Thread: WIP Shaker Workbench with Split Top

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Thanks Mike for the pics. Been waiting for the bosch to go on sale on amazon as they seem great for the price.

It's been a while since AmazonOz have reduced the price. It's probably been more than a year. If they don't reduce it for the Christmas sale, I don't think they'll ever will again. You may have to swallow the bitter pill and pay full price or find a Scheppach clone. Good luck.

Hi All,

Sorry for the slight hijack but the thread has digressed a bit onto the Bosch Bench Drill PBD 40. It is on sale now groeneaj (Amazon Prime sale) for $319. I just bought one.
Now, lets hear more about Kahoy's beauty of a workbench.

Lyndon

But a useful and helpful digression!

Originally Posted by BEM

Hi All,

Sorry for the slight hijack but the thread has digressed a bit onto the Bosch Bench Drill PBD 40. It is on sale now groeneaj (Amazon Prime sale) for $319. I just bought one.
Now, lets hear more about Kahoy's beauty of a workbench.

Lyndon

No apologies necessary for the PSA. The more people know about the sale the better IMO.

As for the bench, I've attached all of the drawer runners/guides and installed 2 splines on the the 2 front mitred corners to help reinforce them.

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I marked out two 8mm wide splines going 65mm deep into the mitre......

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......but my sawing sucks and needs a lot of practise......

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.......so by the time I cleaned up the slots with some rasps, they ended up about 9mm wide. Good thing my thicknesser allowed me to slowly creep up on the exact fit.

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It still wasn't aesthetically perfect but it's tight enough to reinforce the corner especially with some epoxy.

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The 2nd corner came out a bit better and I reckon I'll probably have it nailed by the last corner. That is why I normally like to start on the side that is least visible and finish with the front side but I didn't want to flip this beast back and forth too many times.

Gees KahoyKutter. Now you're just showing off!

Originally Posted by BEM

Gees KahoyKutter. Now you're just showing off!

And why not. It's looking great

is there any particular reason to use epoxy vs something like the usual titebond-type wood glues?

More like a work of art, or a piece of furniture, mate. Loving your work

Originally Posted by Bernmc

is there any particular reason to use epoxy vs something like the usual titebond-type wood glues?

Better at gap filling??? Remember, KK knows what is below the surface; we do not need to know.

Originally Posted by Bernmc

is there any particular reason to use epoxy vs something like the usual titebond-type wood glues?

adjusting the open time of epoxy -- from < 5 minutes to > 1 hr is relatively easy. And allows both keys to be glued in one operation.

another possible reason is epoxy is what KK has on hand.

Originally Posted by BEM

Gees KahoyKutter. Now you're just showing off!

I think I may have you fooled. While I won't admit to anything, I will say that epoxy hides a multitude of sins!!

Originally Posted by Bernmc

is there any particular reason to use epoxy vs something like the usual titebond-type wood glues?

Mainly for the longer open time. It's made for more stress-free glue ups which makes up for the added mess. Also, I noticed on my other benches, there was a bit of "glue creep" especially where the leg tenons protrudes from the top. I'm solving that this time around by not having through tenons. Lastly, refer to my previous post about "hiding a multitude of sins".

Ok....I'm starting to get to what I regard is the fun bit, i.e. installing the leg vise.......

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I've cleaned up the cut out on the bottom of the rear chop which means I could mark out the clearance hole for the vise screw and the tenon shoulder.

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Then I installed the CrissCross mechanism and strapped the vise to my workbench and checked that the CrissCross wasn't fouling on anything. Everything seemed in order.......

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......so I proceeded to the next step which was to install the flange/screw/hub assembly and screw in the nut at the back. So far so good. Next up was the acetal bush and then check the action. I'm happy to report that the thread spins freely and the vise really does live up to its name and glides smoothly. I could then take it all apart and start shaping the front chop.

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I tried a couple of different shapes with fancier and more complex shapes but they just didn't feel right so I settled on a much simpler shape. I used a 67mm forstner bit (same size as the mortise for the acetal bush and rear nut) to drill the inside curve and then a diagonal cut at an angle that looked right. I then used my table saw to rip the lower half to the same width as the rear chop. And then I finally go to use my Ridgid spindle/belt sander to tidy up the transition.

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I then decided to round off the bottom. I did this by marking the sides by tracing around my largest marking tape and then using the Shinto saw rasp to hog out the waste and a couple of Auriou rasps fining with the #14. Then it was just a matter of hand sanding.

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The front chop was still looking a bit too "slabby" for my liking so I decided to chamfer the sides quite substantially. I did this predominantly using my OF1400 with a chamfer bit but the rounded base was proving too tricky so I went back to my rasps again. The blue tape acts as a line to work to.

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Here's a couple of pics of pretty much the final shape. I still have to cut the top chamfer, or I may round it off as per the bottom (I haven't decided yet), but that won't be until I finally mount it to the bench and get its final length. And I can't do that until I've flushed off all the drawer runners and stained the carcass but that's for next time.