Jared McMahon
12-08-2010, 1:29 AM
I've finally begun my workbench in earnest. It will be a fairly pure Roubo/French workbench in its shape, rough dimensions and simplicity. There are a number of facets of woodworking that interest me and I want to keep my set-up flexible until/unless I find something I want to focus on that requires a particular working style.
The top will be roughly 84 x 24 x 3-1/2, the legs 4 x 4, and the final height around 34. I'm leaving generous overhangs on each end. The left will have enough room for an Emmert clone, the right enough for the LV quick-release tail vise. If someone today gave me a coupon for any two vises, these would probably be my choices, but those dimensions will allow me a lot of options. In the meantime, I intend to make a twin-screw press vise like the one Schwarz made a little while back based on Moxon and Felibien. That will be supplemented by going through the bench hardware page of the LV catalog and basically saying "One of each, please."
Discoveries thus far:
- wood can be very heavy
- handplaning can be fun
- hardwood snaps the heads off of screws
- I love my Grizzly neaderbuddy
As for the wood, I'm using 1" thick (technically 1-1/8") laminated beech counter tops. Three of those are glued up for the top, two others have been ripped and are being glued up for legs and stretchers. My sawmill of choice is Ikea. I'm leaving one of the logos exposed on the underside of the top to remind me of my bench's Swedish heritage.
Initial pictures attached. The first is the glue-up of the first two bench top layers, the second is breaking down the full-length ripped pieces into leg components, and the third is its "birth mark".
Jared McMahon
The top will be roughly 84 x 24 x 3-1/2, the legs 4 x 4, and the final height around 34. I'm leaving generous overhangs on each end. The left will have enough room for an Emmert clone, the right enough for the LV quick-release tail vise. If someone today gave me a coupon for any two vises, these would probably be my choices, but those dimensions will allow me a lot of options. In the meantime, I intend to make a twin-screw press vise like the one Schwarz made a little while back based on Moxon and Felibien. That will be supplemented by going through the bench hardware page of the LV catalog and basically saying "One of each, please."
Discoveries thus far:
- wood can be very heavy
- handplaning can be fun
- hardwood snaps the heads off of screws
- I love my Grizzly neaderbuddy
As for the wood, I'm using 1" thick (technically 1-1/8") laminated beech counter tops. Three of those are glued up for the top, two others have been ripped and are being glued up for legs and stretchers. My sawmill of choice is Ikea. I'm leaving one of the logos exposed on the underside of the top to remind me of my bench's Swedish heritage.
Initial pictures attached. The first is the glue-up of the first two bench top layers, the second is breaking down the full-length ripped pieces into leg components, and the third is its "birth mark".
Jared McMahon