Dale Coons
07-03-2013, 11:56 AM
Just finished building Schwartz' portable workbench--it is my first and (so far) only bench. However, it is a vast improvement over my previous nothing! One thing I discovered was that it would be much easier to build a workbench....with a workbench :eek:. My joints would have been a lot better and mortises cleaner if I'd had something to hold the wood with. That said, it functions very well, and I am pleased to have something! It is made from some 8/4 maple and oak I had left from some other projects. It is surprisingly solid clamped to the end of the table saw.
265698
Beall Threader
The article I used to build this workbench recommended the Beall Threader for the screws. I tried to borrow one (thanks to those here who offered) but couldn't find the right size, so I wound up just buying one in the end. Before purchase, I looked around on the web and found one reviewer who had difficulty making the size for this bench (1 1/4) work with 3/4 inch thick 'nuts', even after talking to the maker. I'm happy to report it was probably his technique. I was able to thread a rod through a 2 1/2 inch thick test block without a problem.
265699
The tap works well, is well built, and I don't really have any 'dings' for it. The 'guide-block' on the end to help it go in perfectly straight works....perfectly!
The router 'die' is not nearly as stout, but does work well enough. The delrin die is held in the holder with a very small screw, and doesn't have enough support in my view--it hangs loosly in the hole it fits in, and moves around a lot when threading rod. Before I make more threaded rod, I will be rigging something up around the delrin insert to give it a bit more support. Other than that, the 'die holder' (a piece of steel screwed on the top edge of a piece of maple) is very sturdy and works well. A router is bolted to the top steel plate with wing nuts on a bolt. I used a laminate trimmer, but a small router (smaller than 2HP) would also work well. A big router would not be comfortable up there--at least for me. One suggestion I will be making to Beall tool is that they provide a short piece of drilled delrin with the correct size hole to use as a sizing device for those turning their own stock. I made one with 'arms' from scrapwood, but it's not the same as having a matching hole the size of the die opening to slide over the length of your stock. The directions are clear on how to set the router bit depth for good threads, and I was getting good threads after just a couple of tries--in fact, my setup rod was good except for the first couple of threads where I was making adjustments.
Good Advice/Bad Advice
There is some good advice for using the Beall Threader, both in the Schwarz article and elsewhere....and some potentially bad.
The good:
DO turn your dowels slightly undersized (a 'few thousandths'--be generous with a 'few'). This is essential, you will not get good threads otherwise, and your rod WILL bind. This is the single best piece of advice out there.
DON'T put the wooden holder down into a vise so low that the top of the vise is against the bottom of the delrin insert. I made this mistake, and had some binding problems on longer rods I was making (20-22 inch lengths). The problem is that the sawdust hole is completely covered when this is done, and the sawdust has no way to get out. It's a small hole anyway due to it's location, and the wood support piece already partially blocks it. Leave a good half to three quarters of an inch clearance.
DO feed the dowel at a slow steady rate, this will keep your threads uniform.
DO make your rods at least 12 inches long. Even if you only need a shorter piece, you'll find the extra length helpful to hang onto. I was threading up to 24" lengths without problems.
DO turn off the router before backing the rod out if necessary. If you don't have to back it out, don't--just keep turning it all the way through the die.
DO test every threaded rod in your test block to make sure it turns from end to end smoothly.
The bad advice:
Actually, I'd say this is potentially bad advice. I took it, but it wound up being helpful to me. The bad advice is to soak your dowels overnite in DNA before threading for cleaner threads. I soaked mine overnite in DNA as suggested in the Schwartz article. The result was dowels that swelled to an oval shape--they were no longer round, nor small enough to go through the die. I also found that even with soaking one of the dowels still had occational torn threads. However the other three were fine. I think this has more to do with the wood being straight grained than anything. I used maple for the rods by the way. The good thing about this 'bad' advice was that even though I had to re-true and turn the rods down a bit, I'm not sure they were enough undersized before the soaking/retrueing to make good rod! I'm not sure it actually helped with torn threads.
Bottom line: The threader worked well, I plan on getting some more sizes as the need comes along. Also, if you're looking for a fun and useful project, build this portable bench!
D.
265698
Beall Threader
The article I used to build this workbench recommended the Beall Threader for the screws. I tried to borrow one (thanks to those here who offered) but couldn't find the right size, so I wound up just buying one in the end. Before purchase, I looked around on the web and found one reviewer who had difficulty making the size for this bench (1 1/4) work with 3/4 inch thick 'nuts', even after talking to the maker. I'm happy to report it was probably his technique. I was able to thread a rod through a 2 1/2 inch thick test block without a problem.
265699
The tap works well, is well built, and I don't really have any 'dings' for it. The 'guide-block' on the end to help it go in perfectly straight works....perfectly!
The router 'die' is not nearly as stout, but does work well enough. The delrin die is held in the holder with a very small screw, and doesn't have enough support in my view--it hangs loosly in the hole it fits in, and moves around a lot when threading rod. Before I make more threaded rod, I will be rigging something up around the delrin insert to give it a bit more support. Other than that, the 'die holder' (a piece of steel screwed on the top edge of a piece of maple) is very sturdy and works well. A router is bolted to the top steel plate with wing nuts on a bolt. I used a laminate trimmer, but a small router (smaller than 2HP) would also work well. A big router would not be comfortable up there--at least for me. One suggestion I will be making to Beall tool is that they provide a short piece of drilled delrin with the correct size hole to use as a sizing device for those turning their own stock. I made one with 'arms' from scrapwood, but it's not the same as having a matching hole the size of the die opening to slide over the length of your stock. The directions are clear on how to set the router bit depth for good threads, and I was getting good threads after just a couple of tries--in fact, my setup rod was good except for the first couple of threads where I was making adjustments.
Good Advice/Bad Advice
There is some good advice for using the Beall Threader, both in the Schwarz article and elsewhere....and some potentially bad.
The good:
DO turn your dowels slightly undersized (a 'few thousandths'--be generous with a 'few'). This is essential, you will not get good threads otherwise, and your rod WILL bind. This is the single best piece of advice out there.
DON'T put the wooden holder down into a vise so low that the top of the vise is against the bottom of the delrin insert. I made this mistake, and had some binding problems on longer rods I was making (20-22 inch lengths). The problem is that the sawdust hole is completely covered when this is done, and the sawdust has no way to get out. It's a small hole anyway due to it's location, and the wood support piece already partially blocks it. Leave a good half to three quarters of an inch clearance.
DO feed the dowel at a slow steady rate, this will keep your threads uniform.
DO make your rods at least 12 inches long. Even if you only need a shorter piece, you'll find the extra length helpful to hang onto. I was threading up to 24" lengths without problems.
DO turn off the router before backing the rod out if necessary. If you don't have to back it out, don't--just keep turning it all the way through the die.
DO test every threaded rod in your test block to make sure it turns from end to end smoothly.
The bad advice:
Actually, I'd say this is potentially bad advice. I took it, but it wound up being helpful to me. The bad advice is to soak your dowels overnite in DNA before threading for cleaner threads. I soaked mine overnite in DNA as suggested in the Schwartz article. The result was dowels that swelled to an oval shape--they were no longer round, nor small enough to go through the die. I also found that even with soaking one of the dowels still had occational torn threads. However the other three were fine. I think this has more to do with the wood being straight grained than anything. I used maple for the rods by the way. The good thing about this 'bad' advice was that even though I had to re-true and turn the rods down a bit, I'm not sure they were enough undersized before the soaking/retrueing to make good rod! I'm not sure it actually helped with torn threads.
Bottom line: The threader worked well, I plan on getting some more sizes as the need comes along. Also, if you're looking for a fun and useful project, build this portable bench!
D.