Recession/Depression low cost workbench...UPDATE June 13 2010 progress report

Rob Keeble

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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Hi all, well i am at a stage of woodworking where pretty much have the big tools and most of the little tools but every time i start a project i find myself needing some other jig i dont have.

This week its a workbench. I had to stop work on my Walnut project (to be posted another day) because i found myself working on the edge of the table saw fence. Thats when i said enough.!

So when Matt started on about workbenches i decided to build one of the plans i sent him from Popular Woodworking. Its called the $175 woodworker workbench but i hope to come in even less since i was given a nice old vice (pic later) to put on my bench.

This bench is a clever design using plain old pine from the borg (HD) and using a size where you get no waste. Total number of lengths required is 8 lengths of 2x8 12ft long. Pic out the best and cut to size. Glue up and voila workbench.

So part one here are the pictures to prove.

2x8x6ft all milled up.jpgAll cut down the middle wait i see a bench top forming.jpgFirst five slabs in glue up.jpgFirst of 4 slabs to make up the top.jpg

Will update as progress I have just glued up slab no3 hope to get this done by the end of the weekend.
 
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Progress Update

Hi All

Well after a little detour down idiots lane, I am back at it with the bench. As you can see from my vise post i did not stop progress while i sorted the jointer issue out.

So here are all the slabs all planned and jointed and waiting glue up.

I plan on making a drilling jig to drill and place a few dowels in each slab to try and keep them in line when gluing up.

Any comment to that idea being worthwhile or fruitless excercise? This is what i thought out not part of the budget plan.

See pictures of progress of slabs all stacked together.

Slabs all glued up and jointed.jpg

Hopefully I get to make some real progress this weekend.:) This was supposed to be a 30 hour project...Not!
 
Rob, that is one designed by Christopher Schwarz, so it will be a good bench, I'm sure you will get years of use out of it.

A couple of very simple mods I'd make to that bench, make sure you put dog holes in the clamping caul that will go on the traveling face of the vice you use, and make sure you have a set of dog holes that line up with the holes in the vice caul.

Then, buy at least two of theses............
MS-HOLDFASTXX.gif
>> Holdfasts By Gramercy Tools <<

and maybe a couple of these......
05g1001s5.jpg
>> Wonder Dogs <<

You bench will become your favorite tool in your workshop! :thumb:
 
I plan on making a drilling jig to drill and place a few dowels in each slab to try and keep them in line when gluing up.

Any comment to that idea being worthwhile or fruitless excercise?

What, no mention of possible using biscuits for this? What is the matter, afraid you will get the whole 'Biscuit Joining" thread started again? Coward!:D
 
Thanks Stu

And Bill you just gave me some real good Friday :rofl::rofl::rofl:. Thanks.

Oh yes i thought about biscuits....but i prefer the ones i eat with choc chips in them....yes (cookies to you) biscuits in real english.:rofl::rofl:

Seriously I thought the dowel would be more stable than a wobbly low depth biscuit.:)
 
...The last picture of the top looks REALLY GREAT !!...

My thoughts exactly. I've got an old rolling cabinet with a similar "butcher block" benchtop on it, but the top is old (it was my granddad's) and in need of replacement. I may just have to see how affordable a few 2x4s would be and try something similar myself.

As far as the glue-up, if the slabs are decently flat, I'd skip the dowels or biscuits and just use cauls at both ends to keep things aligned long enough to clamp it all up.

This is not drawn to the right scale for your project, but it'll give you the general idea:

Panel Glue-Up Cauls.jpg

I use wax paper under the cauls to keep them from sticking to the glue-up.
 
I think I agree with Vaughn.

I have the Christopher Schwarz workbench book. I just looked at the Roubo bench. He gives no advice on how to glue the intermediate slabs. Just make sure you leave the clamps on some extra time.

So I think you need to get something under them that is FLAT. that would be two 2x4's that you sight in like winding sticks. ( Not sure if winding is correct word. ) Then use cauls like Vaughn's picture.

Good luck and let us know that you do.
 
Progress update after july 26 weekend

Well I have made quiet a bit of progress on the workbench. Have the top completed and used dowels to keep it all in place. Worked like a charm except I should have done what Vaughn said but did not have wood any good to use on the idea. So now I have a slight bow in the top from clamping too much on one side. Will see if I can get a local shop to put it through their sander.

The bench vice given to me by a friend has been cleaned up and is ready ( have not yet decided on whether to paint it or not, still would like some bling so I still have in my mind to paint it Canadian flag red with nice hard white maple jaws.

Anyhow sometimes I never seem to learn patience and glued up my legs for the bench in too much of a hurry and no dowels so I lost a little but they clean up nicely on the jointer.

So at the start of the weekend I had legs and all the other bits of lumber cut to size and milled ready for the mortises to be hogged out and the tennons to be cut. bench legs.jpg

So first shot shows the legs with some of the mortises hogged out and others all cleaned out.mortise hogged out with forstner bit.jpgfinished mortise.jpg

Thought I would throw in a small note here about chisel sharpening for the guys who lurk and would like to learn.

There is no better gratification to me than when one learns and succeeds at sharpening a chisel. I had given these a go when I first got my grinder and lathe and turned new handles and used my water stones to sharpen them. But although I got them looking real good compared to what they were, well they just were not there. So after some time and thanks to Fine Woodworking recent article where two ordinary guys spent some time with Gary Rogowski I realized my mistakes. Patience again. This time what I did was start by lapping the back of the chisel till it was flat.

See before and after pictures.
chisels before.jpgchisle after lapping.jpg
Simply used the scary sharp system of water paper on the glass. Of course when it came to the bevel I used my Lee Valley jig to hold the chisel at the correct angle. Then the chisel was sharp but not real scary. So following on I got a piece of leather out and rubbed some of that green compound on and just lapped the back again and then a stroke or two on the bevel by hand. Wow now I graduated to the woodworking club. This was a right of passage and I was so excited I am sure they hear my whooping all the way in China. (well at least I am sure the NN heard them ) See this pic of end grain shaving which I cut with the chisel.
shavings with now sharp chisel.jpgend grain shaving.jpg

So on to the mortises with a sharp chisel it was such fun I was sad when it was all over.

Here is a mortise where I rough hogged out using a 1” forstner bit then the finished thing after the chisel and some hand work.
mortise hogged out with forstner bit.jpg
Fitted the tennons that I cut using the table saw and a dado stack.
tennons cut.jpgfitted tennon.jpg
So at the end of today I have the frame of the bench coming together.

bench legs dry fit.jpg
Next time I will drill the holes for the bolts in the front strecher and cut the tennons on the small side stretchers that go down low. I forgot to do these for some reason when I batched out the others.

Believe it or not this is all HD pine 2x8 that is behaving itself for now staying straight since I milled it. The legs came out great.

Overall I am please would still have liked a heavier set bench. This will be more than heavy enough but I am one of those overkill kind of guys so I would have preferred 4x4 legs.
 
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Man oh man have you got my attention!!! That is on the list to complete once the shop is functioning!! Keep 'em coming my man!! Keem 'em coming!!

One thing, okay if I use my square hole drill press to make the mortises?:D:rofl:

Seriously do like the looks of this. I have a solid core door from Larry that the SIL has latched onto for our reloading bench in a corner/wall of the shop. I want a good solid using bench in/near the middle so I can walk all around it. Also with my bad back it needs to be higher than most people prefer, bending really wakes up my back.
 
I bet Vaughn made this little drawing in about 3 minutes...does this make anyone else sick to their stomach, or is it just me :)

Just kidding Vaughn, you amaze me everytime you put up a drawing. Good stuff.


The bench is coming along nicely. I think I'm going to have to break down and build myself one of these soon also. I think it will come in handy to get some other projects going.
 
I'm following along jealously. I'd love a real bench, but first I need a shop with space for one. :doh:

And thanks for the props, Mike, but I'm a hack at Sketchup compared to some of the other guys here. I'm OK at squares and rectangles, but I'm still trying to wrap my mind around curves and finer details. :) There are also a lot of shortcuts and other cool tricks that I don't know...yet. I'll keep working on it slowly.
 
That bench is coming along nicely Rob!

A question, are you making the top over hang the legs, or flush with the legs?

I vote flush with the legs, then the whole front of the bench becomes another clamping fixture, not just the top of the bench. Also, I very much hope you are putting some bench dog holes in there and getting yourself some holdfasts, they work so well, I'm always coming up with new ways to use them on my bench!

Cheers!
 
Thank you all for your comments. Jonathan yup if i had one of those things i would have used it for the mortises but then there is a part of this right of passage that would be missing, that being the neaderthal part. Working with a really sharp chisel was wow such a delight.

Vaughn ( Mike) I really wish i had listened to your sketch. But i did not want to use the walnut i have as cauls that is far too special to me.:) And as for pine cauls well we all know how pine is. Hey you got a big fella yella lathe in your shop so how do you expect to fit a bench in.:rofl:. This is for us tiny turners. I am sure if you moved all the curlys out there is place for a nice bench.

Dan you might have to deal with the NN if you come to move anything out, hes better than a watchdog.:rofl:

Stu, this is all your fault.:rofl: Your bench and vice around the saw stop totally inspired me to get off my you know what and get this going. Especially the vice. I have been trying and battling without a ww vice in the workshop and it simply does not work.
Now as to the top. Just like you i will mount it flush with the legs although thats not what the plan calls for.

I plan on trimming round the edges with some of that Walnut Larry gave me, as he and i discussed it wont be the hardest hardwood to protect the edges but it will add the bling factor with contrast and when it gets beaten up then well i will simply cut it off and replace it. It also might be the back up plan to use as rails for the router to flatten the top completely if i dont find a shop around here that will wide belt sand it flat.

Then i plan on a leg vice but i will by the screw from good old LV.

One last bit of bling i plan is the maple leave dead center of the top as an inlay. Probably do this before i flatten the top. And i think i have made my mind up that the old vice will be painted red. Sorry to all those that voted to keep it unfinshed but against the contrast of the Pine and Walnut I think the red will look real cool. Hey this is what its all about tricking out the shop the way you like it. No? Thanks for the interest and encouragement.

For those that are lurkers here, aside from the vice this is probably the cheapest and easiest real ww bench you can build and if you select your wood carefully with the minimum of knots and good hefty pieces of pine rather than the real soft stuff, the bench has the heft required.

I cannot believe how enjoyable this project is.:):):):D:thumb:
 
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