Thread: WIP - Bunnings materials...

Great update and yes we do use our muscles to think?

I think it goes something like this, put that over there, no that looks out of place can you move it over there, what about upstairs?

Originally Posted by Christos

Great update and yes we do use our muscles to think?

I think it goes something like this, put that over there, no that looks out of place can you move it over there, what about upstairs?

Christos, at my house it's more democratic...'can WE move it upstairs?, Can WE move it to the other end of the house? Can WE put it back where it was in the first place?'

WE never seem to do the lifting though.

Aahhhhhh the proverbial "WE"

welll... not being able to do heavy work, I am trying to do the fiddly bits.
So last night I took apart my grandfathers dawn vice. It looks like it is in very good condition. lots of grease where you would expect it, and there is very little rust. nothing looks broken. I will hopefully get an hour or two over the weekend to give it a good scrub and re-grease and see how it looks.

greg.

Papas always have vices - but an eight inch quick release is not one (beer and tobacco are the ones most mentioned) In regard to the top surface - we had a long period of highly polished etc something my bench never suffered from. I note that recently I've seen a lot of benches are being dressed with a toothing iron to clean the surface and provide some grip. So get it substantially flat and use it. Neil

Originally Posted by brontehls

Papas always have vices - but an eight inch quick release is not one (beer and tobacco are the ones most mentioned)

I dunno, Neil, depends how many you have. Any how, in Oz there are no vises, whether you smoke them or not, even if you ship it from America. Customs still has an embargo on s for c, z for s imports.
Matt

Point taken about the spelling of vise.

I have been busy work working this week and this weekend. But I did manage to get to grandad's vise last night and clean it up. It all looks in very good condition. I might be able to clean it up a bit further(get rid of paint) this arvo and will take photos.

Um, no, Greg, you had it right. Vice with a c is the Aussie spelling, no matter what. Sorry, I blame myself for the confusion.

Originally Posted by Berlin

Um, no, Greg, you had it right. Vice with a c is the Aussie spelling

and British.

Vise has an admirable specificity to it, but I find it culturally insensitive.

I notice that both IanW and Derek have this character flaw, and so must be punished.

Then again, they sometimes read the rubbish I write on here so ... job done.

Cheers,
Paul

Originally Posted by mylesau

Have you considered removing the threaded rods now that it is all glued up?

I am considering a similar build as I have a mdf covered door at the moment. Is it imperative to have the threaded rod through the benchtop ? Can I get away with gluing and lots of clamps ?

Much appreciated

Cheers, Scott

Hi Ozzie
you could probably do it without the threaded rod. for me, I just didn't have enough big clamps, plus the rods were free, plus I wasn't going to clean off all the ridges off the wood, so it was doubtful they would stay together long term. For me, it was all about getting a solid top that would be long lasting and also cheap.

So... Progress.......
I have been going in and cleaning/leveling the top. It is taking a while. I have been using planes for this, but I am thinking I will resort to making noise and BIG mess with a router....
It is just a matter of finding time..
Greg.

Originally Posted by Greg_stewy

Hi Ozzie
you could probably do it without the threaded rod. for me, I just didn't have enough big clamps, plus the rods were free, plus I wasn't going to clean off all the ridges off the wood, so it was doubtful they would stay together long term. For me, it was all about getting a solid top that would be long lasting and also cheap.

So... Progress.......
I have been going in and cleaning/leveling the top. It is taking a while. I have been using planes for this, but I am thinking I will resort to making noise and BIG mess with a router....
It is just a matter of finding time..
Greg.

Cheers Greg. I'm thinking that I'll machine plane the timber and just glue up the top. I could breadboard the end to try & avoid getting any twist in the benchtop.
I too am trying to keep the costs down !
Thanks for the reply & the update.
When you get a moment put another photo or 2 up.

Cheers, Scott

Well It is now almost a year since I last posted..

In that time I pretty much hadn't done much. SWMBO would put "stuff" on the bench, and stay there for ages, then I would clean up and again it would happen. the last time I told her I would assume it was rubbish and dump it, and it hasn't happened since. this combined with other health issues, money, new job I just haven't had the time.

so I have been motivated by michael_m 's build thread, plus the one year anniversary of starting it and having appendix out have got me going again.
Part of the issue was I hadn't bought the timber for the frame, so I rectified that a couple of weeks ago. so what did I get:
90x90 pine for legs ($64)
90x45 pine for stretchers (end to end) ($40)
70x70 pine for spreaders between legs at ends of bench ($25)
I also bought some bench bolts from the recent working with wood show in brissy ($16)

progress:
- chopped the legs to length
- chopped spreaders to length and cut the tennons
- chopped three of the mortices in legs for one end (half way through the fourth). Hopefully I can complete the fourth tonight and take progress photos.

thoughts and observations:
- with my bench top, I have threaded rod going all the way through and I was just looking at using a veritas inset vice, but I found that the metal rod is in the way. so if I want to go down this path will have to knock out the rod and back fill it with dowel. I probably still will knock it out and fill for future, but may instead try using a combination of Bernoulli spiral clamps and notched battens
- the year has been good for drying out the timber. When I first bought it last year, it was still very sappy and wet. the time in the dry/hot garage has been good for it. and with the threaded rod, it has helped keep it relatively flat.
- I want to finish this so I can have fun and make beautiful things out of beautiful timber.

anyhow will hopefully post again tonight or tomorrow night.
Greg

progress:
- finished fourth mortise and dry fitted end together.
IMAG0045.jpg
- cut the tennon for the end to go into the bench top.
IMAG0049.jpg

next:
- still with this end, I will put the mortices in for the streatchers
- left to do: 12 mortises; 7 tenons;

thoughts and observations
- with all the mortice and tennons I have done the tennons first and then the mortices. I am thinking I would maybe get a better result the other way? opinions?
- I tried Paul Sellers method of doing a mortise, by doing two about 5mm apart. It worked pretty well for a mortise that was only the chisel width, but because I needed to do two and then join them, I found it easier and quicker to use a brace and bit to get the majority out and then just clean up with the chisels.
- I have enjoyed the mortising narex chisels I got a while ago. their handles may look like rhino poo (I saw someone else describe it that way and they are correct), but for me I found them comfortable and have managed to handle the beating I have given it.
IMAG0046.jpg
- I need to make myself a nice heavy mallet . I have used a standard timber hardware store one for the last 12 years, but for some reason it felt really light in my hands, so I grabbed the rubber mallet I use for putting big tent pegs in (about 2-3 times the weight) and have enjoyed the extra grunt.

I agree making your own mallet is a better option. I ended up turning one on the lathe out of some hardwood then made a second one out of oregon scrap i had lying around. Both are better than the store bought ones.