Thread: WIP - My second workbench

Looking like the finish line is very close Fuzzie.

Those bench bolts are nothing special, really. The big problem I have found
is that the cross nuts - or barrel nuts if you prefer - are hard to come by if you
wnat to buy your own bolts to suit any length.

I'm calling the build finished. Anything more will be maintenance.

Flattening was a good aerobic workout. I started with a 5 1/2 then an 8 then I tried a 4 1/2 with a really tight mouth to takeout some more of the tearout in the gnarly grain. Overall I'm pretty happy with the finish given how rough the timber was to work with. There is a slight check in a piece in the rear left of the bench which is lifting and might have to be cut out before it causes a nasty splinter.

flatten.jpg

I'm going to use the bench for a little while before I commit to boring holes for the Record holdfasts. They don't just use a 3/4" hole but require a much larger steel collar to be sunk into the bench top.

A quick coat of BLO and away we go.
fin1.jpgfin2.jpgfin3.jpg

Fuzzie,
Great build on a big solid bench. Feels good when you finish a job like that. Time to get a cold drink and stand a while just watching it.
Regards
John

Yep John, a little rest is in order. Plenty of time for the BLO to dry. The tennis (planing) elbow is getting better, but I managed to hit it on the sawbench rail as I was planing the top yesterday and it feels a little bruised this morning.

Once the Fuzzette saw the bench with a finish coat on she thinks it would make a nice island bench in the kitchen, but given I can hardly move it I doubt it will wander into the kitchen by itself any time soon.

It's been a good learning exercise. This has been the first project I've had a serious tablesaw to use and the build wouldn't have been possible without it. Working out how to work effectively with the machines in the confined space of my garage workshop during the build has been educational.

Cheers,
Franklin

looks great

Very nicely done.

The bench has been in use for some months and I've completed a few projects and thought an update with a few observations was in order.

Firstly the Ironbark is really quite brittle and prone to chipping rather than denting when knocked on the edges. The bench although heavy also has a tendency to creep on the concrete floor. I expect the large leg profiles tend to act as efficient skates and I occasionally find myself having to give it a nudge back against the wall. All in all I wouldn't recommend others use Ironbark as a first choice timber for a bench.

I am appreciating the flat top but am finding it harder to keep clean. Where I used to brush shavings into the well I now find myself brushing them to the floor in front of the bench and I'm spending more time with the broom keeping my standing area clean. Having more chips on the surface of the bench also makes it easier to catch them under a piece being worked on. If I don't brush astutely before clamping down a piece to be morticed I'm finding it more common to have an unexpected dent from capture shavings when I release the clamps.

The tail vice is working well. I'm using it a lot. I like it for my type of hand work.

The face vice has been a problem. I found the 9" Joplin very heavy and the quick release not much chop. I really needed two hands to operate it, making it difficult to also hold the workpiece while closing the jaws. I lost count of the number of times I've jammed my finger in the quick release lever while trying to turn the handle and the split nut really needs a stronger spring to ensure it always stays engaged when manually winding. I think it also racked more than the smaller vice I previously used.

I've just taken the decision to swap the Joplin out for my old 7" Dawn. The mounting holes obviously don't line up so there was a bit of work involved and I managed to snap off a coach screw while mounting the Dawn which was not amusing!!!! I was being over careful not to drill through the bench top from underneath when predrilling for the screws and undercooked one hole. Note for future reference to make sure holes for coach screws really are deep enough for the intended fastener before cinching up tight!

The sliding deadman is good, but I allowed too much slop in it's height and it has a tendency to rotate and jamb if pushed from the top rather than the bottom. Not sure whether to work on the skate at the bottom or add a slip to the height to fix this.

joplinJaws.jpgdawnJaws.jpg

Thanks for the update

I might suggest to keep a bucket near you when sweeping shaving off the bench. It means one step less when cleaning the floor. I have two that I use for general rubbish at opposite ends of the garage.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

Fiddling around trying to fit the Joplin Quick Action vice to the bench. The vice has been on the floor in the garage for many years after I picked it up at auction. I haven't really played around with it until now. I noticed it has a bit of an issue winding out. At about 1/3rd way out the split nuts lose grip and the screw mechanism slips.

Looking around at quick action vice threads here, it looks like most have some issue or other. The Joplin mechanism looks substantially different to pics of the Dawn and Record models I can find pictures of. The Joplin holds two halves of a split nut together with a binding spring. It looks to me like that spring could be somewhat stronger. On the other hand the nut sits down into a bit of a collar when under load which helps draw them together.

Attachment 256513
I took the brush to the crud in the threads and rubbed a bit of surface rust off things. The threads all look pretty clean so I don't think there is anything major wrong with the vice. I'll guess I'll just have to wait until the bench is in use and see how the vice works under load.

G'day Fuzzie,
If you still have that joplin, I would dearly love a closeup of the spring.
Picked one up an its missing the spring for the half nuts.

Regards, Garr

Hi Garr,
The Joplin was moved on shortly after I swapped it out, but I've managed to find a picture of the spring mechanism. I'm of the opinion the single twist spring was original, but in my estimation it needed to be much stronger.

Hope this helps.
Cheers Franklin
quickAction.jpg

Hi Franklin,

Thanks for that.
Knowing what the spring looked like may help in fabricating something to suit.
Guess I will try a spring from a simple spring clamp.
Unfortunately, when I zoom in on the pic, it pixilates badly.
Your effort and description helps.
Kindest Regards,Garry

What are you using to view the picture? If I double tap the image, it goes to full screen and I can then expand it without very much change in clarity.

The image is 1024x768. If you click on the thumbnail it should pop up in a larger window and if you click again it will go full size.