I know building my own bench is a good learning experience. For personal reasons I was hoping to find someone to build it for me.
But none of the custom woodworking shops around Cleveland have responded when I sent drawing of what I wanted. They are probably busy with their stock in trade work that doesn't require:
- ripping and face gluing 8/4 stock for a split top of two 78" long sections 11" and 14" wide
- 4 bridle joints
- 8 mortise and stub tenon joints
- 12 mortise and through tenon joints
- excavating underside of top for two 7" single screw Record style vises
- etc.
Maybe I just need to cast a wider net to any shop in Ohio or close adjoining states.
Any ideas of someone you could trust to find good kiln dried hard wood (at least for top) that will be stable in the unheated garage the bench will stay. And take care to arrange boards so that the grain is running in the same direction throughout the laminations, for easier hand planing the top when surface needs to be leveled or cleaned.
Couldn't get 3 pages/views of bench into a small enough file size to send.
Thank you,
Tim