DAS BENCH almost finished

[Robert Miller]

Well, now that I'm looking for a new job ,I've had some time to work on my new bench. All that's left is the tool tray.


The front vise installed

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench11.jpg


The underside of the bench

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench10.jpg


The completed front vise

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench16.jpg


Three coats of BLO under the bench

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench12.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench6.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench5.jpg


Almost finished.......


http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench2.jpg

[Robert Miller]

The rosewood end vise

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench18.jpg

[Robert Miller]

I made the vise handles out of white oak on the router table, the end caps are honduras mahogany shaped by hand with a spar plane.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench17.jpg

[jonathan snyder]

Robert,

Very nice bench! Your wedged tenons look sharp. What hardware did you use for the tail vise? Any construction pics for the tail vise? I'm in the planning stage for a bench, but have not begun planning for building the tail vise yet.

Jonathan

[John Schreiber]

That's a beauty. What's the wood?

[Jim Becker]

That's really a wonderful looking bench, Robert!

[Robert Miller]

Robert,

Very nice bench! Your wedged tenons look sharp. What hardware did you use for the tail vise? Any construction pics for the tail vise? I'm in the planning stage for a bench, but have not begun planning for building the tail vise yet.

Jonathan


Thanks Jonathan,

The wedges are ziricote and the entire bench is white oak. Here's some pics of the tail vise construction. The hardware is from Lee Valley.

Construction of the tail vise starts with milling a slot in the edge of the base and making a inner 'core' for the vise to be constructed around.




http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P2210064.jpg

The core houses the large bench screw.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P2230068.jpg

Around the outside of the core is the backside of the dench dog holes. I couldn't bring myself to just screw it together even though it will never be seen. I dovetailed it.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P2250069.jpg

From here, I milled the dog holes and used honduras rosewood to case the vise.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P3010072.jpg

The top cap mortised for the dog holes.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P3010075.jpg


http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P3040090-1.jpg
I planed the vise flush with a jointer plane, smoothing plane and finally a razor sharp cabinet scraper.


http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P3040084-1.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P3040087-1.jpg

[Robert Miller]

The ziricote wedged thru mortise and tenon in the base. The legs were draw bored with dowels that I made of the same wood.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1010051.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1010052.jpg

The completed base


http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1010049.jpg

[Jim Newman]

Great Bench Robert! I have to get going on mine. What are the dimensions of your front skirt and vise? Looks like about 5 1/2 inches top to bottom for the skirt and 6 inches for the vise. Also how thick is the main part of the top? Also, did you just use Boiled Linseed Oil or did you mix it with wax and mineral spirits too? Also how did you cut the dovetail for inside your tail vise? Sorry for all the questions....I just need to get it all straight to get going on my bench. Wow, what a beauty!

[Doug Shepard]

Das Beast sure is a heavy looking monster. I love it.

[Robert Miller]

Great Bench Robert! I have to get going on mine. What are the dimensions of your front skirt and vise? Looks like about 5 1/2 inches top to bottom for the skirt and 6 inches for the vise. Also how thick is the main part of the top? Also, did you just use Boiled Linseed Oil or did you mix it with wax and mineral spirits too? Also how did you cut the dovetail for inside your tail vise? Sorry for all the questions....I just need to get it all straight to get going on my bench. Wow, what a beauty!

Hi Jim,

The main part of the bench is 2 1/2" thick. The dog hole front skirt is 4" thick.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P1030055.jpg

The front vise is 6" wide and the vise has a spacer block that is 5 1/2" to allow room for the vise rods to pass through. The holes in the vise block are to allow the bench dogs go through the vise.
Here is the underside of the bench so that you clearly see this.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P2220065.jpg


The dovetail for the inside of the vise was cut by hand. I always make the pins first.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/P2140063.jpg


I fretted about the finish for a long time, but since I wanted the rays in the quartersawn white oak to 'pop' I used BLO thinned slightly with turps.
Three coats each side. I finished after 48 hours drying time with a good paste wax.
I did not want a slick finish that would crack and be hard to repair, so I stuck with tradition.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/robmill54/workbench4.jpg

[Zahid Naqvi]

Can I have that as my dining table :D

[Wes Bischel]

Looking for a new job? I think you already found it! Can you say "custom furniture"?:D Really nice bench - nicer than most - no, all - the furniture I make.

Wes

[Dave Anderson NH]

Both a beautifully done bench and series of posts Robert. I'm sure you will get many years of great service from it. Thanks for taking the time and effort of sharing with us.

Dave

[Robert Miller]

Das Beast sure is a heavy looking monster. I love it.


Yeah, it is..:eek: ... i just about busted a blood vessel turning the top over by myself to finish the bottom . I'd estimate the top alone at about 200lbs. The total weight is probably somewhere around 350 to 400lbs.

It's seven ft. long and 27 inches wide. Looks like a aircraft carrier in my little shop:D , but I'm already using it and I wonder how I ever did anything without it. After 30 years of working on 2x4 and plywood benches, it's no contest.I should have built it long ago.
I kind of see it as right of passage for me, to bring me to another level of craftsmanship.
I'm currently designing a toolbox to match it.
The kid's are already fighting over who gets DAS BENCH when I'm gone....:rolleyes:
It is kind of rewarding to think that this bench will outlive me. My wife says I'll never hammer on it.
We'll see.

[Don Pierson]

Your work is unreal...it should be in a museum!
Here is my reality....

[Don Bullock]

Stunning!!!!:D

[Mark Stutz]

Your work is unreal...it should be in a museum!
Here is my reality....

Don, those are some really interesting pins..er,tails... Any chance we can see a picture of the completed joint?

Mark

[Don Pierson]

...I just put it in my "vise" for the sake of the picture. Attached are pics of finished projects...gifts for grandkids. Yes it is confusing...one board has pins AND tails and the other board has corresponding sockets for them. The two boards go together at 45 degrees...assuming the boards are of equal thickness.

[jonathan snyder]

Robert,

Thanks for the pics of the tail vise construction. I have the same hardware so your pictures will be really helpful. I hope to start construction on my bench this winter.

JOnathan

[Mark Stutz]

Don,
Those are great...will be a while before I would even attempt such a thing.

Robert,
Sorry to hijack this thread:o

Mark

[Robert Miller]

Robert,

Thanks for the pics of the tail vise construction. I have the same hardware so your pictures will be really helpful. I hope to start construction on my bench this winter.

JOnathan


Sure thing, if you want to build the end vise like I did, follow the instructions in the book The Workbench by Landis.

My bench is based on the trestle base in Fine Woodworking, and a modification of the Frank Klausz bench. Let me know if I can help you with any questions.

[jonathan snyder]

Thanks Robert, I might take you up on that offer, if I run into any snags. I have the Landis book as well as the Schilling book , and will probably pick up Chris Schwartz new workbench book when it comes out.

Thanks again
Jonathan

Sure thing, if you want to build the end vise like I did, follow the instructions in the book The Workbench by Landis.

My bench is based on the trestle base in Fine Woodworking, and a modification of the Frank Klausz bench. Let me know if I can help you with any questions.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Where did you find the 16/4 x 16/4 quarter sawn white oak? or even the 8/4 or 10/4 you made the top out of?
All I could find are 4/4 boards. Is the bench your own design or from a plan I could buy?

[Robert Miller]

Where did you find the 16/4 x 16/4 quarter sawn white oak? or even the 8/4 or 10/4 you made the top out of?
All I could find are 4/4 boards. Is the bench your own design or from a plan I could buy?


I bought the oak from Alva Hardwoods in Alva Fl. www.alvahardwoods.com (http://www.alvahardwoods.com)
Merrill is a terrific guy, but he is closed till November.

The bench is a hybred of a couple designs.
The base is a design from a bench in Fine Woodworking. ( issue no. 151 by Lon Scheneling) I liked the wedged tenons and the design overall.
The top dimensions are directly from Frank Klausz bnech,which has exact dimensions in the appendix of the Workbench book by Landis. The difference is the vises. I used a Nelson style end vise and front vise instead of the third leg and wooden vise in the Klausz design.
Other than that, I followed the Klausz design exactly.
The vise hardware is the large size vises from Lee Valley.