I am kinda at 6's and 7's here, but I am going with it. I have a plank of 4/4 American Beech 14 1/8 wide by 93 inches long. My younger boy wears a 13.5 American sized shoe. He is 31 years old and still hasn't "grown into" his feet. I want my son to feel at home and not a freak when he comes to visit. One thing I can do, as Dad, is provide a bench in the mudroom wide or deep enough to take his shoes too without him having to feel like some kind of freakish individual leaving his enormous shoes on the floor of my mudroom.
The 14 1/8 inch beech plank I have is the widest plank of North American hardwood I have seen in a, well, decades. I am using it, full width, to honor both my son and the tree.
I find myself choosing between Chris Schwarz's _Design Book_ 'Low boarded bench' and the 'Boot bench' in _By Hand and by Eye_ from George Walker and Jim Tolpin.
I am going to kind of "mash-up" advice from both to make the best bench I can. One problem is Chris suggests using a plank species that 'doesn't move much in service,' but NA beech moves more than white oak in service. The finished bench, if it moves enough in service, may pull itself apart and end up in my BBQ pit where American beech is useful (if expensive) on poultry, good on shellfish, decent on wild caught salmon, and decent but mild on beef for those unfamiliar with smoked meats.
I am leaving room in this post for a moderator to someday paste in a pic of the finished project. I am going for the "intermediate level" in Chris Schwarz's lexicon where there is a bunch of hand planing required to make this surface flat and that other surface flat and pretty, but with respect to the proportions identified by Walker and Tolpin.
I do have, and should explicate, a great deal of respect for the old guys like 'Steve' who have a bad knee and decide daily if they have the juice to drop a fight of stairs, do some woodworking, and have enough juice left over to climb a flight of stairs rather than call the fire department to carry them home (upstairs one level). There is a bunch of disputable stuff in here, but the folks who keep trying and keep fighting are my heroes, my guides, and hopefully my (if I don't give up) future. I do want a single level forever home, but I have limited interest in pulling laundry detail for my similarly aged wife without significant infilling from the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and memories.
First step for me is to prep a shooting plane. The finished project is going to have a relative acre of exposed end grain. When you enter the door of my home, you are going to see something like 24 inches of exposed end grain first, and then the rest of the mudroom bench. I am leaning towards 1:1:1 linseed oil/ paint thinner/ polyurethane as a high wearing finish. I am going to use a high knob #6 as my shooting plane, with a PMV11 iron honed to 8k diamond.
I am curious to know how many k diamond stone I need to pull a wire edge off my back bevel without disturbing the flat grey iron back Lee Valley shipped to me.
Once I am done with this fool thing, the mods are welcome to move this thread to the projects section, with a pic of the finished project (that I am leaving room for) in post one.
It is now December in Alaska. I am going to take a beech plank > 102 inches in length and greater than 5.5 inches width out to my driveway pad to rip to width using an electronic apprentice. This will otherwise be a hand tool 'only' project, but really a hybrid. The finished surfaces will be hand tool only; hopefully no sand paper baby Jesus as we prepare in Advent and celebrate during Christmastide your time on earth as a mortal man.
I pray for both 'Steve' and Derek to have a blessed holiday season. I will knock this bench thing out as fast as I can. I have a full time job. The last time I worked general med/surg charge RN in Fairbanks,(yesterday) 9/20 patients on the floor were younger than me, 11/20 were not. May the Peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding (or whatever higher power) be with you both and with you all (all y'all) during this blessed season.
Love to all, malice to none.
Scott
Reply With Quote