Starting on my workbench

[Marcus Ward]

I've started on my workbench. I've got about half the top glued up. So far it's 3" thick white oak and about 14" wide, 7.5' long. I'm going to add 10 more inches to it, the front will probably be a 5" thick skirt maybe 4" wide. Feeding that initial glueup into my planer last night was a bear of a job. I'm glad I didn't make it any thicker, we would have needed a chain hoist to move it.

After much consideration I think I'm going to have to have a tail vise. I spent all morning figuring out how to build one with the cheaper lee valley hardware and I think I've got it figured out. I'm basing this bench on the grizzly H8110 as I like the layout and the drawers will be nice storage for my ever increasing inventory of hand planes. I think I'm going to skip the tool tray though because I have a habit of filling available space with junk and less space for junk is probably a good thing. Anyone have a compelling argument in favor of the tool tray?

One of my big questions is whether to go with square or round dog holes. I'm at a point where I can add either one but I am sort of stuck on the various pluses and minuses of each design. Anyone care to comment?

Luckily I am tall enough that the perfect height also happens to be the height of my table saw table so it will be positioned near it to catch lumber.

Here are a couple of pics of my vise design. They're linked because they're kind of big. I need to tweak it a little but I think this will work.

http://www.f-64.org/vise/vise6.jpg

http://www.f-64.org/vise/vise7.jpg



Here is a pic of the glueup.

http://www.f-64.org/bench.jpg

[David Weaver]

Definitely not going to lift that up and move it around with your pinky finger.

[Jason Beam]

Not bad!

The vise design looks interesting and I'll be keeping an eye on your design as I may decide to add a tail to my recently completed bench, too.

I have settled firmly on round dog holes because I like that they can hold irregular shapes better without digging square corners into the workpiece. That, and my holdfasts will fit the same holes. Hopefully that reduces the number of holes I need to drill.

I agree with not having a tool tray. For me, it's just one more chip/shaving/dust catcher that would have to be maintained. My intention is to develop the "put it away if it's not in your hands" philosophy or some variation thereof. I also like the idea of having the added mass of wood instead of the cavity.


What style base do you plan to make for it?

Will you be going shoulder vise or a regular front vise?

[Marcus Ward]

I'll do a regular front vise for it. The base is going to be made from pine, all pegged mortise and tenon, a large stretcher on the back and a small stretcher on the front at the top of the cabinet. Shaker style maybe? I'm not sure what you'd call it. I'm going to leave a gap under the top for setting tools when not in use but that need to be handy soon.

Here are how the legs are going to be built with the cabinets not shown (huge file). I left a tiny stretcher in front to not eat up all the drawer space but to have something the shelf can rest on and the dividers can attach to.

http://www.f-64.org/vise/benchlegs.jpg

[Marcus Ward]

Here are 2 (large) pics of how I envision the base:

http://www.f-64.org/vise/bench1.jpg

http://www.f-64.org/vise/bench2.jpg

I am thinking maybe some holes along the back edge for chisel storage while working would be nice too. Anyone have those on their bench?

Another thought on the vise - where the tenon on the jaw goes through the skirt on the table there should be something on the back, a square of wood, large washer, something to keep the vise going straight and not allowing it to rack to one side. As it is now the only thing holding it in line is the screw.

[Jason Beam]

A friend has a "mini" bench that's about 2' square that he clamps to his main bench for when he needs elevated surfaces for dovetails and such. On that bench, he has holes of various shapes for all of his hand cut joinery tools - chisels, malets, gauges, etc. It works really well for those kinds of things.

I'm glad you showed more pics. I fully understand your vision for the shelf under the top.

For the vise - Will the "nut" be mounted to an apron piece that is applied to the end? If so, you've got a chance now to make a T-shaped slot for that tenon to run in. Then you could mount a cross piece to your tenon once inserted (to ease disassembly if needed). That'd keep the whole mechanism from twisting or pulling away from the runner. Think that'd work?

If you don't plan an apron for that end, you could easily build a t-shaped block to mount the screw's nut to so that it'd still be quite strong. I like the idea of an apron over there, though, because it puts the clamping force into the strongest grain direction possible.

EDIT: Oh! Maybe better yet, turn that tenon into a dovetail?

[Marcus Ward]

Yeah that's the idea, the mount the nut on the apron and you're right, I need a slot to hold the vise against the table so it doesn't rack. I thought of that after I planned it out so it's not in the pics.

I'm kind of grinding my teeth waiting for payday so I can go to the sawmill and buy some more oak. Plus I'm building a morris chair for my wife at the same time and need more quartersawn.

[Jason Beam]

Isn't it weird how that works? For me, there's always an abundance of one thing, but not everything ... Lotsa time? I'm outta wood ... Plenty of wood? No time for the shop ... Time and wood aplenty? Well you don't have the right fastener for that and it's sunday ... Got all that? No ideas!!

Thankfully, the latter is probably not soon to come now that I've got a list as long as my arm of things I have to build as soon as the shop's in order. I drywalled the interior this spring and spent this entire summer getting re-organized. Soon, though, sawdust will be flying again! :D

[Todd Hyman]

Marcus,

That's some nice drawings. Are these from Sketch-up?

[Marcus Ward]

Yes, those are from sketchup. I've used it a few times but sort of got over the learning hump today and whipped that up.

Tonight I started cutting mortises for my wife's morris chair and after the first 2, noticed I had cut them both an inch too low. I'm all out of cusswords. :)

[Jason Beam]

DOH!!!

Hate when that happens :(

[Marcus Ward]

Tonight I cut my first dovetail ever. I had to use a bandsaw to cut it and I freehanded one of the pin cuts. It turned out okay. This was a test run for the dovetail that will attach the side to the end of my tail vise. The pin piece is 3 inches thick, the tail piece is 2 inches thick. They're oak. Chiseling the pin waste out was a bear.

http://www.f-64.org/10-03-07_1936.jpg

[Robert Rozaieski]

Tonight I cut my first dovetail ever. I had to use a bandsaw to cut it and I freehanded one of the pin cuts. It turned out okay. This was a test run for the dovetail that will attach the side to the end of my face vise. The pin piece is 3 inches thick, the tail piece is 2 inches thick. They're oak. Chiseling the pin waste out was a bear.

http://www.f-64.org/10-03-07_1936.jpg

Looks good! Better than the ones on my bench. I hear you on the hardness of the oak, however, if you ever work on any of the exotics you'll appreciate how "easy" oak is to work with. I've recently come to appreciate the "ease" of working domestic woods like oak and maple after doing some chisel work in my first ever piece of purpleheart. Now this stuff is like iron. Makes oak seem like pine! Not sure I will ever use it again. It eats up hand tool edges like candy.

[Ruston Hughes]

Yeah that's the idea, the mount the nut on the apron and you're right, I need a slot to hold the vise against the table so it doesn't rack. I thought of that after I planned it out so it's not in the pics.


One other thing to consider with respect to racking is the point where the force is applied in relation to the vise screw (e.g. the dogs). If the dogs are outside of the vise screw (closer to the edge of the bench) the vise will want to rack in that direction. Even if you use a guide with a T slot it has the potential to place a lot of force on that guide. Ideally, if the dog holes were directly over the vise screw there would be no side-to-side racking forces on the vise. However, I don't know if that's practical when looking at how you would construct a vise with the dog holes directly over the screw.

[Marcus Ward]

That's true, but putting the dog holes over the vise screw would be a problem because they couldn't be very deep. Mine are going to be about an inch to the left of the screw, and I think if I make the slot and guide out of thick enough oak it won't be a problem.

[Marcus Ward]

Well I've made some more progress. The top is almost finished and I'm working on the legs and finishing up some details on the top. It's upside down on my sawhorses right now. You can see the tail vise in this pic with the steel bar I've got in place to keep the vise from racking and on target. I ended up making the face portion of the vise out of walnut as I screwed up the cuts on the oak piece I had. I think the contrast is nice. Sorry for the quality of the pic, I'm using my phone to take em.

http://www.f-64.org/tailvise.jpg

[Marcus Ward]

More progress for those of you (anyone?) who are following along. I completed the legs and cabinet for the bottom. I still have to make drawers but now at least I can put the top on and make the drawers on the workbench! I am going to stain the legs/stretchers with green aniline and possibly milk paint over that. The panels will be stained cherry to match the (real) cherry drawers. There are many little things I would do differently but I felt it was more important to get the bench done than absolutely perfect. I will build the next one perfect. :)

http://www.f-64.org/base.jpg

[jonathan snyder]

Looking good Marcus! I just started on one myself. I'm still dimensioning lumber for the base.

Jonathan

[glenn bradley]

I'm going to leave a gap under the top for setting tools when not in use but that need to be handy soon.

Good planning on the shelf or gap under the top. I did the same and its very handy and gives dust and small objects that fall into the dog holes somewhere to go ;-)

[Jason Beam]

I'm watching! :)

The steel strap is interesting - it's tough to tell for sure how it's guiding things - i assume you've got a tab of wood or metal that runs on the "inside" edge? Trying to picture it in my mind's eye ... too bad it's blind!

[Jim Dunn]

I'm watching! :)

The steel strap is interesting - it's tough to tell for sure how it's guiding things - i assume you've got a tab of wood or metal that runs on the "inside" edge? Trying to picture it in my mind's eye ... too bad it's blind!

Isn't the steel strap designed so as to counter the pressure from the vice? I'm not sure it's guiding anything, but if it is, I'd like a better explanation as I can't picture it. (not enough coffee this morning:o)

[Marcus Ward]

Yeah it's to counter sideways force from the vise and dogholes not being in line, and also as a sort of guide. The face-block for the tail vise is L shaped and the tail of the L rides against the bottom of the top under that metal strap. There is a dado cut in it for that strap to ride in. Does that make any sense? If I had to do all this again I think I'd just spend the money and buy the tail vise screw that has the metal rails just to avoid all the headache of assembling this. Retrofitting that later would be easy if this one turns out to be a PITA. Thanks for all the kind words guys.

[Steve Clardy]

Looks good Marcus.

We'll have ta get together and swap some woodworking stories. :)

[Ken Martin]

Looks good Marcus.

Ken Martin
Quote I read
Strive for perfection - settle for completion.

[Robert Goodwin]

I agree with getting it done and you can fix the problems you have on the next one. I have started 3 benches only to start again because something wasn;t exactly perfect. I need to just finish one so I can work on the honey do list. Maybe I subconsciously do not want to accomplish anything on the honey do list.

[Marcus Ward]

I stained the legs last night with green aniline, I quite like the color. I'm going to throw 4 or 5 coats of witch's brew on it and call it good. Maybe 2 coats. I'm impatient. :)

http://www.f-64.org/dyed.jpg

[Marcus Ward]

My wife and I muscled the top on tonight. It's near complete. I need to finish the tail vise, add ramps in the tool crib, level the top, and put a finish on it and it's good to go. I found out on a traditional tail vise that 'other' chunk that runs underneath from the edge of the face piece to the face of the tail proper has a purpose. I left it off and the vise sags when untightened. I'll be adding that tomorrow. Here are some pics. Thanks for all the encouragement guys.

http://www.f-64.org/workbench2.jpg


http://www.f-64.org/workbench1.jpg

[Jim Dunn]

Great looking job Marcus. I like the green dye on the base. Now you going to make drawers for the base?

[Marcus Ward]

Yes, most definitely. I've never made drawers before, I want cherry fronts, but other than that... got any advice?

[Jason Beam]

Lookin' great!

For drawers: have your hardware IN HAND before you finilize all dimensions. If you're using wood glides, it's a little more forgiving to fine-tune. But full-extension drawer glides are much easier to buy than to build :)

Size your pieces as accurately as you're able to. Like side lengths, set up a stop and cut them all before moving that stop. Squareness is pretty important to keep the drawer from binding.

They're really not THAT hard once you've done a few. Take the leap and do lots of dry-fits :)

[Marcus Ward]

Okay the workbench is ... not finished, but usable. I still need to build drawers but I have some better pictures and a bit of tool gloat. Forgive the load times.

http://www.f-64.org/workbench/2.jpg

http://www.f-64.org/workbench/3.jpg

http://www.f-64.org/workbench/4.jpg

http://www.f-64.org/workbench/5.jpg

[Roy Wall]

Marcus,

Congrats on a great looking bench! Talk about sturdy......looks terrific!

Nice family of planes there too......

[Louis Bois]

Nicely done Marcus!!! Once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. May it give you a lifetime of pleasure...and ease all your hand tool work.

Cheers!!!

[Don Bullock]

Wow!! Marcus, your bench came out looking great. Congratulations on a job well done. You now have a special "tool" for your shop that will serve you well for many years.

[Dusty Fuller]

A big happy family... parents, grandparents, babies... any red-headed stepchildren in that bunch of planes? I'd like to have that many but I'd have nowhere to put them and not enough projects to use them on (yet). Nice bench!

Dusty

[Marcus Ward]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I am in wichita right now for a job interview - not sure how THAT went! - and scoured some antique stores while here. Picked up a #4 1/2 for 12$. Saw a couple of other likely candidates but now that the collection is getting kind of fat I find myself getting very picky.

[Ken Stevens]

A friend has a "mini" bench that's about 2' square that he clamps to his main bench for when he needs elevated surfaces for dovetails and such. On that bench, he has holes of various shapes for all of his hand cut joinery tools - chisels, malets, gauges, etc. It works really well for those kinds of things.



Jason: this comment caught my eye as I am learning to hand cut dovetails and truth be told, it is killing my back to bend over to do the chisel work. Any way you can describe your friend's "mini" bench in more detail or even obtain a photo of it. I have been using a simple box clamped to the workbench and then several clamps for the boards but it is not elegant nor friendly.

Any further info or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Ken

[John Schreiber]

I love the look of the green dye on the legs. I think many traditional benches were painted and this shows why.

Congratulations on your accomplishment and keep on building.

[Eric Sabo]

Absolutely beautiful. Gives me some inspiration to build - not buy - my lifetime bench.

[Jay Fields]

Great looking bench. I'm sure it will last a couple of lifetimes.

[Jerry Olexa]

Excellent works....Looks good and I'm sure is sturdy. Be proud. Enjoy it...

[jude samson]

Hi Marcus
Pardon me I came late to the party. Why not insert a cabinet between the legs of the base, instead of stretchers. The cabinet would plumb/square/level everything off. Or if you are not stuck on the very traditional look of a bench needing legs, make a base cabinet wfeet simular to the trditional bases. I recently purchase a bench from a retiring furniture maker. He took out the stretchers & inserted a plywood cabinet between the legs. I plan to build a new teak cabinet to go along w/the Rhodesian Teak of the bench.

Respectfully Jude in NYC!

Good luck w/your task at hand, I can't wait to see the finished product.

[Jason Beam]

Jason: this comment caught my eye as I am learning to hand cut dovetails and truth be told, it is killing my back to bend over to do the chisel work. Any way you can describe your friend's "mini" bench in more detail or even obtain a photo of it. I have been using a simple box clamped to the workbench and then several clamps for the boards but it is not elegant nor friendly.

Any further info or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken,

Sorry it took so long to reply - I hadn't popped into this thread in awhile. I'll see if I can find out if the plans have been published for it yet. I know the guy was working with FWW to get some plans drawn up and published, I just haven't heard about it. I'll check with him tonight.

[Marcus Ward]

Hi Jude - basically I know nothing about building a cabinet, but I know how legs and stretchers work, so 4 drawers down below will have to do. If I rebuild the base later I might try the cabinet thing. Thanks for the kind words.

M

[Jason Beam]

Jason: this comment caught my eye as I am learning to hand cut dovetails and truth be told, it is killing my back to bend over to do the chisel work. Any way you can describe your friend's "mini" bench in more detail or even obtain a photo of it. I have been using a simple box clamped to the workbench and then several clamps for the boards but it is not elegant nor friendly.

Any further info or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken,

Sorry it took so long to reply - I hadn't popped into this thread in awhile. I'll see if I can find out if the plans have been published for it yet. I know the guy was working with FWW to get some plans drawn up and published, I just haven't heard about it. I'll check with him tonight.


Update: The guy I spoke to told me he's been selling the plans and he'd be happy to speak with anyone interested. I wish I had a pic of it, but suffice it to say it's very much like a regular bench only about 18" tall and 24" square(ish). I don't wanna hijack marcus' thread any further so if you're interested, feel free to PM me for my friend's contact info.

[Larry Heflin]

Ken,

There are plans for a nice trestle mini-bench with a vice in Fine Woodworking #176 in an illustrated article named "A Benchtop Bench" by Jeff Miller. Or, if you have their online subscription it's available there.



Jason: this comment caught my eye as I am learning to hand cut dovetails and truth be told, it is killing my back to bend over to do the chisel work. Any way you can describe your friend's "mini" bench in more detail or even obtain a photo of it. I have been using a simple box clamped to the workbench and then several clamps for the boards but it is not elegant nor friendly.

Any further info or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Ken

[Marcus Ward]

Update: The guy I spoke to told me he's been selling the plans and he'd be happy to speak with anyone interested. I wish I had a pic of it, but suffice it to say it's very much like a regular bench only about 18" tall and 24" square(ish). I don't wanna hijack marcus' thread any further so if you're interested, feel free to PM me for my friend's contact info.

Oh no, please hijack. I am interested in this too. Being 6'2" it's tough to bend over and work on a surface that's the right height to use for hand planing. Do continue in public please, I'm sure we aren't the only 2 people interested in this.

[Jason Beam]

Oh no, please hijack. I am interested in this too. Being 6'2" it's tough to bend over and work on a surface that's the right height to use for hand planing. Do continue in public please, I'm sure we aren't the only 2 people interested in this.

Well in that case, I'll ask the guy for a photo or two to help give you guys the idea. Maybe he'll send along a nice description of the plans. I know he had a fella take pictures and he drew up some stuff, too, i think. I'll nag him till he gives in :D

[Marcus Ward]

I bucked up and paid for a membership to FWW so I could download their plans. It's an awesome idea and I'll implement it as soon as I finish the beams for our living room. (Otherwise, my wife will kill me). However, please do continue and see if you can get some stuff from your friend. His implementation might be better than the one I got.

[Marcus Ward]

I was working on my wife's morris chair tonight and snapped a couple of pics.

http://www.f-64.org/chair.jpg

And here is my cat lying on the bench. Yes, he's that big. A friend of mine remarked it is like having a bobcat in the house. His name is Grendel.

http://www.f-64.org/grendel.jpg