My First Workbench Build - A Journal

[Eric Schubert]

Had at it again tonight, managing to get the second slab fitted to the tenons. As with the first slab, there are some gaps around the sides of my tenons. It's not perfect. But, it is solid. The slabs aren't going anywhere. I'm still debating about lag screwing them down to keep them in place, just in case they dry and shrink at all.

It took a lot of effort, but I'm glad these are finally fitted to the base. But, I still have plenty to do.

The legs aren't perfectly flush or parallel with the edges of the slabs, so I need to get that done. I also need to plane the top slabs into a single flat plane for a continuous work surface. And I need to plane the ends of the tenons flush with the top of the bench. After all of that, I'll add the casters and vise to finish things off.

Some pics from tonight's effort:

[Oskar Sedell]

looks good! Thanks for keeping the posts coming!

[Pat Barry]

Congrats. That's a major milestone. Glad you could celebrate!

[Phil Mueller]

Nicely done, Eric. You’re on the home stretch. Regarding the lag bolts, I think you could certainly work with the bench for a bit and see if you think it’s needed. There’s going to be some movement in any bench. You’ll want to check/flatten the top in a few months or so anyway. If the joints are tight and solid, not sure lag bolts will add a lot.

Look forward to seeing the next updates.

[Robert Engel]

Thin shims can be inserted into gaps in DT's and other joints to close up gaps (how do I know that..................... LOL). Epoxy gives additional gap filling and strength.

Rather than lag bolts I would use 3/4" dowels and pin them.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, Oskar, Pat, and Phil! I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

Robert, if I wanted to permanently join the pieces together, I'd definitely pin the top to the legs. The other pinned joints I've used so far seem very strong. But, I designed the bench to be disassemblable in the case that we ever move, or I ever decide to build a second one. Then I can move the bench out of the basement without hiring 4 guys with gigantic muscles to maneuver it up the stairs. As it sits now, I can pull the slabs off, then remove the barrel nuts to take the ends off of the base. The whole thing breaks down into pieces that are easily moved.

[Eric Schubert]

BTW... I will say that knots in wood SUCK... I ended up dulling my chisels, and chipping the tip of my 1/2" chisel trying to cut through a knot passing right through one of my double mortises. I ended up breaking down and just using my oscillating multitool to cut through that super-dense wood. It also causes crazy changes in the grain around the knot, which ended up causing some tear-out inside the joint. Not a show-stopper, but it sure made it challenging.

Time for a sharpening session... it could take a while to get that chip out of my chisel...

[Eric Schubert]

Got a bit more done tonight. I shaved the tenons flush with the bench top. I also checked how flat and aligned the top slabs are. They seem to lean a little into the middle, leaving a bit of a dip there. Nothing huge, but probably a good 1/8" or so. Wondering if I should take that out, or just use it as-is..?

[Phil Mueller]

Well Eric, just my opinion, but you’ve come too far to have that bench top anything but level. 1/8” isn’t a lot, but it could make a difference especially if your working pieces that sit across the two slabs. Have another one of those cold ones and work through it. I think you’ll be glad you did.

[Mike Holbrook]

Nice beer choice. Left Hand Milk Stout was one of my favorites, before I went gluten free. I have been working on making a Roman Workbench\Sawhorse from a red oak log. Planes with wide or adjustable mouths come in handy for passing larger chips/shavings. I also ordered a “real” E.C. Emmerich scrub plane just before the LV free shipping period passed me. I am working on two other benches too. One bench is similar to yours. If I can ever get all my tools in one place. I am in the process of moving.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, Mike! Left Hand is only about a half hour away from me. They have a nice little tap room and tour. I'm definitely a fan of their milk stout, both regular and on nitro. There are so many breweries around here, it's kinda ridiculous.

I ended up just going to town on the bench top over lunch. Worked up quite a sweat! I flattened the top slabs so they were just about co-planar. It's hard to get them perfect, but they were pretty darned good all the way down the length of the bench. I achieved this by planing high spots to get them close. Then I worked diagonally across both slabs, in two directions (like an X) to try and get them to be pretty even. There are still a couple of low spots, particularly near the ends. But those would have required considerable planing to remove, and I want to keep the slab thickness as large as possible. The majority of the bench is looking good.

Now, I want to tip the bench on its sides and plane the legs flush with the edges of the slabs. They twisted a bit when I tightened everything together. So, I just have one high side that needs to be corrected on each leg. The inside edge is just about right on all of the legs. The outside edge is protruding a bit. So... more planing to go!

Once those are done, I'll attach the casters and install the vise. I may need new vise jaws... the ones I have may not be tall enough to match the height of the bench top. But, I'm considering just leaving it for now to see how much that affects how I work. Any opinions here..? How critical is it to have the top of the vise flush with the bench top?

[Eric Schubert]

Man... planing across the end grain of these tenons is just killing my blade! I had to re-sharpen again after a brief session yesterday.

I got a bit done this morning before work. One of the legs is now flush with the edge of the bench top. Three more to go... I'm hoping I can get these done before my parents arrive for a visit tomorrow. Still have to clean the house, though...

[Eric Schubert]

Put in time before and after work today to get this bench done. I got the legs planed flush with the edges of the bench top slabs. And then I installed the retractable casters to lift and roll the bench around. It's nearly complete, aside from installation of the vise. Probably won't be able to get to that part until next week, though. I have family coming into town for the weekend.