Dave Cav
05-03-2009, 11:04 PM
I finished my workbench this weekend. Attached are a couple of pictures, the first after I did the final assembly, and the second after finishing up a few details and putting a couple of coats of Watco on it. I think it turned out pretty well.
The top and vise jaws are 4/4 ash planed down to about 3 1/2" thick. The legs and stretchers are glued up from 4/4 alder. The front vise hardware was from Grizzly, and the end vise is an old Wilton that came off the previous bench. The end cap is oak, since that's what I had around, and the sliding jack is maple. I glued the top up in two 12" wide sections, then ran them through my thickness planer and glued up the two pieces. I did the final flattening all with hand planes. I used a Lee Valley straightedge across the bench as I planed it down and it's pretty flat, although there are a few slightly rough spots where I got some tearout when planing down the glue line. Over all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I have enjoyed using it so far.
The top and vise jaws are 4/4 ash planed down to about 3 1/2" thick. The legs and stretchers are glued up from 4/4 alder. The front vise hardware was from Grizzly, and the end vise is an old Wilton that came off the previous bench. The end cap is oak, since that's what I had around, and the sliding jack is maple. I glued the top up in two 12" wide sections, then ran them through my thickness planer and glued up the two pieces. I did the final flattening all with hand planes. I used a Lee Valley straightedge across the bench as I planed it down and it's pretty flat, although there are a few slightly rough spots where I got some tearout when planing down the glue line. Over all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I have enjoyed using it so far.