Combination of bench build, dust collection and wood screw

[Tom Bussey]

I finally got to the point of establishing the bench height. My my top's thickness is 4 inches,
I am not planning on getting into the top thickness controversy. It can be any thickness the maker wants to make it. I don't really care about the thickness except for the fact that it is a controlling factor in bench height.


My body likes a height of 34 inches when using a hand plane. As a reference my table saw height is 34 1/2 inches off the floor So the working height is similar. My body also likes standing on a anti- fatigue mat and my mat is around 1/2 inches thick so my ideal bench height is 34 1/2 inches neigh.


So 34 1/2 minus 4 makes the leg assembly 30 1/2 inches. Now this is not normally a problem in a bench build except for the fact that every thing is on a 15 degree angle and locked together with 4 wedges and loose tenons. I felt it would be easier the cut the final height in assembly.


My shop is in a building which is over 100 years old. And it has a basement so my floor is wood which is on wood floor Joyce's and it can be a little on the wavy side. which is why I decided to do the work on my bench. My bench is on the best part of the floor and my top is as flat as over 50 years of Tool and Die Making and woodworking experience can make it.


So the height of what you are seeing is 34 inches of bench height and a little over 30 1/2 inches for the assembly, so it makes the height at 64 1/2 inches or around 65 inches and my hands are over my head.. My line of sight is at the bottom of the cutter and I ate chips even though I wore a dust mask, and a face shield over my safety glasses.


How I cut it is assembly.

DSC04242.JPG DSC04243.JPG

And the results, the third picture has the piece that the bench screw goes in It will get locked into the top with a loose tenon The piece is also loose tenoned in the stretcher and leg The loose tenon is glued in the stretcher only. The rest floats

DSC04247.JPG DSC04248.JPG DSC04250.JPG DSC04251.JPG

And a selfie of kind of what I looked like afterwards.

DSC04244.JPG

This is getting long so I will finish it in reply.

[Tom Bussey]

It seems that everything I read now involves dust collection and how a lot of young people are being indoctrinated about fine dust particles in the lungs and blood stream. If it is such a threat to human existence why hasn't it been standardized? I have as much dust collection om my table saw and I still can't get it all, it is my biggest dust producer. my jointer has it but it can't get it all. I have it on all my machines and I can't get it all. and now for my safety I need to connect it to my portable sanders so now I need hearing protection or my hearing will go bad from the load shop vac. Now we have to have a box under the router table to get the chips that the dust collection above the table misses.

Any way I am going to solve the problem I created when I cut the legs to height with a bench brush, broom and dust pan and finally a shop vac with hearing protection on. I forgot to mention hearing protection when i mentioned dust mask, and face shield over safety glasses. Don't get me wrong about safety, I believe in protecting what I can't replace. I can not protect the hearing I lost 55 years ago in the Navy.

Anyway I didn't want a vacuum hose connected to a router which I was using over my head so here is what i have to clean up.

DSC04241.JPG DSC04245.JPG DSC04246.JPG DSC04252.JPG DSC04253.JPG

Which brings me to where I am going, and that is to locate the wood screw that I asked about in a different post. I have the block the screw goes locked in place and the height down from the top of the bench has been established.

Now I have all the joints pinned, flushed upped and the first coat of finish on the whole bottom put on. And life is good.