Workbench W.I.P Part 4

**Dust Mite** · 31st July 2006, 07:31 PM

Well the past weekend saw the rest of the top for the workbench machined and assembled.

And tonight after work I planed, sanded and gave it its first coat of clear gloss polyurethane.

I was happy with the resulting color tone of the two timber types. Looks kinda pretty too or so the wife tells me

So without further ado some piccys for you

Pretty much all straight forward stuff.

This photos is very close to the actual color tone of the wood.

And this photos shows the variation in grain of the Oregan Pine with the Rimu border

The end pieces are glued, screwed and dowel pinned. This was done to ensure good rigidity as the ends of the bench will see a lot of clamp work over time.

Even after one coat the gloss finish shows. The top will get a minimum of three coats and most likely will get a yearly sand and a wipe on coat , just to keep it fresh.

Once the first coat has hardened off the dog holes will be added and the vise gear prefitted. Once thats done the top will be fixed to the base.

Oh and the size of the top is 1830mm x 620mm.

**Clinton1** · 31st July 2006, 07:57 PM

Hey Dusty,
Nice one, I've been watching the other Parts with interest.
Seems to be a heap of variation in the grain of the Oregon, some old growth and some quicker growing stuff.
Did you notice a difference working the two?

**Bodgy** · 31st July 2006, 09:33 PM

I made my benchtop from Oregon too, I like the grain patterns, but after a few days of use, I does get very beaten up.

On suggestion, to make it look really schnick, drill your end screws in a bit further and plug the holes with dowel or some filler.

Good job

**Dust Mite** · 31st July 2006, 10:13 PM

Thanks guys. Yes there was a good deal of difference between the older and newer wood. The older stuff was real splintery and I got a few in me hands for my troubles. I wear gloves now when handling the roughsawn wood.

The end screws will be removed when everything has dried off properly and be replaced by more dowel pins. The 75mm screws are only there for a short period, and are to help keep pressure on the end joints until the glue is well cured.

Three coats of poly should help to harden the benchtop and a sheet of sacrifical 6mm hardboard will be used for drilling and other harder wear situations.

**Tex79** · 1st August 2006, 04:46 PM

Great Bench Dust Mite, you've done a fantastic job.
It almost seems a shame to actually do any work on it but I guess once it has it's first "scratch or ding" you'll be right to proceed!!!

**HotChips** · 18th August 2006, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by Dust Mite

Once the first coat has hardened off the dog holes will be added and the vise gear prefitted. Once thats done the top will be fixed to the base.

Excellent job. I love Rimu too. Damn expensive tho' I find.
I've made a bench a little while ago and it's been mentioned to me to drill for dog holes, but I have no idea how they work or what purpose? Can anyone fill me in a bit on them?

**Dust Mite** · 24th August 2006, 09:07 PM

Ok bench dogs are simply square or round pegs sited in rows along the bench and in line with the vises. Usually the holes for these are drilled through or checked out during the construction of the bench top.

This bench has a row of square dog holes in a single line to be used as adjustable stops when planing timber http://www.workbenchdesign.net/image.../wbcab6640.jpg

Have a good look around this site, theres a lot of top info here and some very good links.

http://www.workbenchdesign.net/image.../wbcab6640.jpg

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