6 Attachment(s)
Figured Maple and Jatobá Workbench
Attachment 517270
This workbench was based on the plans from East Oak Woodworking. The top is a bit over four inches thick. It features through tenons to connect the top to the base and pinned tenons connecting the components of the base. I made the dowels myself using a Pantorouter.
Attachment 517271
Attachment 517272
Dog holes were cut with a router guided by a template I made using Shaper Origin. The dogs come from Inkleined and each has a magnet to keep it in whatever position it's put in.
There's a 20 inch tail vise and 24 inch bench vise, both of which are Twin Turbo Vises. The twin turbo vise was the inspiration for building this workbench because it looks so cool and I was so fed up with the bike chain coming loose on my previous twin-screw vise.
Here's a close up of the tail vise:
Attachment 517273
There are two wagon vises. Each has a magnet embedded in it. The knobs on the corners of the tail vise control a MagJig embedded in the tail vise. I machined a custom adapter to allow me to attach a standard knob to the rubber handle of the MagJig. The sides of the tail vise are stainless steel, thanks to SendCutSend.
I also built a lift mechanism using two motorcycle lifts. I machined adapters to extend the lifts’ hex studs to the exterior of the table. I Nickel plated them using a Caswell plating kit. I installed a brush around all four sides of the jacks to prevent screws from rolling under them.
Attachment 517274
The gap stop lifts up by pulling it out a few inches and serves as a low fence to hold work.
Attachment 517275
For finish, I used two coats of Rubio Monocoat followed by a ceramic top coat.
Shout out to Maker Nexus for having an awesome metal shop that made some of the custom parts possible.
This project took about 13 months. It replaces a much more utilitarian workbench that I used for 20 years, and I expect this is the last one I'll ever build. I learned a lot during the build. I ended up making the base twice because of a measurement error. I made the tail vise about three times because of a comedy of errors. I learned how not to plane figured wood. This was my first real project with machining, so I learned a ton about metal lathe and milling but I still have a very long way to go.
