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  1. #1
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    Default The Practise Workbench

    I've decided that this year will be the year I build my ultimate workbench. The following is not it. They say you need a bench to build a bench, so with that in mind I built the bench below to try out a few things and to help me decide on a few features for the bench (height, material, finish, etc). The frame and endcaps are made of ironbark and the top is 3 layers of laminated ash panels. The length is 2400, the depth is 630, and the top is 95mm thick. The bench sits on levelling feet which can be removed. The threaded inserts for the feet are recessed into the legs allowing for the feet to be completely removed and have the bench rest directly on its timber legs. The height would be 880mm without the feet and with bang on 900mm with it on the lowest setting. The face vice is from HNT Gordon and there's their 150mm tail vice yet to be installed as well.

    I've been at it for about 2 weeks now and I'm almost done. I've just got to flatten the top, install the tail vice, the shelf, and the sliding dead man, drill some dog holes, and apply a finish. Here's my progress thus far:


    20200427_181410.jpg
    The rear view.

    20200427_181451.jpg
    I don't have the space to get a good angle of the front view.

    20200427_155428.jpg
    The bench isn't even finished yet but the base for this magnifying lamp was the first project on it.

    20200427_155802.jpg
    It has 2 powerful magnets allowing me to use it on my machines without the need for clamps.


    My ultimate bench will be a completely different style and construction, but I learnt a few things from building this one: 1) never ever use ironbark for any project requiring hand cut joinery. The pins for the condor tails were a real pain to chop out; 2) thickened epoxy is a viable option for the joints, but probably not for the laminations; 3) I need more clamps; 4) Do the condor tails during the day when there's more light for less chance of layout errors; 5) 900mm or even 925mm is the perfect height for me. I'm quite short and if I followed some of the advice I'd seen, I would have ended up with a bench uncomfortably too low. Luckily I listened to Terry Gordon's advice on the matter.

    When I do finally complete my real workbench, I'll re-use the tail vise and shorten the bench by about a foot. It will sit next to the small bench I made for my bench drill and I'll use it as the stand for my future lathe. And no doubt down the track I'll build some drawers for it.



    Cheers,
    Mike

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KahoyKutter View Post
    ..... The frame and endcaps are made of ironbark and the top is 3 layers of laminated ash panels. ....


    20200427_181410.jpg
    The rear view.
    ....
    Looking good, Mike.

    Epoxy should be fine for the bench laminations - I like the slowest setting - and you certainly need twice as many clamps as you think you need.

    My technique, learned from a shipwright, is as follows:
    • For three laminations, do two glue-ups,
    • If concerned laminates might slip in glue-up, add a little sand or salt to the glue,
    • Do a dry run, including clamping (to test you have enough of the right sort of clamps),
    • Mix the epoxy unthickened and apply to both gluing surfaces (this is a grain filler & to minimise dry spots),
    • Then add the thickener to the remaining epoxy - I prefer colloidal silica,
    • Put thickened epoxy on one surface and spread evenly with a toothed trowell,
    • Put other laminate on top and slide around a little to ensure good adhesion,
    • Place clamps loosely - then check alignment,
    • Tighten all clamps sequentially from the middle of the panel outwards,
    • Repeat tightening process until obviously tight.
    • Two hours later loosen all clamps by half a turn - I am unsure of the reason for this step, but old shippy was adamant that it gave stronger joints.
    • Clean up squeeze-out after epoxy has hardened but not cured.
    • Do second lamination tomorrow.

  4. #3
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    Default

    Thanks for the useful tips, Graeme. I won't be using the same laminated panels for my next bench, but most of the tips are still applicable. Cheers.

  5. #4
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    Default

    All done.....

    20200505_161544.jpg 20200505_161630.jpg 20200505_161617.jpg 20200505_151458.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #5
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    Feb 2009
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    Adelaide - outer south
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    Default

    Top class work but I don't understand why that isn't your ultimate bench. Can't imagine what you have in mind for the next one.
    Cheers, Bob the labrat

    Measure once and.... the phone rings!

  7. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by labr@ View Post
    Top class work but I don't understand why that isn't your ultimate bench. Can't imagine what you have in mind for the next one.

    Thanks for your kind words, Bob. I guess it's not my ultimate because it's not what I'd imagined my perfect bench to be. It didn't even start out as a work bench. It was just meant to be a bigger version of my drill bench which will eventually house my future lathe. It was only half way through the build that I realised it would come in handy for when I build my dream bench if I fitted the vices on it. The reason why it's 2400 long is because I got sick and tired of breaking down sheets of ply on the floor. And my dream bench won't have adjustable feet. One of the reasons I installed them on this bench is so that I could experiment with the height to see what suited me. My dream bench will be my version of a Shaker bench. It's what has always appealed to me aesthetically as well as functionally. It's going to be a huge step up from me as it will be my first time building using the panel frame construction method and I can pretty much guarantee that the way I'm going to do it is not the way it's supposed to be done. It will definitely be unorthodox but hopefully it will turn out ok in the end. I'll probably take a couple of weeks to sort out a couple of small things around the shop and then I'll make a start on it.


    Cheers and thanks again,

    Mike

  8. #7
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    Oct 2018
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    Default

    Hi Mike. I agree with Bob. Bench looks great. And you know that temporary can become semi permanent without you noticing

  9. #8
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    Looks great!

    Question though: how do the adjustable feet go with the weight? I've always assumed that with a very heavy bench, built to have enough mass not to vibrate for woodworking, they will overwhelm most off-the-shelf adjustable feet.

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mountain Ash View Post
    Hi Mike. I agree with Bob. Bench looks great. And you know that temporary can become semi permanent without you noticing

    Thanks mate. Yep, there's definitely the possibilty that this may become more permanent than I intended but I'm determined to not let that happen and the main reason I don't think it will is because if I don't build my dream bench, I'm still going to have to build another bench like this one for that corner of the workshop and for somewhere for my future lathe. I'm actually closing to starting my dream bench build. I already have the bench vises waiting to be mounted (for about 2 years now) and I pretty much have all the timber that I need. All I need are a couple more tools. The first was a longer marking knife as I had a few problems when I marked out the houndstooth condor tails on this bench. I found out that my regular marking out knives didn't have the length to reach the corners of the pins and I was having to guess. I was going to buy the Blue Spruce's Joiner's Knife but it seems they're currently out of stock and they don't know when they'll be able to re-stock due to the problem. It has forced me to be inventive so I heavily modified an Olfa blade and I made my own:

    20200509_160014.jpg 20200508_171809.jpg

    The Olfa blade is just the right thickness at 1.3mm. It's thin enough to fit between the tiny gaps for the "English" pins but rigid enough so that it doesn't flex as much as the medium Blue Spruce blade despite its longer reach (72mm). That's hurdle #1 sorted.

    The second thing I really need before starting my dream bench build is a crosscut sled or similar. I haven't gotten around to building another one since upgrading my TS. That's next on the list.

    Thanks again and I may start a WIP thread if feel confident enough but most likely not.


    Cheers,
    Mike

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cgcc View Post
    Looks great!

    Question though: how do the adjustable feet go with the weight? I've always assumed that with a very heavy bench, built to have enough mass not to vibrate for woodworking, they will overwhelm most off-the-shelf adjustable feet.
    Thanks Cgcc. The feet are fine as long as they're not extended too far. The most I've tried it at was with them extended an inch making the bench 925mm high. It still didn't budge at that height. They're really only supposed to be used for levelling and not for height adjustment. I've got them pretty much retracted with only a couple extended a few mm to compensate for my uneven slab making the bench is 900mm high which is perfect for me.

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