Workbench Progress (lotsa Pics)

[Denny Lawson]

I'm making progress on the work bench..
It’s still a work in progress, but I thought I’d share what I have so far.

It is based on the Lon Schleining bench from his book “The Workbench”, the main differences are that I made the trestle knock down, enclosed the tresle ends (to hang tools), and used round dogs.
Anyhoo here is the finished product
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106007.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106024.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106020.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106018.jpg

The top is maple, walnut, and red oak. The trestle is maple. The tool cabinet carcase and drawer boxes are baltic birch. The drawer fronts are quarter sawn sycamore. The raised panel doors, frames and vise jaws are lyptus.

The finish on the tool cabinet carcase, trestle and bench top is Waterlox sealer finish, I know, I know ..not the best choice for the top, but I’m cheap and I couldn’t stand throwing away the left overs each evening from $19 a quart varnish…so I wiped it on the top. I’ll have to deal with the repercussions the first time I have to flatten the top.

The raised panels and frame are finished with Deft lacquer.

The drawer fronts were an experiment and I ended up with:
2 coats thinned (alcohol) water base poly
wash coat of Zinnser Seal Coat
I coat Gloss Deft Lacquer
1 coat satin Deft Lacquer

The drawer boxes are finished with Zinsser Seal Coat
..to be continued...

[Denny Lawson]

And some pics along the way
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/110705002.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/112705009.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/HBDT2.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/HBDT1cropped.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106006.jpg

The Sycamore was interesting to work with

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106005.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106033.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106032.jpg

[Denny Lawson]

I’m working on the drawer dividers now
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021406001.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/drawer1.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/drawer8.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/drawer004.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021406005.jpg

[Denny Lawson]

I wanted to do something different on the back so I left room for a 4” deep tool cabinet in the back.
I just haven’t figured out how I want to configure it yet

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106015.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106009.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/020606007.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/022206005.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/022206004.jpg

Not having a rear apron provided a place for my water stones to rest across the stringers
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/021106012.jpg


Thanks for peekin………

Denny

[Les Spencer]

Beautiful. Your projects will reflect the quality of your bench.:cool:

[Mark Singer]

Thats a bench! Beautiful work...just wonderful!!!!

[Bruce Page]

You weren’t kidding when you said “lotsa Pics” but every one of them is dazzling!

That is one heck of a beautiful bench! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Steve Wargo]

very sweet. Excellent looking bench, and looks like it should be plenty heavy and stable for planing. Nicely done.

[Tyler Howell]

WELL DONE PICTURE POLICE SEAL OF APPROVAL:cool:

[Matt Meiser]

That is one beautiful bench!

[Louis Bois]

That is a "CRACKER" of a bench Denny!!! Excellent craftsmanship! I applaud you.

[Jerry Olexa]

That is beautiful work AND great pics too...Thanks for sharing..:)

[Roger Myers]

Outstanding...you will get pleasure from that bench every time you use it...and so will generations to come!
Roger

[Steve Ash]

WOW....absolutely gorgeous Denny.

[Mark Stutz]

Almost too nice to use! This will serve as additional inspiration for me as i lok at several pieces of rough 8/4 Hard Maple just begging to become a new bench top!

[Joe Blankshain]

Great looking bench. Best of luck with the projects you create next.

[Alan Turner]

Nice work! Use it well.

[Jim Becker]

Wow! That's really wonderful!! Aside from all the functional stuff, I really love the QS sycamore drawer fronts. They look awesome!

[Michael Gabbay]

Denny - That is a very nice bench. I'm trying to get my project list down so I can start on mine. I was planning on a similar design as yours only using a 60" x 28" top. I really like your drawer designs. I might have to borrower some of your design elements! :D

Mike

[Larry Klaaren]

Looks great. Also looks like it is very functional.

This may be a dumb question . . . my excuse is that I'm colorblind . . . is that foam padding or cork or something else on the bottom of the drawers? Just wondering, I'm planning to make a bench fairly soon.

Also wondering if you made the stool and if you made it to fit in the space or if the space is made to fit the stool.

Beautiful work.
Larry

[Dave Anderson NH]

Very well done Denny. I really like the stripes on the top where you have the rows of dog holes. It adds a lot of interest without making the benchtop dark and hard to use.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Wow, that's a really impressive workbench and an excellent documentation of the building process. Thanks for sharing, Denny.

Regards,

Christian

[tod evans]

looks good denny...02 tod

[Denny Lawson]

Thanks all for the very nice comments.

I've always wanted to build a nice bench, and this has been a good "therapy" project for me as I await the return of my wife from Iraq, 39 days and counting.

Larry Klaaren - you're not seeing things..:D ..I lined the drawers with cork, it is just cut to fit like a mat, no adhesive.
I'm anal about some things:rolleyes: ..and I couldn't stand the sound of tools banging around in the drawers.

The stool...haha...I wondered if anyone would say anything about my 4 legged shop stool.....its actually a hand me down from LOML, she was down sizing the number of stools at our bereakfast bar, so I inherited it.

Thanks Again!
Denny

[Alan DuBoff]

Very nice! I am starting a similar but different bench based on the same top.

[Kent Parker]

Beautiful piece of furniture!! Thanks for the photos. What make are your wood handled chisels?

Cheers,

Kent

[Karl Laustrup]

All the adjectives have been used to describe your bench. It is a beautiful sight. Thanks for the documentation and the wonderful pictures.

Karl

[Denny Lawson]

Beautiful piece of furniture!! Thanks for the photos. What make are your wood handled chisels?

Cheers,

Kent


Thanks Kent,
The chisels in the drawer by themselves are Ashley Iles American Pattern bevel edge chisels.

the two in the lower drawer are a couple of old Shapleigh DE chisels passed down from family.

Denny

[Larry Klaaren]

I thought it was cork! What a coincidence, someone just asked me if I had any idea where to buy cork. Beautiful job.

Larry

[Denny Lawson]

I thought it was cork! What a coincidence, someone just asked me if I had any idea where to buy cork. Beautiful job.

Larry

Larry,
I bought the cork at a hobby store (Hobby Lobby), it was a roll 2' wide by 8'.
3/16"

[Bob Noles]

Denny,

WOW.... great bench and pictorial of the process. There's enough pictures included to keep even the pink thong demon happy :D

Wonderful job and thank your wife for her duty in Iraq.

How do you like the AI chisels. They are the next target on my list. Are the ones below them the LV chisels?

[Chris Padilla]

Awesome!!!

[Reg Mitchell]

very nice bench Denny....congrats...:D

[Denny Lawson]

Denny,

WOW.... great bench and pictorial of the process. There's enough pictures included to keep even the pink thong demon happy :D

Wonderful job and thank your wife for her duty in Iraq.

How do you like the AI chisels. They are the next target on my list. Are the ones below them the LV chisels?

Bob,
i've only had the AI chisels a couple of weeks, but so far I really like them. They come ready to use, although not polished they are very sharp.

And it only takes a few minutes to spruce 'em up..:D
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/021106014.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/021106013.jpg

[Aaron Frank]

Denny,

What a great looking bench!! Do you have pics from earlier in your build process? I am currently building my own bench and am trying to decide/figure out how to attach the apron to the bench top. I'd love to learn how you did this. I notice what I think are bolt holes on the front of the apron, is this how you attached it? If so, what are they bolted to?

Thanks
Aaron

[Denny Lawson]

Denny,

What a great looking bench!! Do you have pics from earlier in your build process? I am currently building my own bench and am trying to decide/figure out how to attach the apron to the bench top. I'd love to learn how you did this. I notice what I think are bolt holes on the front of the apron, is this how you attached it? If so, what are they bolted to?

Thanks
Aaron


Hi Aaron,
The front apron is glued to the bench slab, the long grain to long grain glue joint wont be improved by bolts or screws IMO.
At the corners it is attached to the end caps with half blind dovetails.
The end caps are bolted in the rear and middle using barrel bolts, and the front 3~4" is glued to the slab tenon. to allow for some movement of the slab. hope this helps.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/DennyLawson2005/Workbench/113005001.jpg

[Colin Giersberg]

Just looking back, and I see this beatiful bench. You did a great job on it. I am thinking of building a new bench, and right now, my mind is on the design that Shopnotes had a while back. It is a cherry cabinet about 38" long with a maple top that is 62" long. But dang it, every time I see a bench like the one you built, it makes me want to do one just like it.
Shopnotes featured several other benches that are bigger than the one I mentioned above, and I like those too, but I am limited on space, so I think a smaller bench might be in order.
Right now, my bench is mostly plywood cases (2' wide x 2' deep x 4 boxes wide) with a plywood top, and placed along the back wall. My problem is, I need to finish a base cabinet for my Craftsman TS (hey, my older brother gave it to me, so I can't really complain), build a new router table, build a new rolling tool cabinet to keep my hand tools and misc. items, and build a wall mounted cabinet to store my Forstner bits, drill bits, etc.
I don't know what to start on first, because everything ends up in the way. By the way, my shop is a detached 2-car garage, with no heat, and sharing space with my wife's bass boat, the riding mower, push mower, tiller and shovels, hoes, etc.
Boy, now I think I need a larger shop. Oh well.

Regards, Colin

[Robert Trotter]

Very nice bench and workmanship. I like your drawer layout for the chisels.

[Mike Steinhilper]

no fair :(

[Greg Muller]

Beautiful, Denny!

I want one! Can you give us an estimate of the total hours to build and material cost?

If someone wanted you to build one for them, what would you charge? Really.

Greg

[Prashun Patel]

I'm amazed at the stuff I see here. Bravo.

[Joe D'Attilio]

Beautiful, Denny!

I want one! Can you give us an estimate of the total hours to build and material cost?

If someone wanted you to build one for them, what would you charge? Really.

Greg

Denny thisis probably the nicest bench I've seen on or off the net!!

The use of the different woods is great in contrast and somehow they all emsh

I concur can you give some estimates to a newbie? BF? cost? what would you charge?

[Jim Koepke]

Wow!!!

Great pics, thanks for sharing.
Some great ideas for my own some day. Hope I can do as beautiful a creation.

Jim

[Brian J. Williams]

Masterful execution!

[Brent Ring]

Very Inspirational!

[Richard Link]

I would like to echo the others here and say: "What an amazing and beautiful bench." A few brief questions, though.

How do you like the Veritas twin screw tail vise? Racking issues?

I would also like to know your estimate for the cost of materials. I have been contemplating the bench construction option but have been somewhat put off by the cost of hardwood as compared to purchasing a finished bench.

Thanks for sharing.

Rick

[John Maus]

Nice Job Denny.

Not only does it look well built and like you can put it to good use, it is also nice to look at while making other great things. Thanks for posting your progress.

John