Back To Building a New Shop Bench

[ken hatch]

Nice! One day I'll finish the Moronian and you can tell your bench that her ugly third cousin lives in Texas.

Kory,

I thought I'd lived the song "I've been everywhere man", but Coffee City? BTW, I'm proof that you can take the boy out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the boy.

ken

[ken hatch]

Looks great Ken. Stout enough to build some really big stuff, locomotives, C 5s, Frigates. I'll be watching to see��
Jim

Jim,

Thanks.

I figure if I ever stop making things I can use it along with a couple of ramps to work on the truck .

I'm not sure what will be the first project, I've a couple of chair seat blanks ready to work on and MsBubba wants a new dining table but who knows.

ken

[ken hatch]

Tusk tenon size is on my mind also. My tenons are 6" and my white oak tusks 12", I still think they may need to be bigger. When you look at the area of contact 6/16"x 3" (on mine) each side seems small. Time will tell but easy to fix.
I'm wondering why you did not make the dog holes earlier when you glued up the top?
Your progress has been stellar!

William,

I'm never sure which side will be the top nor how the slab will be orrentated until it is installed. Using round dogs it is just easier to wait, I've built a couple of benches with square dogs made during the glue up process and they were not worth the effort.

I think longer is better up to a point. I had some cutoffs the correct thickness but not wide enough to make longer wedges. I used the cutoff for quick and dirty wedges knowing I would need to come back and re-make. Like you said, it's an easy fix.

ken

[ken hatch]

Done, time to sweep up and put tools away. I'll leave the portable up and in the way for a bit. As I clean up the build the slab may, will, need to come off a few times and the portable bench makes it easier. Over the next few days I'll add some dog holes, clean up the slab end grain and the tool tray. A couple of stops need to be made and fitted. And somewhere in there I'll need to take it apart to clean up the stretchers and bases.


Future bench appliances will be ledgers and a lower shelf and maybe a deadman. The deadman I've used before were more in the way than helpful, I think I may have figured out how to make one work, we will see.


Some photos of the bench:

benchFinishedA.jpgbenchFinishedB.jpgbenchFinishedC.jpg




And last the Glamour shot:

benchFinishedGlamerShot.jpg


What a great bench, all the advantages of a Roubo with none of the drawbacks.


ken

[Matthew Hartlin]

there is some though of a deadman, not likely but the English style apron is really handy and a dead man could almost do the same job.

Working on an English bench currently, this is my biggest worry about building the Moravian bench. I notice that I use my holdfasts in the apron a lot when working longer pieces. But I'm also looking forward to being able to pull a stool up to the bench and not have my knees cramped into the apron!

[ken hatch]

Working on an English bench currently, this is my biggest worry about building the Moravian bench. I notice that I use my holdfasts in the apron a lot when working longer pieces. But I'm also looking forward to being able to pull a stool up to the bench and not have my knees cramped into the apron!

Matthew,

One of my other benches is a Roubo with an English style apron. I know what you mean about both the good and bad of the apron. Also before the French/English bench I had a Roubo with a deadman and the deadman was a PITA to use. That's most of the reason for the apron on the current bench. I think I've figured out how the fix the problems I had with the deadman so I expect I will add one later to this bench.

ken

[Kory Cassel]

Kory,

I thought I'd lived the song "I've been everywhere man", but Coffee City? BTW, I'm proof that you can take the boy out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the boy.

ken

The 'City' part is strong talk. Used to be a catfish restaurant, marina, and gas station. Now it's got a couple dollar stores too.

[ken hatch]

The 'City' part is strong talk. Used to be a catfish restaurant, marina, and gas station. Now it's got a couple dollar stores too.

Kory,

I spent a large part of my early years in Coffee City clones. In fact my Dad owned a bait and gas stop on Lake Amstead for several years. I think as a way to write off his fishing jones because it sure never made any money. He and my Mom would go down almost every weekend, by that time I was off seeing the rest of the world.

ken

[Kory Cassel]

Kory,

I spent a large part of my early years in Coffee City clones. In fact my Dad owned a bait and gas stop on Lake Amstead for several years. I think as a way to write off his fishing jones because it sure never made any money. He and my Mom would go down almost every weekend, by that time I was off seeing the rest of the world.

ken

Ken,
Well I can certainly relate to your Dad's dilemma with this woodworking thing I've got goin on! LOL Time and no money or money and no time. I too left Texas, poked around a bit, but I decided better come back to where life moved at my speed...slow and easy.

[Steve Southwood]

Looks good Ken. BTW, I finally started on mine.

[ken hatch]

Looks good Ken. BTW, I finally started on mine.

Steve,

Thanks, Congrats on the start. I hope you will do a tic-toc of the build with photos.

Will it be small and portable or a big sucker?

ken

[Steve Southwood]

Will be the same as Will's in the video. Height will be a touch taller.

[ken hatch]

Will be the same as Will's in the video. Height will be a touch taller.

Steve,

I've used the portable sized bench for the last couple of years usually in preference to my massive French/English bench. I think you will be very happy with its performance.

ken