Building Potting Benches

[Jim Koepke]

A member asked me to post more information on my potting bench build after seeing my recent post about using a story stick for building two more potting benches. The benches seem to sell well at our local farmers market. Last year we did have a couple of times where two could have been sold if there were two to sell. This year we want to be prepared and try to keep stock on hand. Hopefully it won't be too hard to build more as needed.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?227480-Here-s-Another-Story

There are a few design elements to consider. This is not fine furniture, but it also somewhat better than bolting and nailing some lumber together without some extra joinery for strength.

When picking out the lumber to make a potting bench it is helpful to ensure it has clear edges (without knots) for the rabbets to support the shelf slats. I also try to make sure there is enough clear wood to have very few knots in the top shelf.

The shelf design is made for standard 20X10 nursery trays.

The slats for the shelves are cut to 19". With the rabbeted supports the shelf comes out to just a little over 20" deep. Five pieces at 19" works out to an inch of scrap left over from 8' stock.

The length of the shelves are made to be long enough so the legs can be half lapped on to them and there will still be ~40" between the legs so they fit over the wheel wells in my truck for transport.

The bottom of the lower shelf is 15-1/2" from the bottom of the legs. This allows room most 5 gallon buckets to slide underneath the bench.

The back legs are 5' and the front legs are just under 3'. This is due to lumber being purchased from Home Depot in 8' lengths.

So here is today's installment of work in progress.

The ends of the runners will have a tail cut on them for the joinery so if there is a knot on the end it is either trimmed off or the piece is flipped to see if the other end will yield a piece with two good ends.

The shelf runners were cut (yesterday) using a story stick to mark their size:

306899

A fat line is used for pieces marked a little proud for shooting and dovetails. The head is set to the side farthest from the base of the stick. The pencil lines and wording will get inked when the project is finished. This will be one of my "preserved" sticks for use on the same project in the future. Changes can be made using a block plane for an eraser. Some of my story sticks are used then erased when the next project need it.

After all eight runners were cut, a rabbet plane was set to just a little less than the thickness of the shelf slats. This allows for the slats to be planed a little and then the ends will be chamfered.

306897

The runners are examined so the better looking face goes out. Also it is best if one doesn't have to rabbet through a lot of knots. Cedar can have some squirrelly grain so it helps to slit the back edge of the rabbet before starting:

306894

This a Stanley marking gauge with the pin sharpened like a knife blade. It leaves a nicely scribed edge to the rabbet.

Time to make some shavings:

306898

After the rabbet plane reaches depth (here it is just shy of 3/8") the rabbet is checked and adjusted for square as needed. Here are the planes used on this step.

306895

This could all be done with only a standard rabbeting plane and a smoother. Here the smoother is a #3 sized plane. The other planes are a shoulder plane and a pair of side rabbets. For me these planes make it a lot easier for cleaning up any roughness on the rabbet walls. If one only has a rabbet plane then cut all the rabbets first before changing the setting to do the clean up. It may also be a good idea to sharpen the blade before starting. Mine was recently sharpened, but after today it would probably do good to give it a hone before the next time it gets a workout.

Here is the stack of finished runners/rails for the shelves.

306896

Next will be the sides and dovetails.

jtk

-- to be continued

[ken hatch]

Jim,

Nice write up....I will be following.

ken

[Bill Adamsen]

I too will follow. What does the finished product look like. I can also be patient and wait 'till done.

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Jim. Anything that will be used outside reveals the quality of the build with how well it stands up. So, safe to say your customers will appreciate your efforts as they use these for years.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jim,

+1 more on enjoying the post. My wife and I currently live in a dry and windy area, and since living here have done very little gardening. We also live on a south edge of town, where there is little to nothing to block the dry hot wind so gardening is tough in our yard. A friend lives just a half mile away or so, but has lots of trees, fences, and houses between him and the south edge of town, and the difference in the potential for a garden is amazing.

In a few years, however, we are planning to move to where one set of kids and grandkids live, which has excellent gardening potential. I used to have a pretty large and productive garden, so the potting bench is interesting both as a woodworking project and as a potential useful item for gardening. (I used to do most of my own nursery work for the garden plants.)

At any rate count me as one more who is enjoying the post and also looks forward to more as the projects winds its way along toward completing. I hope they sell well.

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

What does the finished product look like.

Here are some from the past:

306928

This one was put on the truck and sold before any decent pictures were taken.

306927

This one took a while to sell. During the months when the farmers market was closed I changed the back:

306930

All the items in this image have been sold except the tool tote.

jtk

[Reinis Kanders]

Nice work Jim. Those benches can sell well in suburban market, William Sonoma now even sells chicken coops and potting benches ($600). Your bench looks better than theirs.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/gronomics-potting-bench/?pkey=coutdoor-garden-furniture&cm_src=outdoor-garden-furniture||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

I have about 1/2 acre garden/orchard that keeps me quite busy during the season, but honestly never felt a need for a potting bench.

[Jim Koepke]

I have about 1/2 acre garden/orchard that keeps me quite busy during the season, but honestly never felt a need for a potting bench.

A potting bench comes in handy if you do a lot of starts from cuttings or if a lot of your garden is in containers.

We always tell potential buyers the dry sink can be filled with a bag of ice for backyard parties.

Today the end pieces for the shelves were cut. First the story stick was marked:

307020

Everything was set and checked (and rechecked) for square. The fat mark indicates the piece being cut proud.

Here it is used with a try square to mark the stock:

307022

The head stock is set against the end, the square moved into place, the stick is set up against the vise and the line is scored with a knife.

The stock is then moved to the cutting benches seen behind me in this and the next picture.

After the piece is cut, the stock is checked and any chaff is knocked off the end with a block plane so it doesn't throw off the next mark:

307023

The story stick can be seen here leaning against the tail vise.

After all the end pieces were cut it was on to cutting the tails on the front and back rails.

A pair of dividers was used to step off 1//4 of the width of the rail. This was used to step in from the edges. This makes the outside of the tail 1/2 of the total width and the pins 1/4 of the outside width. Both ends of all the rails were marked with a pencil before marking the tail angles.

307025

Then the each board was scribed with a wheel gauge and the angled cut lines were drawn on the face:

307021

This was done by laying out the tail on both ends of a rail, cutting it out and then going to the next rail. It actually went fairly smoothly and ended up like this:

307024

Next it is cutting the pins.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

The first step in many an endeavor is getting organized. The making of two of anything needs to start organized and stay organized.

This means marking the work:

307286

For this project there is top shelf and bottom shelf, front pieces and back pieces. The least attractive piece will be on the bottom back. Pieces are marked | or || for bottom or top respectively. There is an arrow drawn to indicate the show side. These marks are all in the waste area of the pin board. Other marks will be on the pieces in areas where they will not show.

Often I have noticed my dovetails fit better later into the project. So it has become my practice to start with the least to be seen or worst corner to start my dovetails.

Before cutting the pins, the tails are checked for square and are given any attention needed:

This is also a good time to check all the pieces for uniformity in length and make any adjustments as needed.

Once all the tail boards are checked and attended the first pins are marked.

307290

The set up is pretty much standard dovetail. The vertical piece was up against the pin board and used to set the tail board's top flush with the top of the pin board. The square was used to keep everything honest. A knife is used against the tail to mark the end grain of the pin board.

The marks on the end grain are used to line up a wheel gauge to mark the depth.

307287

It actually helps a bit when it is time to pare to have the gauge marks extend a touch past the cut lines. Here the gauged lines were darkened with pencil for clarity. The arrow (looks like a line with an X) points up. The 1Ω (omega) matches a mark on the tail board. These marks are on the inside of the pin board and will be hidden after the pieces are glued.

There are many ways to cut dovetails. Here is what works for me. First the kerf is lightly started, sawing from the outside face:

307288

Then the saw is tipped back to "saw to the line" while staying in the starting kerf to keep the saw on line:

307285

When the scribed depth line is reached, the saw is leveled out to cut the other side.

307284

The waste was cut out with a fret saw on this piece due to my having some concern about the knot. Since my skill is getting better with a fret saw they all may be sawn first then pared. This makes sense with cedar since it is easy to compress and make a mess of it all.

307291

Often mentioned as a test for sharpness is being able to pare pine end grain. Cedar is a bit more difficult to pare cleanly than pine.The inside of the joint was chamfered to help prevent chip out. Still had just a little. That is why most of the paring is done from the outside. The knot made for some denser wood here. We will see how it goes on the next piece

307289

First one looks good, now just fifteen more like it.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice fit! I like the proportions of those dovetails as well.

[Jim Koepke]

Actually it should be Depins, depins, depins since that was today's work. First off here is the first shelf frame finished with dimensions for those who want some:

307409

After this was fit together an idea came to me of making a pair of sliding blocks with points for a story stick so they can be used for checking the squareness of a frame. Another project for another day.

For marking the tails the pin board is brought up flush with a piece for the tail board to rest upon. It is also set square to the bench top:

307411

Then another piece is set up to be a guide for the tail board to butt against. This is also checked for square:

307412

You can see in some of the images that my scribe line doesn't go much beyond the edge of the socket. With single tail set ups this works. It might not be so easy with multiple dovetails on a single board.

In the past my method of choice for removing waste when making dovetails was to chop with a chisel. Lately my ability with a fret saw has been improving and it seems faster to cut most of the waste by sawing. With chopping there is a tendency to cause tear out, especially in softer woods.

Before paring the waste left after sawing the inside of the socket is chamfered to the scribe line:

307410

My preferred chisels for this have a skewed edge. These are made from 1/2" square sided chisels. They are also quite helpful in cleaning dovetails sockets.

After chamfering the inside, the piece is flipped and the initial paring is done from the outside down to the scribed line.

Trying to remove too much at a time when paring can cause tear out:

307413

Here it is seen on the right where a thick shaving was removed. Chopping out the waste can leave what look to be big canyons at the bottom of a socket or between tails if done too aggressively.

On the left the white lines that look like scratches are from nicks in the chisel's cutting edge. Most of my sharpening of late has been on a couple of fine oil stones. Since the nicks do not impair the chisel's ability to cut a fine shaving the time hasn't been taken to soak a coarse stone and work out the little nicks.

jtk

[Jeff Ranck]

This has been interesting to read and learn how you work with that cool story stick of your. Keep it coming!

[Jim Koepke]

The shelf frames are finished. The story stick seems to work for checking squareness:

307732

It could be much more eloquent. It will be put on the to do list with improvements tossed in.

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

I don't have any plans to make a potting bench any time soon but I still love following along as you build. If my wife sees yours, I may be building one sooner that expected.

I work with pine a lot. It will test you patience and the sharpness of your tools. When you can get a smooth surface along the baseline of a dovetail in pine, you're doing it right :) Nice work, Jim and thanks for taking the time to photograph and post your build.

[Jim Koepke]

Out of the shop a few days.

Today was mostly spent prepping the shelf slats. Three planes and a drill press. (Oh the humanity!!!) The shelf slats are all 19" long.

The planes were a #4, #5 and a #102.

The #4 was used for smoothing mostly:

308065

It was often necessary to skew the plane to get more of a slicing action.

The #5 was used mostly on the edges:

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The #5 was occasionally called into service for smoothing as was the #4 to help tame the edges in places.

The #102 was used for breaking the corners:

308062

My left hand is supporting the piece during this procedure. At times my left hand was doing the planing or at other times the #102 was pulled depending on how the grain was running.

and chamfering the ends:

308063

The dogs on the bench help hold the piece steady for this. Then the center dog is just pressed back down to make way for the next piece.

A guide was made to help pre-drill the holes for the 4d galvanized nails.

308064

This helps to prevent the top piece from splitting. The galvanized nails do not rust and discolor the wood. The desired angle was eyeballed with a bevel gauge used to make the fixture. The drill is set to the center of the fixture and then there are guide blocks on either side to place the holes. They look a lot nicer with even spacing than with the variation that comes if they are driven without pilot holes.

My plan is to make one "premium" bench with a dry sink and minimal knots on the shelf slats. The second bench will be offered at a lower price without a sink and the shelf slats will have some knots.

It won't surprise me if people buy the "standard" model for a price savings.

My father had a furniture store. People would come in and look at a roll top desk and say they could get it for about half the price somewhere else.

He finally started carrying the lower priced model. He would show people how one was made of solid oak, the other of particle board, plywood and veneers. He would explain the joinery. He would have them lift the light end of each. Most could lift the inexpensive one. Most couldn't lift the oak model. Still, people decided they wanted the less expensive model.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

The slats were laid out to mark where the dry sink will fit in.

They were checked for square:

308222

There will be three slats to the left and three slats to the right of the cavity for the sink. The tub used on these is a 12 quart dish tub available for a few dollars. The base needs to be about 7" below the bottom of the shelf slats. The rails for mine were cut from a piece of 1X12. The piece was ripped to be 8-5/8". This allows for 3/4" of wood under the slats to support the tub. It can accommodate a larger tub or people can figure out other ways to hold dirt. We always tell folks it is a great place to hold a large bag of ice if they are having a party in the back yard.

The space between the slats is 11/32". Haven't decided if that will be maintained on the sink cover or if the center will be left wide for a hand hold.

A line was marked at the edges of the slats to mark a center line for the sink rail dados. The story stick was used to check if both sides are equal:

308226

After taking a break to come back and look again, the dados were laid out:

308221

The dividers were set to half the width of the wood for the sink rails. Each side of the dado was stepped off with the dividers from the center line. The square was set against the divider point and then the sides of the dados were scribed with a knife:

308224

Then the depth was checked on both shelf stretchers and marked on the underside of the shelf stretcher for depth of cut:

308223

This is one of the things that is nice about a wheel style gauge. Most pin gauges have a bit hanging beyond the pin.

Sawing to the line:

308225

The bottom of the dado is flush to the rabbet for the slats. Half of each sink stretchers will be underneath the slat on the sides of the sink.

Too many images for one post so to be continued… (after dinner)

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

(long dinner... there was some music, dancing and a movie... )

When the sawing was done the waste was removed using chisels:

308238

Here a skew chisel is paring out the side of the waste. Making a mound in the center of the waste material. This makes it easy to remove with a straight chisel followed by a router plane.

308239

It may be hard to see the dog against the edge of the tail. The chisel force is mostly one direction. After this picture was taken the set up was changed to what is shown below.

A router plane isn't absolutely required. It does make the bottom of the dado neater. The router also helps if the dado is visible at both ends to help eliminate gaps from bumpy dado bottoms.

Here is the set up for holding the work piece in place during the chisel work and routing:

308240

A bunch of dogs popped up along the front and a big dog and hold fasts on the other side. The piece was loose, but stable for the direction of forces from the router. This makes moving it around easy. Another one of those vise less solutions.

This is #3 pine. It is about half the price of the #2 pine at the borgs. If selected carefully it is as good as the #2. It does have some squirrelly grain at times. For this piece I know the grain switches and isn't near straight. So that is where a marking gauge with a knife point helps a lot:

308241

Both sides of the area to be plowed are scribed

308242

Sometimes with the piece being plowed that far over the edge it helps to have a clamp holding the far side. Here it wasn't needed. The grain was so bad at the far end full depth could not be reached. When the slot was established to depth at the end closest to the camera, the fence was taken off and the plane was run left handed to finish the reversed grain area.

Finally the bottom edge of the sink has the bottom rounded so someone reaching under the bench doesn't hit their hand on a harsh corner:

308243

Next comes the fitting it all together and then gluing up the frames.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

So much to do, so little time to do it all.

Thanks to all for the kind words.

Something to remember when drilling the pilot holes for the nails, don't drill holes in the pieces that will be used for the hatch.

Here is a bit of the progress to date. After cleaning out the dados a piece of scrap is used to make sure the dry sink framing can fit:

308409

A side rabbet plane or a chisel can be used to trim a dado if it needs adjustment:

308415

If trimming was needed it was only done to the edges of the dados toward the inside. Of course, this is if all the dados match before any trimming is done.

Keeping a few pieces of scrap from a project in progress can be helpful. If vises rack, use some scrap. Want to check fit or even a plane's setting use some scrap.

With the preliminary fitting settled the glue up was next. Still too cold in the shop so this was brought inside the house:

308411

The blocks under the clamp faces were made to be narrower than the thinest part of the tails.

The shelf slat is snug when in place so it was used as a gauge to see if the undercarriage pieces needed adjustment:

308410

Off the saw it tended to cause the slat to be loose. A few shavings on the shoot board fixed the fit.

Once the pieces were adjusted to fit their corners were marked for a radius cut:

308413

The ends of the carriage pieces were marked for the dado length. All the area outside of the dado was rounded over including the end of the slots:

308414

A gouge is used here, but a chisel could also be used to trim this to eliminate any points or sharp edges.

When all was right, the sink frame sides are set aside. The shelf slats are installed first. Some time was spent before the sink frame fitting to arrange the slats for a pleasing appearance. Once that was decided one end of the slat is marked with its side and position with an arrow pointing to the side from which it is numbered. (L1, L2 & L3 for left 1, 2 & 3)

Then the slats are attached using 4d galvanized finish nails:

308412

The slats are installed starting from the center of the dado for the sink hangers. the second one is installed using a spacer. For this bench 11/32" works. Having a little space between the slats allows any spilt potting soil to fall through for easier clean up over time.

It is fairly easy to determine the spacing between each slat by setting all the slats tight together and measuring the extra space. Do a little math and dimension a piece of scrap hardwood. Attaching a handle helps to keep it from falling through the cracks.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Getting back to work on the potting bench build is a bit hap-hazard this time of year with all the other things to be done.

The legs are being worked on currently.

The first order of business is laying out the lap joints to support the shelves:

309188

The bottom of the lower lap joint is marked with the leg and the story stick butted against a fence clamped to the end of the bench.

A piece of the scrap from the wood used has a little bit shaved of with a plane so it will set securely against a try square:

309185

This will make the cut out just a bit smaller than needed. A little paring with a chisel or a side rabbet plane will be used for the final fit.

My preferred saw for cutting a lot of lap joints is a Bishop 10. It has a back than can be set to control the depth of cut.

309189

A piece of scrap is marked to the same depth as the lap joint. A pencil line makes it easy to see.

To make things easier the knifed line is notched with a chisel:

309191

There is a fence set up at the end of the bench held in place with a dog and a holdfast.

For a run like this it is easier for me to do all the marking, then the notching & cutting of all the pieces and finally the pairing:

309190

For paring, it helps me to cut the edges of the saw cut into the waste:

309187

Then to pare the edges of the waste to help prevent any blow out:

309186

A rabbet plane and router plane were also used in the clean out the waste.

This was all done under the supervision of the "shop cat" Turner:

309192

She tries to stay in the shop occasionally when it is locked up for the night. She doesn't like the sound of a mallet being used so when she may be hiding, banging a couple of pieces of wood together usually gets her to beat a hasty exit.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Jim, coming alone well!

[Jim Koepke]

One point that wasn't mentioned earlier, often my bench is set up with blocks and end fences so a piece can be easily moved yet it is still held in place from three or even four sides with no need to adjust a vise. This helps speed the trimming of lap joints.

Some people are blessed with the ability to fit a joint perfectly straight from the saw. For me it is easer to get close with the saw then take a shaving or two for a tight fit. Isn't that the purpose of sharp paring and skew chisels?

Here are a few of the minor points of fitting a lap joint.

After the waste has been removed from all the joints, a piece of scrap is used to check/mark the final fit.

309380

The scrap is set square against the bottom of the lap and the top is marked. The bottoms of the joints should all be the same height. The edge of the square is held slightly under the edge of the scrap, the scrap is removed and the line scribed.

After it is scribed a large chisel is set in the scribe mark overhanging the edge. When it is lined up, it is pushed over the edge to scribe deeply to the depth of cut at the corners.

309379

Then a skew chisel makes fast work of taking off the edge of the cut.

309381

Another note that was forgotten earlier. It is helpful to mark any fixtures as to their projects or purpose. Some of my old templates/story sticks or sawing guides from odd projects have me scratching my head at times. Now my story sticks have the item they are used to measure marked on them as do fixtures and templates. There is starting to get to be a pretty good collection of them around.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jim,

+1 on this article.

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Some more time was spent in the shop today on the potting bench project.

The laps are finally tuned to a snug fit:

309468

After completing and fitting the leg lap joints the sink side structure was glued into the top shelf. It is much easier to move around without all the under shelf construction:

309466

The only long grain to long grain contact here is the rough bottom of the slats against the top of the pine. That isn't a very good joint. Dowels will be inserted through the front and back stretchers to add strength and support.

In the picture are a lot of the brushes used in my shop. The 1/2" brushes are great for spreading glue and are fairly cheap. The borgs do not seem to carry them currently. Mine were purchased before they stopped carrying them and more recently at Michael's Art & Crafts supply store. The 1" brush is used for brushing dust and other debris from my planes.

The top of the back leg gets an ogee at the top:

309467

The note reminds me of how difficult it can be to work on a piece with an ogee if any joinery cuts need the piece held in the tail vise.

This is where the final decision has to be made as to which leg is which. If there is any flaw that can be removed by the ogee or rabbet or if there is a knot in the way on one side or the other. One of my preferences is to have any "cathedrals" on the legs point upward if possible. Of course that is part of the layout before this point. Like any project each piece has to have a place to belong before the cutting begins. There is a lot more to making something than cutting to a list and slapping it together.

Then the layout for a shelf and a back behind the shelf:

309469

The back board was used to set the dividers and then transfered to the leg. A marking gauge was set to the thickness of the board. The dado was laid out using the dividers and square. In this case the lumber being used for these parts has not been dimensioned.

309465

The dado is sawn and the waste cleaned out first. The far edge is chamfered first to help prevent any blowout:

309463

Next a 1" chisel is used to take the waste off the sawn sides:

309462

This leaves a peak in the middle that is easy to remove while keeping track of the dado depth.

When the dado is finished there is now room to use a saw to cut the rabbet. It didn't occur to me to try a bull nose rabbet plane, sawing is likely faster and less stressful.

309464

Next is finishing the sink and putting it all together.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Forgot to mention my experience with one of my Jorgensen/Pony pipe clamps.

One has had problems with the clutch plates over the years and finally the last one broke.

Their web site has the clamp model numbers and parts lists. When all the parts had a price but the clutch plates I sent an email to the contact listed.

The response was if they are ordered the shipping is too high and they would just send replacements in the mail.

They arrived quickly. I sent an email to let them know they arrived and thanked them for the quick service.

So there is another company out their with service that deserves a mention.

Somewhere some other makers pipe clamp set was purchased. They may have been a couple dollars less. They do not have any marking on them. If a replacement part is ever needed, those couple of dollars saved won't look so good then.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

The project continues with a few smaller steps:

There is no long grain to long grain joints in the sink supports to the shelf stretchers so they need to be doweled. Here holes are being bored to ~2" depth:

309578

The strange looking thing on the auger bit is a Stanley #49 Depth Stop. These are very handy for drilling to a set depth. Masking tape also works but can get a bit messed up after a few holes.

The dowel stock on hand is what is sold today in many stores. It looks like it may be poplar. It is kind of flimsy. Wanting to have something a bit better some oak scrap was found and riven to make some 3/8" dowels:

309580

The tool of choice for this is a mini-froe made from an old planer blade.

A Veritas® Dowel Former was used to form to shape:

309577

Mostly this was done with the mallet hitting with its own weight. Very little added force from me was used. While forming the dowels the holding plate was rotated to prevent the work from leaning due to the event of uneven blows from the mallet.

These are about 4-1/2" long and only 8 are needed.

309579

These will be cut in half and glued into the holes bored above.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Been doing a lot of work in the greenhouse. It is kind of fun to work out there and be able to pick a freshly ripened kumquat for a snack.

Pictures of inserting the dowels into the front rail and shelf supports were not taken. Mostly one end is trimmed with a chisel for easy insertion. Then theyy are covered with PVA glue using a small brush. After this they are set in the hole and driven to depth with a piece of 3/4X3/4" scrap and my small tapping mallet.

In most cases my dowels are left a little proud. One customer told me it looks like someone is trying to hide a mistake when they are cut flush. He said leaving them proud makes them look like they were meant to be there.

After the glue on the dowels dries, most of the excess dowel length is sawn off. This is one of the jobs where my pull saws get used:

309908

Then the ends of the dowels are shaved smooth with a chisel:

309906

The first dowel to be trimmed is visible in the picture.

With a wide chisel bevel up there isn't much danger of marking the wood. The chisel used here is 1-1/2" wide.

When using even a wide chisel bevel down, levering the chisel can leave marks, especially on soft woods. To prevent marks when working bevel down, a shim can be used:

309907

Then it is back to the finishing touches on the legs. The ogee top was cut out on a bandsaw, but a coping saw could have handled the task. Here it is being cleaned up:

309909

A half round sheer file and a few spoke shaves do a neat job.

Next it is on to mounting the legs.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Due to time, limits of images per post, redundancies or being of little interest, some images have been omitted.

Before attaching the legs the slats for the base of the sink are cut and installed. The story stick was used for this. It was placed in the right hand slot for the slats and marked to the edge of the left hand slot. This was then marked and labeled on the stick. Four pieces were marked and sawn to length.

(This is where some images were omitted. There is already an image of my using a story stick for marking parts of this project. Other omitted images include marking a center line for drilling in the next paragraph and hammering a carriage bolt into place.)

The slats were installed into their slots and spaced by eye. Next a center point was marked at each end on the outside of the shelf support. This was used to draw a center line.

When my projects involve nails, experience has persuaded me to drill pilot holes in some woods. A piece of scrap was drilled at the same spacing as the shelf slats and used for marking where to drill. The scrap (template) was lined up with the slats by eye before marking;

310099

The drilling is only through the pine and not into the end grain of the cedar slats.

310094

2 - 4d galvanized nails are driven into each end of each slat and then set. The vibration from hammering can cause the slats to move so make sure they are where they are supposed to be before driving their nails.


Next the legs are installed. Before installation the front legs are checked for fit and the top is rounded over with a block plane. The corners can be rounded with a gouge:

310101

If a gouge isn't available the corner can be rounded with a plane or chisel.

For setting and drilling the legs in place a template is used:

310098

This can be used for any project where 1X4 or 2X4 lumber is being bolted together with carriage bolts. For this project the rabbet to the outside edge of the handle is where the leg is placed in from the front or back edge. The rabbet to the inside edge is the minimum for the hole spacing to allow clearance when a 1/4 - 1" fender washer is used. There is a second top hole because the first one doesn't allow for the slats on the top being against the edge. It is also easier to install the washer with it below the underside of the shelf slats.

Here the top shelf is held in the face vise and the other side is clamped to my bench apron. The back leg is being marked for drilling:

310100

A 1/4" brad point bit is being used. The carriage bolts are 1/4-20 at 2" long. The lumber is sold as 5/4 but is closer to 1". The lap joint leaves enough on the end to have a few extra threads out of the nut with a washer. If you are going to buy bolts by the box, you want to make sure on the size. Too long of a bolt is a pain when it is time to tighten the nut.

310096

The top shelf is attached and the bolts are tightened until the head just begins to sink into the wood. Then the bottom shelf is attached to the back leg in the same manner.

Then the front leg from the same side is attached. The whole piece is then carefully flipped and the legs for the other side are attached.

Here is its present state:

310097

Still left is the upper shelf with its back, the cover for the dry sink a bit of trimming here and there, some sanding and a coat or two of a BLO and turpentine mix.

Here is a close up of the top of a front leg:

310095

That corner should look a lot better after some trimming and sanding.

jtk

[Jebediah Eckert]

I love this thread, as soon as it pops up with an updat I get to my iPad.

[Jim Koepke]

I love this thread, as soon as it pops up with an updat I get to my iPad.

Glad to hear you are enjoying it.

Besides it gives me a chance to include the unused images.

Story stick in use:

310105

For this stick the lines and text will be done in ink. The lines that may vary a bit from build to build will have some indication of this.

NOTE: Be careful if others are in the shop or your shop cat or dog knocks things down. The head on this moved just a touch and the last two slats needed a touch taken off on the shooting board. This has given me some thoughts on arranging marks on the stick so the side they are on are facing the user for any given measurement and steps.

A large framing square was used for a straight edge. A piece of scrap would also be fine for this.

310103

Carriage bolts are only tapped to engage the square.

310104

They are pulled home with a nut and washer.


The image of shaping the top of a leg didn't focus properly. Auto focus has its moments.

310106

And finally for this installment, a confession. After using a beat up eggbeater drill to make the first couple of bolt holes my battery drill came out to do the rest.

I know, SACRILEGE!!!

jtk

[Tom Vanzant]

Aha! You're a HYBRID!

[Pat Barry]

...And finally for this installment, a confession. After using a beat up eggbeater drill to make the first couple of bolt holes my battery drill came out to do the rest. jtk
No sweat Jim, this is exactly how Roy does it on the Woodwrights shops. Between takes he gets the work done using power tools too! JK

Jim, this potting bench project is fine furniture. Your documentation of this project is very much appreciated. Learning lots about methods of work. Thank you!

[Jim Koepke]

No sweat Jim, this is exactly how Roy does it on the Woodwrights shops. Between takes he gets the work done using power tools too! JK

Jim, this potting bench project is fine furniture. Your documentation of this project is very much appreciated. Learning lots about methods of work. Thank you!

Thanks for the exoneration. :)

Methods of work is what it is all about. The skills learned with a plane or a chisel can be used in many places.

You are welcome.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Oh No Mr. Bill!

Conner came by today. I forgot to take the camera to the shop. While my attention was on the bench, he was carving a heart with the initials of a girl he knows at school. He is planning on giving it to her after spring break.

Any way most of today was pretty straight forward with a slight change to the plan.

Originally my benches have used a 12 quart dish pan for the dry sink. The other day when while shopping we were perusing the kitchen department, there were some 18 quart dishpans on the shelf. My trusty, in my pocket for at least the last 25 years, tape measure was whipped out and the dimensions were noted. This bench has a larger sink area than any of my previous benches. Sure enough, there was enough room to accommodate the larger dishpan with only a few minor changes. So today while in town one of the 18 quart dishpans was added to the shopping.

310267
12 Quart

310266
18 Quart

With the 12 quart pan there is enough clearance for the cross pieces to extend all the way to the edge of the shelf supports. The 18 quart pan is a little taller. This was solved by making the cross pieces fit inside the pan. The top left piece of the door was aligned to its adjacent shelf slat with an 1/8" spacer. A center line was drawn on the top side of the brace and a divider was used to set it in place. This was done so no matter how the dishpan was set in the shelf there would be clearance. When all looked good, a clamp was used to hold the pieces together. Then screws were installed. The round ends on the cross braces were made with a large gouge.

310270

There are various screw patterns that will work. There needs to be a triangular pattern or non parallelogram pattern so the shape can not deform. Here the straight line of the screws at the side and the trapezoid in the center. The outside slats are installed first. The last piece in the picture has not been fastened. A 1/2" spacer can be seen between the clamps. Pilot holes were drilled with the bit in the picture in my battery powered drill motor. It was also used to drive the screws. Conner got an education in screw clocking.

The two pieces in the center have hand holds cut into them.

310269

These were made using a forestner bit and then sawn. The ends were cleaned up using chisels, gouges and a half round sheer file.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Jim,

Like Pat and the rest have said, I am really enjoying this thread. It is interesting and helps me understand some steps that will help my woodworking in regards to careful fitting work.

Sometime you will have to give folks like me some instruction in clocking the woodscrews. I wonder how folks get them to work out just so.

At any rate nice job, and thanks for all the work posting this. I know it must be quite time consuming. It will be neat to see the finished bench!

I am sure lots of others have the same thoughts.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Sometime you will have to give folks like me some instruction in clocking the woodscrews. I wonder how folks get them to work out just so.

It is actually fairly easy.

It starts with drilling the pilot hole. The tool used for almost all of my drilling for this size can be seen in the door underside image in my previous post. It makes a countersink, shank pilot and thread pilot hole. The bit can be adjusted for depth. One of the things I told Conner today was to check against the setting to the screws as you go. Maybe he should be tested on that next time and then tell him why it is important to do.

My drill motor has a clutch. With these screws it usually gets them pretty close set on 6 (of 16). Once at this point there are a couple of ways to go.

With a battery drill and the trigger disengaged the chuck can (at least on mine) be turned by hand. Also on mine with the trigger engaged the handle leverage can be utilized as long as the other hand is on the chuck. I usually wax the screws before they are driven.

Another option is to turn the last half turn by hand. I usually keep a screwdriver on the bench when doing this.

Driving screws is a tasks to be done with care. The speed comes with practice and not having do overs.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Some work was accomplished today.

First was the final trim on the door or sink cover. A gouge was used to remove the corner of the rabbet in the area of the hand hole:

310363

The cut is started by making small "stop" cuts at the end where the grain is coming up. (cut carefully against the grain)

310361

Then come in from the direction with the grain and take light cuts until the desired depth is cut. After this the area was sanded and the sharp corner at the top of the rabbet was rounded over in the hand hole area. Note: This image is from cutting the front. The previous was taken while cutting the back stretcher.

My enthusiasm for using some molding planes was piqued today after reading Bill Brush's post about finding some molding planes. This and I won a bid for a pair of hollow & round planes. So the upper shelf got some treatment:

310362

This was a little rough. Hey, it is rough cut cedar, you should have seen it before it was planed. Sanding up to 220 and then rubbing it with shavings made it acceptable. The corners need to be rounded. I would like to carve the back splash for the shelf, but that would add to the work. If it doesn't sell quickly maybe then it will get some more treatment.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Making the shelf is fairly straight forward. The piece was cut to length by marking against the dados in the legs. I do not like to leave the shelf end square so a template used for other work was called into service to mark a shape on the end of the shelf:

310509

It was cut on a bandsaw.

There is a piece that goes across the back on top of the shelf. The top of it was rounded over with a block plane to match the top of the leg. Then there is a support under the shelf. It was held in place for marking and then half laps were cut in to it.

310512

The laps were cut a little proud. Clamps were used to hold it in place to mark the top of the end so it could be shaped to be in harmony with the other pieces in the neighborhood.

Then the marks were transfered to the faces:

310506

Here the bench hook is like a third hand. This one has done a lot of work in its time. If you don't use bench hooks, you might want to give them a try. You may wonder how you ever got along without them.

The end was rounded over using chisels, block planes and whatever else seemed to work:

310507

Just like undercutting tenon shoulders, a little undercutting on the face of a lap joint can make it fit a lot better:

310513

It came together well:

--310511 310508

Here is how it looks before my wife did some sanding:

310510

it now has some BLO splashed on and should get some more tomorrow.

Now if I could only find a better source for cedar...

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Jim,

Pretty cool, looks great! If you wouldn't mind, please add a couple of close ups once the oil finish is complete. Very nice benches. I can see why they have sold well in the past.

I edited the post to add the below items:

Jim, after your reply on your clocking video, I came back and looked even more closely at the finished photo, looking for the details better than I did the first time.

The front dovetails, and lap joints in the legs for holding the shelves look great! When I first looked at the photos I noticed the neat even spacing of the slats and the very nice job on the ogee. Of course when I went back to look for details I saw more, such as the lap joints and dovetails, but fundamentally I like the very nice attention to detail such as the slat spacing, etc., and nice design. Again, nice job!

And, I hope they sell well.

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,

Pretty cool, looks great! If you wouldn't mind, please add a couple of close ups once the oil finish is complete. Very nice benches. I can see why they have sold well in the past.

[snip]

And, I hope they sell well.

Stew

Thanks Stew. Don't mind at all, here are a few more pics after the oil coat. It is a bit wet outside today so the bench is still sitting in the shop.

Top shelf detail:

310550

Front corner detail:

310551

Bench after first coat of BLO:

310552

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Jim,

Thanks for the added photos. The oil brought out the grain very nicely.

Thank you again for all of the photos and information on the project. From the previous posts of the others, and the number of folks that viewed the project, I would say that a lot of us enjoyed your project a great deal. I certainly did, and believe I learned from it.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[Mark Stutz]

Jim,
I've enjoyed following along on this build. It is always nice to see the work flow details of others. I always pick up a few little tips every time. Thanks.

[Jim Koepke]

Often Candy, my wife, helps on gluing up things. Today she was busy working in the greenhouse on getting more plants ready for the farmers market.

So today it was a one person glue up on the second potting bench which had parts cut at the same time as the one done in the thread leading up to this.

A trick for one person glue ups seems obvious, but maybe someone will see it as something they missed:

311067

A small spring clamp can hold the pad block in place while the clamp is brought into place.

They could also be held on the clamp with double stick tape if there is any around.

jtk

[Hilton Ralphs]

All tricks are worth sharing Jim so thanks for this.

[Jim Koepke]

There are a few design elements to consider...

Here is a bit more detail on the dowel making and marking. A new helper was added to the tools:

Fortunately two potting benches parts were being made at the same time when this thread started. Feeling that one would sell got me a bit of a head start before Mother's Day weekend. Good thing, someone bought a bench last Saturday.

Here are a few details from building potting benches. Riven wood follows the grain. For a little extra strength in my bench's dry sink support these are preferred over the dowel stock available commercially. Some of those have the grain angled across the dowel. Why court failure when it is simple to avoid it?

313568

With all the scraps around my shop this puts it to good use.

The end going into the dowel former is tapered using a chisel to make it feed better.

313563

Because the stock is a little over size it is first run through a 1/2" dowel former. It is then trimmed again using a chisel and knocked through the 3/8" dowel former.

313569

My oak scrap is cut to 4-1/2" before riving. This is to make dowels that can be driven in approximately 2"+. To find the center a small mark is placed on two dowels side by side at what looks like center.

313565

Then one of the dowels is flipped end for end and if there is any discrepancy between the two marks, the center is marked between them.

313564

Close enough. Cutting dowel stock is one of the places where using my pull saw is preferred.

Marking the drilling points for dowels has been a clumsy affair.

313562

Trying to hold a square, a measuring shim and marking the holes is a bit cumbersome. So a new marking gauge was made.

313567

This block rests against the piece being doweled and the shelf rail. There was a 3/8" rabbet cut in the block of 2X scrap. A piece of 3/4" scrap was mounted into this. The edge of the long 3/4" scrap centers on the vertical piece. While thinking about this about a half dozen ways came to mind. This seemed the simplest and has applications for other projects.

Much easier in the long run without having to measure where to put the holes while holding all these things at the same time.

313566

Building potting benches will likely be part of my woodworking in the foreseeable future. May as well make it go as easy and quickly as possible.

Now more parts have to be made for more benches for when and if this one sells.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

It is interesting to see you having success with just banging the dowels through the dowel jig. I have a plate, and if I try to just split stock and hammer them through I usually end up with a fair proportion of kindling. I have better luck starting them into the plate a short distance more or less to mark the size. Then I flip a plane upside down and clamp it in the bench vice and use it to trim the "marked" piece very close to size before putting it all the way through the plate.

The benches are very nice. Not hard to see why they sell.

[Jim Koepke]

It is interesting to see you having success with just banging the dowels through the dowel jig. I have a plate, and if I try to just split stock and hammer them through I usually end up with a fair proportion of kindling. I have better luck starting them into the plate a short distance more or less to mark the size. Then I flip a plane upside down and clamp it in the bench vice and use it to trim the "marked" piece very close to size before putting it all the way through the plate.

The benches are very nice. Not hard to see why they sell.

Nicholas,

Thanks for the kind words.

My dowel pieces do get trimmed with a large chisel first. A large chisel allows for a slicing motion along the length of the riven piece. Before when they were driven through only the 3/8" cutter they would come out a bit sloppy at times. Sizing them first with the 1/2" and then trimming some more improved them greatly.

I am also using my heavy mallet. Care is taken to check with each hit by rotating the cutter to ensure the dowel stock stays square during the process.

It would likely help to have cutters stepped in increments of 1/32" or even less.

jtk

[Pat Barry]

313564

Close enough. Cutting dowel stock is one of the places where using my pull saw is preferred.
jtk

Thanks for the tips Jim, I find this to be much more interesting than the A2 steel discussion. I'm thinking with the pull saw and your setup that the small dowels are easier to start cutting since you can push the saw against the fence. Is that right? By the way, you sure have gotten a lot of use out of the saw fence (what do you call that?)

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for the tips Jim, I find this to be much more interesting than the A2 steel discussion. I'm thinking with the pull saw and your setup that the small dowels are easier to start cutting since you can push the saw against the fence. Is that right? By the way, you sure have gotten a lot of use out of the saw fence (what do you call that?)

The slots in the edge are used as guides for the saw. This was either my first or second bench hook. It was made to be a simple miter box. It has had a lot of use. One of my smaller bench hooks is used when doing a lot of dowels from long stock. It has marks for measuring the length before cutting and a ramp. The ramp allows the dowel to roll off the bench hook and out of the way on to the bench.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Jim,

I hadn't read the thread since you updated it by adding the section on making dowels. It is much appreciated. Finding good dowels seems to be more difficult than it used to be. I think the ones at the lumber yard are some sort of soft imported stuff, and they are not very strong. Good hardwood ones can be had when we visit one set of the kids, but that is a 4 hour drive, and they are expensive when the woodworking shop has them.

Where do you folks get the doweling jig. Can I make on by just drilling out some holes in something like quarter inch plate steel, or is that approach not a good one?

I am glad to see that the first bench already sold. As was pointed out above, you make them nice looking, and they are built to last. It is pretty neat that you have something like that to build that seems to sell, and you can feel good about how they are built.

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Stew,

My dowelling fixture came from Lee Valley. My recollection is that some folks have built their own by drilling holes in a steel plate. It might wear over time, but if you can make one, why not make another.

One place I always look for dowels is at art supply stores like Michael's. My recollection is they have 4' dowels instead of the common 3' found at lumber suppliers. Looks like there is one in Amarillo. Google maps has changed their format so I have no idea how far that is from Borger.

A lot of the dowels at the borgs are made of poplar. It isn't stiff enough for my liking. Another thing about them is they all have a stick on label for the check out scanners. To me that is a waste of a few inches of dowel or a lot of work to get the glue removed.

My recent experience with better results from knocking dowel stock through a larger size first has me thinking of trying to make a dowel plate. Not high on the to do list at the moment.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Now it is hustle time.

Both potting benches have sold.

This week most of my time will be taken working on a commissioned piece.

Well, at least most of the lumber has already been purchased to build a couple more potting benches.

And so it all goes around again. The Home Depot lumber was all wet and splintery looking. So went to the local lumber yards. The first one didn't have the wood where it was available for me to go through the pieces to be able to select pieces that could be worked with for making potting benches. Went to another across town, actually in our sister town across the river. They are much better set up for those of us who like to look through what is available and select our pieces. Some was in a warehouse a block from the main store. They sent someone with me to help dig through the stacks.

When you dig through stacks of lumber, the folks who work there appreciate it if the wood is stacked back neatly when you are done. I try to leave the stacks neater than when I arrived.

jtk

[Pat Barry]

Now it is hustle time.

Both potting benches have sold.

This week most of my time will be taken working on a commissioned piece.

Well, at least most of the lumber has already been purchased to build a couple more potting benches.

And so it all goes around again. The Home Depot lumber was all wet and splintery looking. So went to the local lumber yards. The first one didn't have the wood where it was available for me to go through the pieces to be able to select pieces that could be worked with for making potting benches. Went to another across town, actually in our sister town across the river. They are much better set up for those of us who like to look through what is available and select our pieces. Some was in a warehouse a block from the main store. They sent someone with me to help dig through the stacks.

When you dig through stacks of lumber, the folks who work there appreciate it if the wood is stacked back neatly when you are done. I try to leave the stacks neater than when I arrived.

jtk

Funny - I was just visiting the local lumberyard and looking to find a few 'select' cedar boards. I didn't find what I was looking for there - mostly just rough cedar fencing (1/2 inch thick) and 1 1/8 decking boards. All of it was full of knots and useless to me. I was hoping to find some 2x8 cedar or 2x6. Anyway, the owner came out to talk and actually helped me look. Later he remarked that he hated the folks who came in, picked out the best pieces and just left the rest lying willy nilly and unorganized. I got the feeling he would throw out the offenders and he mentioned that this actually makes it harder for him to compete with the HD that is 18 miles away. I'm sure your lumber guy appreciates you putting things striaght after picking.

[Jim Koepke]

Looking for lumber had me in a tizzy. Most of the time my tight knot cedar comes from the Home Depot. Their stock was very wet and poorly surface finished.

Went to the lumber store. (Baker's Lumber, if you saw my post in Off Topic about my truck trouble you will understand my smirk right now.)

They didn't have the 5/4 cedar my benches have been made of in the past. They did have some nice 2X4 cedar.

The top frames were made using a 10' piece cut into two 40" lengths and two 20" lengths. This had me wondering about how to get the space between the legs needed to fit over the wheel wells. Then it hit me in a flash. The simple solution was half blind dovetails.

315861

This also allowed for deeper lap joints (a big dado? when does a dado become a lap?)

The thicker wood made for shorter shelf slats. It also required a little carving for the 18 quart dish tub to fit. It also is a bit more solid than the previous benches.

A thanks goes out to Derek Cohen and others for sharing the method of using a thin piece of metal to extend the saw cut in half blind dovetails.

Drilling out the waste was tried as were a few other methods. In the end it seemed the fastest method for me was to make a third cut in the middle of the socket and extend the cut with the thin piece of metal, in my case it was the end of an old taper ground saw blade, sharpened a bit. Then a quick chop and it was easy to clear out at least an 1/8" chip at a time. The cut in the middle helped the chip collapse and exit out of the socket.

Maybe it should be filmed next time.

Note: After unloading these images from the camera I ran outside and wiped down the BLO before it got dark.

jtk