First Project

[Wallaceandsons]

https://youtu.be/ybWrsqUA0HA

I love Pask Makes.

 

[PaxWorks]

Hi All,

Sorry for the lack of updates, progress has been a bit slow due to a raging hangover last weekend coupled with getting ready to start my new job next week.

I decided to head down to the local B&Q for the plywood and get them to cut it into managable sizes for me:

The cutting service was great, especially because when I got home I realised that they'd somehow only charged me for 1 sheet, instead of 3, which is always a bonus. I had it in my head that it would be easiest to just get them to cut the sheets into manageable sizes that were big enough for me to trim down to size, however after battling with ripping down 6 foot lengths to size accurately, I probably should have just got them to cut it all to final dimensions to save myself some hassle. Hoping to invest in a table saw at some point in the next few months which should make that easier for future projects.

I'm now at a point where I have the bottom shelf in, the base for the torsion box cut to size, and both long sides cut down to size:

I've made a start on the holes in the sides, but I'm currently waiting on the batteries for my jigsaw to recharge because I completely forgot to charge them last night. The good news is that the one I have cut so far seems to be plenty sturdy enough, able to support my full body weight at the weakest point with barely any flex.

Next step is finishing the sides and getting the ends cut down to size so I can start assembling the torsion box. I'm currently debating the best way to assemble the torsion box. I have some 90 degree brackets lying around from some shelving I put up in my old house, so not sure whether I'll use those to mount the top or more pocket holes. I'm running into an issue where the bottoms of the holes I've cut aren't tall enough to take the pocket screws, but I'll tackle that once I have all of the pieces cut down.

Enjoying myself so far, even after making plenty of mistakes, and it helps to have my shop assistant giving me judging looks everytime I screw something up.

 

[PaxWorks]

I finally had a full afternoon to dedicate to the workbench today, and I'm happy to say it's all done minus a few finishing touches:

It's far from perfect, but for a first project I'm more than happy with it. Definitely learnt a lot and really enjoyed the process.

Now I just need to soften up some of the edges on the plywood. I wasn't sure whether it was worth putting any kind of finish on it, so any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for all the help and advice, now I just need to figure out what the next project is going to be!

 

[Bodgers]

I finally had a full afternoon to dedicate to the workbench today, and I'm happy to say it's all done minus a few finishing touches:







It's far from perfect, but for a first project I'm more than happy with it. Definitely learnt a lot and really enjoyed the process.

Now I just need to soften up some of the edges on the plywood. I wasn't sure whether it was worth putting any kind of finish on it, so any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for all the help and advice, now I just need to figure out what the next project is going to be!

If you are going to be doing glue ups on it some finish might help. Water based poly varnish should do it. You will probably want to do both sides of the top to reduce warping, which means you might have to be disassembling a bit



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[Spearmint Wino]

Looks good! I’m hoping to build something similar next year.

Now it’s finished does it have the heft you were after? Would it be a suitable bench for attaching a vice to?

 

[PaxWorks]

Looks good! I’m hoping to build something similar next year.

Now it’s finished does it have the heft you were after? Would it be a suitable bench for attaching a vice to?

Thanks The bench itself isn't particularly heavy, which is no surprise considering the base didn't weigh much and the Paulk torsion box top is actually designed to be light/portable. However once I'd filled the bottom shelf and some of the torsion box with tools and whatnot, it made it feel a lot more stable than it did when it was empty.

In my extremely limited experience, I think it might be able to handle a vice but I'm not sure if it would stay completely still if put under considerable lateral force. I think that's mostly down to the casters I have on the concrete floor I have though, as they don't have a huge amount of grip.

 

[will1983]

Looks great Pax, you should be well proud of that, it's better than most peoples first project!

You might want to run a little round over to all the edges, it'll stop you scratching you arm every time you reach into the bench for something.

As mentioned earlier, I'd definitely throw some finish at it. It doesn't have to be anything special, just a coat or two of Danish oil will do. It'll make it easier to clean up glue, overspray, grease, oil etc.

Spearmint Wino, this is predominantly a power tool and assembly bench. You could fit a vice to it but it's not really suited to heavyweight hand tool work like mortising and hand planing. If you need a bench for that your better off building a Paul Sellers type bench.

 

[Spearmint Wino]

Spearmint Wino, this is predominantly a power tool and assembly bench. You could fit a vice to it but it's not really suited to heavyweight hand tool work like mortising and hand planing. If you need a bench for that your better off building a Paul Sellers type bench.

Cool, thanks for the advice. I guess portability doesn't go with heft! As I don't have a dedicated space (yet) and I'm mainly power tools this sort of bench seems like the best option for me for now.

Pax, looking forward to see what you make on it next 8)