and had a crack. All went well, it was hard work with this wood being so hard but the I drove the pegs home, the fit was perfect.

The rest of the glue up was quit stressful......I have never used epoxy so I had no idea how much to use. I may have used a tad too much hardener and damn this stuff is messy!
I gloobed it on trying to not put too much on but not to have too little either. It started to go off sooner than I would have hoped but I got everything together and tried not to over tighten the clamps.

I did have a bit of squeeze out; I waited till it was quite hard and used a sharp chisel to get the excess off. Yellow glue is so much easier but this wood is quite waxy so epoxy is probably better for this application.

So I thought I was quite tough using all these hand tools so I whipped out the 3/4 auger bit and started to drill a hole in the vice jaw insert for the Veritas bench dog......boy oh boy was I sweating.........this wood is damn hard, all I can say is that woodworkers who had to swing these bad boys every day I tip my hat at you!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a bit more sanding to do and the trestles have come out really nicely. The curves on the feet turned out well too.

Next is the wedges for the long stretches...........the yanks call it a Tusk tennon ...it may be semantics but I went for a 5 degree mortise - do you think its enough of an angle....I might go for 8 degrees it just looks right. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Milo

...it may be semantics but I went for a 5 degree mortise - do you think its enough of an angle....I might go for 8 degrees it just looks right. Any thoughts?

Milo - in general, a shallow angle holds more firmly when driven home, but I should think that there is little difference between 5 & 8 degrees for a wooden wedge - either angle will hold well from my experience.

The leg frame looks good, but you don't get a full appreciation of how massive it is from the pic. I bet you can't lift that sucker over your head with one arm!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Milo - in general, a shallow angle holds more firmly when driven home, but I should think that there is little difference between 5 & 8 degrees for a wooden wedge - either angle will hold well from my experience.

The leg frame looks good, but you don't get a full appreciation of how massive it is from the pic. I bet you can't lift that sucker over your head with one arm!

Cheers,

Hi Ian

Yeah the trestles have turned out really well and there is no way lifting that bugger above my head with TWO hands let alone one!!

When I have dry fitted everything together even without wedges there is only about 1mm of wracking so I reckon when the wedges are driven home you will need a bomb to move this beast. Another pleasing fact is that the base is not as big as I first thought. You know my thoughts on massive benches, this one is just right for me.

Vices - the Big Debate

I have been mulling the tail vice options over and over and I am seriously considering the Lie Nielson tail vice hardware. The reasons really are simple, I am very time poor at the moment so the idea of bolting on the hardware appeals to me, if I am going to spend that type of money on a vice it better work like a dream (I am sure it will!). Woodworking Show coming up so I believe they are offering a 10% discount for the show.

Ian - do you use the L part of your tail vice to clamp anything? Meaning, if you were standing not on the face side of the bench but the actual side of the bench,.......if that makes sense. The reason I ask is that the guy at Lie Nielson said they have redesigned the tail vice because people were snapping or cracking the L part of the tail vice under heavy load???

P.S My Stanley No 7 arrived from Fleabay..........your valuation was spot on! The blade is a POS, the chip breaker is questionable and there is a nasty patch of pitting on the sole but it is near the rear/side of the sole so I don't think it will effect planing too badly. All up $99, it is not the finest example I have ever seen, the Canadian models seem to have smaller adjustment knobs but all up I am sure it will shave wood nicley once tuned up.

Originally Posted by Milo

Ian - do you use the L part of your tail vice to clamp anything? Meaning, if you were standing not on the face side of the bench but the actual side of the bench,.......if that makes sense. The reason I ask is that the guy at Lie Nielson said they have redesigned the tail vice because people were snapping or cracking the L part of the tail vice under heavy load???

Definitely NOT!. The "L" bit is not designed to take that sort of loading on a 'traditional' wooden tail vise. It's there to attach an outrigger guide beam which helps prevent slewing of the vise in the horizontal plane. There just isn't enough support in the right areas to use it as a vise jaw. It would be possible to build a tail vise that could be used that way, but I really don't see any need for it. The 'proper' jaws of the tail vise hold objects in the same plane, & more conveniently, it seems to me.

Originally Posted by Milo

P.S My Stanley No 7 arrived from Fleabay..........your valuation was spot on! The blade is a POS, the chip breaker is questionable and there is a nasty patch of pitting on the sole but it is near the rear/side of the sole so I don't think it will effect planing too badly. All up $99, it is not the finest example I have ever seen, the Canadian models seem to have smaller adjustment knobs but all up I am sure it will shave wood nicley once tuned up.

Hmm, I've got several useable old blades, so I'll check & see if I still have one the correct size, to get you going until you can indulge in a better replacement. The cap-iron should be salvagable. I'm tied up this coming weekend, but if you would like to bring it over the following weekend, we should be able to sort it out.

The adjuster knobs were smaller on old Stanleys wherever they were made - don't know enough plane history to tell you when they changed, but there are blokes over on the 'hand tools - unpowered' forum who can tell you what day a plane was built & what the bloke who made it had for breakfast......

Cheers,

I've never heard of a tailvise cracking up. Common sense will tell you " you'll break it!"

These people need an engineer's vise with a 1m pipe handle. You can bet everything in the workshop will be too tight....

Ian/Bill

I kinda thought that when they told me that it does not seem logical! Good to know!

Re the Stanley, I am speaking to a guy that who has a much better UK model, it looks in mint condition so I will make him an offer and see how I go.

Ian I will give you a hoi next week and set up a time to pop around....I will even lug the base over so I can get your thoughts.

BW

Originally Posted by Milo

Glue up time!
I dipped into my late father’s toolbox and found a roll of auger bits and to my surprise they were pretty damn sharp! He also has an 8' brace but I have never swung one in anger [/FONT][/COLOR]

Originally Posted by Milo

So I thought I was quite tough using all these hand tools so I whipped out the 3/4 auger bit and started to drill a hole in the vice jaw insert for the Veritas bench dog......boy oh boy was I sweating.........this wood is damn hard, all I can say is that woodworkers who had to swing these bad boys every day I tip my hat at you!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not surprised you found that hard work. I think any woodworkers familiar with Aussie woods and brace and bits might have chosen a brace with a wider sweep if they had one at their disposal. 8" is about a s small as they commonly go. You'd find it much easier with a 14" brace no doubt but even then seasoned hardwood is difficult to progress through. Drilling a pilot hole with a power drill just smaller than the lead screw of the bit you intend to use (or using a smaller diameter bit of equivalent size in the brace first up) is helpful to make the going a bit easier.

Bench is looking very good BTW. I also found draw boring a bit stressful for my bench build as you only really get one run at it.

Pamplemuse

Yeah I was sweating bullets!! I had my shirt off and I was dripping in sweat….who needs the gym!!? Timber framers and cabinet makers in the old days must have been tough as old boots. I didn’t really stress too much about draw boring it seemed pretty straight forward and I can assure my kids, grand kids and their kids that this bench will outlast all of them.
Last of the glue up of the second trestle Friday night, I just need to cut the wedges in the tennons but the bandsaw is pretty damn loud and squeilly so I can’t wake the baby up.