Finally got the workbench done (for now)

[Robert Mayer]

Im pretty happy with it. The nice thing about is that I can change it down the road if I want. I kept the base simple with douglas fir 4x4's because Im not quite sure if i want to put cabinets underneath it. Its sitting on my wifes side of the garage...

Its a full 3" thick, coffeebean in the center and fiddleback maple on the sides. The vices are the economy vices from woodcraft. They seem like really nice vices for $60 each. I didnt see any difference between them and the $100 ones. I really like the quick release on them.

http://www.imagehostplus.com/v2/usr/158/2840ny_trip_7.1.05_005.jpg

http://www.imagehostplus.com/v2/usr/158/6074ny_trip_7.1.05_004.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful job, Robert! That coffeebean is very rich looking stuff. And unlike myself, it looks like you got the dog-holes lined up the first time... ;)

[Tyler Howell]

Fab U Less!!!!

Robert that turned out great. How did you flatten it??
Don't you dare scratch or dent that fine piece of furniture.:cool:

[tod evans]

pretty slick robert! now you gotta put some dents in it, spill your favorite beverage, and just plain break it in.:)

[Steve Stube]

Wow! That is a sweet looking bench. Is the long leg brace coffeebean? What kind of joint did you use on the ends of this brace?
Very nice job on it Robert.

[Robert Mayer]

Fab U Less!!!!

Robert that turned out great. How did you flatten it??
Don't you dare scratch or dent that fine piece of furniture.:cool:

I built a router jig and spent some extra $ on a good 1 1/4 diameter whiteside bit. It had extra cutters on the bottom to ensure a flat bottom. It worked beautifully. Took about 2 hours.

http://www.imagehostplus.com/v2/usr/158/2841ny_trip_7.1.05_002.jpg

[Kent Parker]

Beautilful job Robert!

Cheers

Kent

[Robert Mayer]

Wow! That is a sweet looking bench. Is the long leg brace coffeebean?
Very nice job on it Robert.

The long leg brace is coffeebean too. I really threw the base together because Im ready to tackle a few new projects. I didnt want to spend all my time building the base.

[Bill Simmeth]

Wow! It turned out great. Congrats! What did you use for the finish?

[Robert Mayer]

Wow! It turned out great. Congrats! What did you use for the finish?

I just used about 4 coats of arm-r-seal.

[Andy Hoyt]

Robert - Sure is nice. And stout too, I'll bet.

Just wait til Vaughn McMillan sees that there's another carpeted shop out there.

[Gregg Mason]

Very Nice.

[Robert Mayer]

Robert - Sure is nice. And stout too, I'll bet.

Just wait til Vaughn McMillan sees that there's another carpeted shop out there.

Awhile back I posted some pics of my new tablesaw I was proud of buying and everyone wanted to talk about my carpeting.

It covers about 20% of my shop. Its comfortable to work on. After I finish a project I typically take my dust collector and clean up the woodchips. Takes about 20 minutes and is worth it.

[Randy Davidson]

Beautiful Robert. I don't think I could bear putting a ding in that great top. Might be a good place for me to sit and have my lunch. Good job.

Randy

[Dick Parr]

Great job Robert, that will last you a long time.

[Steve Wargo]

Sweet job. Very nice looking bench.

[Roy Wall]

Robert,

The bench is excellent! Nice job..........

Did you just use another Doug. Fir 4x4 for the top of the base and attach (with lag bolt or just dowel) to the top??

[lou sansone]

everone beat me to the punch, but very nice job. looks great
lou

[Bruce Page]

Very nice Robert! Is the coffeebean heavy/hard?

[Robert Mayer]

Very nice Robert! Is the coffeebean heavy/hard?

Its similiar to oak. Probably not quite as heavy. It has a very strange smell to it when cut. It was actually overpowering after cutting all those boards at once. Had to open the garage in the middle of winter.

Roy: I actually took two strips of the coffeebean and connected the fir 4x4s longwise and then used lags to attach the top.

[Chris Dodge]

Very beautiful work! Well done!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Awhile back I posted some pics of my new tablesaw I was proud of buying and everyone wanted to talk about my carpeting.

It covers about 20% of my shop. Its comfortable to work on. After I finish a project I typically take my dust collector and clean up the woodchips. Takes about 20 minutes and is worth it. Very nice bench, Robert. The coffeebean looks sweet...I'd be afraid of messing it up, but after the first ding, I'll bet it'll be a great user.

And regarding the carpet...Robert, my buddy, my pal, my bro...that's not just carpet, I'm seeing an oriental rug! You've outclassed me bigtime, dude. Gotta agree with you on the comfort aspect. Mine's a bit of a sawdust magnet, but then again, my "DC" for now is just a hard-working Shop Vac. (At least it connects to the TS and BS pretty well. The planer and router table leave a mess, though.) With a real DC system I think the dust level in the carpet would go down considerably.

Again, great bench. (I'm envious.)

- Vaughn

[Jay Knoll]

Robert

Great looking bench, and I like the carpet too!

Jay

[Steve Roxberg]

Beautiful work, looks like a fine bench.

Now I'm looking at those Coffee bean trees in the back yard differently. :rolleyes:

[fred woltersdorf]

robert,beautiful bench.what did you use to drill the holes for the bench dogs?i have to drill my bench top and i've been pondering what to use.thanks

[Robert Mayer]

robert,beautiful bench.what did you use to drill the holes for the bench dogs?i have to drill my bench top and i've been pondering what to use.thanks

I drilled two holes through some scrap wood on the drill press first to ensure they are straight. Then i used a spade bit on a corded drill through the template. It worked pretty well and the holes are straight. I used a 3/4" bit which seems to be the standard. We had a lot of discussion on woodnet on how to do this. The spade bit seemed to work the best.