Thread: Workbench just finished.

I was wondering about that, too, Jill. No criticism, Anglewood!

Originally Posted by JillB

What a magnificent effort - well done!!

I suspect you put the plane on the bench as a conversation piece or a diversion from criticism, so I will bite - I thought it was a big no-no to put planes flat on work surfaces etc

regards,
Jill

Thanks Jill the number 7 is too long to fit in the draw with the others so it lives on the bench till I finish my under bench storage.Normally parked on a piece of carpet offcut that wasn't very photogenic.
Personally rather keep my planes flat on a carpet piece or raise the nose on a thin slat,I cringe when I see planes laying on their side exposing the cutting edge.It's easer to sharpen a dull blade than grind out a nick from an inadvertent knock.

Now that, is a work bench...looks too good to use even, If I could build one half as good as that I'd be happy...well done

Top job Anglewood.

I am impressed with the cleanness of your dovetails.


Are your cabinets going to be deep for power tools or shallow for layout tools and chisels?


There is no problem with sitting a plane on a wooden surface. That is what it is meant for.
I always retract the blade when I am finished using a plane and rest the toe on a leather strip.

Thanks Scally I'm enjoying working with the extra bench space I have now .

Still looking at options for under bench storage with a ply insert cabinet divided in two;three draws down the right hand side for setting out tools chisels and planes ect.and a barrister bookcase type door on the left half housing finishing sander,router,biscuit joiner,dovetail and dowel jigs.
Because it's a walk around type bench thinking of having access to cabinet from the back with through type draws to make the most of the 600mm depth.
Trying to gather all the most used tools from around the shed and keep them under the bench to save the top being cluttered up with tools that normally live in different places.

I have similar thoughts.

The top drawers would have pencils, marking knives, squares because I am using them most of the time.
A pull saw gets plenty of use so I could have a section for it in the top drawer.
Block plane.

A mallet and hammer for knocking down Hold downs. I have three holddowns stored in the legs of my current bench and find that I use them a lot. Maybe I will put them in a top drawer with a mallet in the new bench.
Bench dogs.

After that I am not sure what I would put in the lower drawers?
I have wall cabinets for Layout tools, a chisel set and mallets and one with hand planes.

My idea was to have drawers that would open from both sides of the bench, like you said. But I am not sure. I keep thinking that the tool I want will always be at the wrong end of the drawer.
On my wall bench I have large, 900 wide, storage drawers. I have them on runners so it is easier to pull them out. I wouldn't be able to use runners on the workbench drawers because the wouldn't open from both sides.


I like the idea of several shallow drawers so I don't have to dig or search for what I am after. Maybe I will make the bank of drawers and add dividers after I see how I use the bench.

Picking up a couple of sheets of ply next week and will see what happens when I start setting out.
I like shallow draws also,and thinking of using tallowwood runners so I can push or pull the draw to access the back of the draw from the other side or slide it out easily and sit it on the top.
Maybe a larger draw at the bottom to fit my planes but 10 of them could be too heavy and a wall cabinet may be a better option. I usually just start with a plan in my head and develop on it as I go to suite the tools and work that interest me at the time.Thats why I like the idea of being able to slide the draws out easily and rearrange the divisions and contents to accommodate new tools as they come along.
There's no one size fits all in tool storage as in work benches so I'll be doing a bit of trawling through the net before starting.

Originally Posted by Anglewood

Still scratching my head over where to put it.

Always room in my shed