Yet another Moravian bench build

[Steven Mikes]

Finally got started on building the new bench a couple months ago. Life has been pretty crazy since (even before the coronavirus) so progress was slow, but steady. Tried to remember and take a few pictures along the way. the base is yellow pine framing lumber. Top is a red oak slab. I bought the slab intending to put it on as-is, but it was pretty rough and warped, and final thickness would have been only about 2", so I decided to cut it into strips and laminate. Now the top is almost 4" thick

I had to remake one of the 4 corner leg pieces after gluing it on backwards. Luckily I was able to cut it off with saw and chisel and salvage the tennons on the cross pieces, so those could be reused. Flattening the top sure made a mess...

[Steven Mikes]

A few more pictures to bring us to today. Mostly stages of flattening the top, plus a stress test for load bearing ability. Also a close-up of the first hole I put in the bench. Probably one of the only stepped-diameter dog holes in the world! Why you ask? Because I grabbed a 1" forstner bit thinking it was 3/4". Luckily I switched to a brace after about an inch in. The remaining 3" are still plenty to hold a holdfast tight, but it will still serve as a lifelong reminder of my foolishness

I also used a gouge on a couple areas to create depressions, the wood was weak there and not supported to due internal voids (from cracks). They've actually been useful so far, almost like mini tool trays

I don't have enough oak left to make another slab and didn't feel like spending much to buy more, so just bought more yellow pine and have started making the rest of the top from that. Should be done in another week or two. The vice from Benchcrafted is on the way, will have to assemble and install that last.

(if someone can tell me how to stop the pictures from rotating I'd appreciate it btw)

[ken hatch]

Congrats Steven, the bench is looking good.

ken

[Gerald Schram]

steven it looks like youll be able to land a air plane on that bench, how long will the top be? that looks like it will be a beast. jerry

[John Keeton]

Looks very nice! You may want to consider the different dimensional change coefficients of red oak vs. SYP. That could be an aggravation with combining two different woods in your top.

[Steven Mikes]

I was aiming for 7' long, ended up a little shorter at about 6' 8". Wanted to be able to work on long pieces like bed rails.

John I'm actually doing a split top, so the pine slab will just lie next to the oak with an inch or two gap.

[David Eisenhauer]

Looking good Steven. Nice progress and looks like it will work for you. The BC vise will add to it's usefulness as well. Thanks for sharing.

[Frederick Skelly]

Nice work! Good idea on that stress test, too!
Fred

[Steven Mikes]

Well, progress has been slower than hoped for with other house (or yard) projects taking available time. I have, however, managed to finish the body of the bench, and just have the vice left to install.
Was wondering, if I remember from when I went to see Will Meyer's demonstration a while back, his vice block had tenons on top and bottom, but also somehow hooked into a cutout area on the leg.

Would the tenons I've cut here be enough without that extra holding?

[Blake M Williams]

I've had this on my to do list for st least two years. Looks awesome man!

[ken hatch]

Well, progress has been slower than hoped for with other house (or yard) projects taking available time. I have, however, managed to finish the body of the bench, and just have the vice left to install.
Was wondering, if I remember from when I went to see Will Meyer's demonstration a while back, his vice block had tenons on top and bottom, but also somehow hooked into a cutout area on the leg.

Would the tenons I've cut here be enough without that extra holding?

Steven,

I expect Will demoed building with a wood screw and screw nut. Holding the screw nut was the reason for leg cut out. If I read this thread correctly you are using the BC screw and crisscross, for that installation there is no need for the cutouts. when you install the crisscross the top leg of the crisscross will have a 3/8" rod that goes thru the vise block and into the leg. The reason for that rod is of course to hold the upper leg but also so you can remove the crisscross and it will also stabilize the screw block by adding another mount point. Long way around to; the two M/T on the vise block plus the 3/8" rod is all you need.

BTW, if building with a wood screw and nut I've found the leg cut out is not needed.Three or four lag screws will hold the nut just fine and is a lot less fiddly to install.

ken

[Steven Mikes]

Thanks Ken, I was hoping someone would say that =)

[Mike Manning]

Your moravian workbench looks great! As far as the pics go, if you're taking them with an iphone (the only thing I've got experience with) the default mode is landscape with the phone turned sideways, shutter button on the right side. I simply edit all my photos before posting. Generally will give 'em a crop, maybe brighten 'em and rotate as needed then hit SAVE. If you don't do the save after rotating it won't matter. But if you take everything with the phone sideways it shouldn't require any edit. That's my $0.02. :0)

[Steven Mikes]

It's finally done! Took a few pictures along the way. Mike thanks for the tip, I think I got them right-side-up now.

For the vice chop mortises, I drilled out the bulk of the waste with a bit and brace. The rear piece is (actually pretty soft and spongy, I'm slightly worried about its long-term durability) poplar, and was quick and easy. The front piece is mostly Ash, to which I laminated a piece of SYP on the front side to get the recommended thickness. Drilling in the ash was not the same experience as the soft poplar

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Here's a pic of working on the rear piece. It's amazing how useful the bench is even without a front vice actually.

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Next, a pic of me impatiently trying to fine tune the vice hardware placement before the glue was dry on the lamination. It ended up working pretty smoothly, not *quite* free-spinning but close. I had to shim the rear threaded metal piece a little to get the alignment right.

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After removing the clamps and test-fitting all the hardware.

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Next it was time to give the chop some form.

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And a little decoration, before putting it in its final place.

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Finally, the complete bench.

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Ken I want to thank you for being such a big proponent of these benches, definitely helped convince me to build one. I'll give it a few months to get comfortable with using it

[ken hatch]

It's finally done! Took a few pictures along the way. Mike thanks for the tip, I think I got them right-side-up now.

...

Ken I want to thank you for being such a big proponent of these benches, definitely helped convince me to build one. I'll give it a few months to get comfortable with using it

ejn

Steven,

I hope you enjoy using the bench, while all benches are a set of plus and minuses I think for most modern woodworkers the Moravian is a good compromise.

ken