A bench started 2 years ago

[Tom Bussey]

I started building a Moravian bench 2 years ago. And I finally got back to it yesterday. I must say that this is the most challenging bench I have ever built. It is not for the faint hearted. A Roubo is much easier. In one of the pictures is the block that holds the vise hardware. the other is just the chop. I need to get the ends glued together so I can cut the dove tailed pieces on the end. I got the sockets done. The piece that holds the vise hardware is not yet mortised it. And the last picture is the 4 inch top I haven't decided is I am going to do a split top or put on a tool tray or a split top with a tool tray. I have a couple of boards under the stretchers that keep the end pieces off the bench top about 1/32 if an inch for easier removal and installation. One picture is the only print I have of the bench and believe me most is made to the size it is because I chose those sizes.

Anyway pictures,

503510,503511 503512503513 503514 503515 503516 503517

Baring a coffee stained print and one wrong photo that is where I am at. After the end caps are finished I will have to establish the actual height.

Thanks for looking.

[Jack Frederick]

I enjoy watching your bench builds Tom. Is the BC leg going on this one?

[Cameron Wood]

That's a big project. Where were the parts stored?

It's refreshing to see pics of a shop with evidence of actual woodwork- shavings, wood, etc..

[Tom Bussey]

The parts just sat on the top of the bench top, picture #8 and the other two sets of horses next to it. Any flat surface collects stuff and I got tired of moving things so I could saw longer boards on the saw so I got off my behind and decided to finish it. My problem is I can't afford to heat my shop so sometime in November to get to cold in the shop I shut it down until spring. It is to easy to start a new and exciting project in the spring and that is why it was left for a couple of years

[Tom Bussey]

No, I have an older bench screw that I might use but I am leaning on using a wooden one from Lake Erie that I bought from the classified section hear on this forum, again a couple three years ago. The cris-cross I got from you is to large. I want to kind of keep this bench traditional, but I am leaning toward installing a Deadman which isn't traditional. I will have to wait and see what I do.

I did get the ends glued together today and I got the piece that the screw goes in morticed and tenoned yesterday. Getting the mortices where they should be so it locks in place on the leg and stretcher took some time and thinking. I ended up doing a couple of loose tenons.

[Tom Bussey]

I enjoy watching your bench builds Tom. Is the BC leg going on this one?

No. I have an older bench screw that I might use but I am leaning on using a wooden one from Lake Erie that I bought from the classified section hear on this forum, again a couple three years ago. The cris-cross I got from you is to large. I want to kind of keep this bench traditional, but I am leaning toward installing a Deadman which isn't traditional. I will have to wait and see what I do.

I did get the ends glued together today and I got the piece that the screw goes in morticed and tenoned yesterday. Getting the mortices where they should be so it locks in place on the leg and stretcher took some time and thinking. I ended up doing a couple of loose tenons.