Prototype workbench build - WIP

[Phil Pascoe]

My top is now on a different frame than it was originally and fixed down with steel brackets. When I fitted them I turned over the frame and fixed them to that first with spacers to ensure that when the top was put in place there was a gap of a mil or so to pull it down dead - obviously any gap between the two when the job is done is undesirable. Through tenons to me are just making work, but of course that's only opinion - so long as there's no likelihood of any bounce it doesn't really much matter how you achieve it. It's not caused any concern whatsoever and as the bench has been moved four times it's ideal to be able to take half the weight off easily.

 

[El Barto]

Looking forward to seeing this come together Matt. Building a prototype bench probably isn't the worst idea. For instance, after building the Paul Sellers version of the English workbench it was interesting how quickly preferences were developed or how after using it I'd probably change a couple of things to suit the way I work. And by building and using a first version you can do that! I bet it'll prove very useful in the end.

 

[MattRoberts]

Looking forward to seeing this come together Matt. Building a prototype bench probably isn't the worst idea. For instance, after building the Paul Sellers version of the English workbench it was interesting how quickly preferences were developed or how after using it I'd probably change a couple of things to suit the way I work. And by building and using a first version you can do that! I bet it'll prove very useful in the end.

Cheers El Barto

 

[Tasky]

For instance, after building the Paul Sellers version of the English workbench it was interesting how quickly preferences were developed or how after using it I'd probably change a couple of things to suit the way I work.

^ Pretty much what I was going to suggest - Finding a simple but solid design that you can build quite cheap, and have room to modify and test out ideas for the future DreamBench. Kinda what I'm doing my own self at the minute.
You might decide you like dogging (fnar fnar) your work down with prarie dogs and does feet and holdfasts, or a bare top that you can swap boards around like Maguire's build.
I personally like the idea of a reversible strip that holds tools and is a planing stop, as I have several other things I'd do with that, but equally I'm playing with French Cleats and removable tool racks too see what I like.

Definitely experiment!!

 

[MattRoberts]

I'm all up for experimenting.

I have a scaffold screw that I'm planning to use to make a leg vice to see if I like it, as well as having various attachments that slot onto the top of the bench, such as: router planing sled rails, clamp holders for panel glue ups, a dispenser for my rolls of wax paper (invaluable for glue-ups / painting)...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I personally like the idea of a reversible strip that holds tools and is a planing stop, as I have several other things I'd do with that, but equally I'm playing with French Cleats and removable tool racks too see what I like.

I had a strip for tools down the middle but changed it for a solid one as the tools got in the way. It's easy, cheap and and quick to change, of course. I did the replacement very low for the first couple of feet and higher for the rest so I could flip it end to end according to the height I wanted (and dead flat on the reverse side, obviously.)

 

[Tasky]

I'm all up for experimenting.

Yes of course, but does the wife know this?

Ja ja, I'll get me coat... :lol:

I had a strip for tools down the middle but changed it for a solid one as the tools got in the way. It's easy, cheap and and quick to change, of course.

That's the beauty of the idea - You can swap it out so easily if you change your mind, or even make different ones for different tasks.
I figured it would be more a temporary holder than the permanent storage spot, anyway, depending on what job you're doing.

Admitedly this is inspired more by my mechanicking time, but still useful for those bad days when you keep picking up the wrong size tools and have to reach/hike across the workshop for others that then also turn out to be the wrong size or were put back in the wrong place, or whatever...

 

[MattRoberts]

The next step was to plane and thickness the components to size. Due to the dimensions, I chose to thickness the face and edge, rather than do the edge on the tablesaw.

Rinse and repeat, until I end up with all of the bottom components ready to go.

With some of the components, I could leave the central pieces long, as they will eventually form the tenons. In hindsight, however, I wish I hadn't. Unless you thickness evenly on both sides, you end up with the central piece off-centre, which makes extra work when marking and cutting the tenons. I think I'd rather have gone long on all pieces, that way I could treat it as a single workpiece when marking.

Here's the dimensioned stack. I had a little heater running in the workshop as it was bleedin' cold. It's not the greatest heater in the world, but was enough to help the glue dry as well as take the edge off when working in there.

On to marking up, and I took my time to carefully mark around all four sides and indicate waste areas. I find (from experience!) it helps avoid a lot of silly mistakes down the line.

I'm drilling out the majority of waste from the mortises with a forstner bit, so I marked and centre punched the centre of each mortise on both sides.

Over to the table saw to cut the shoulders. I first trimmed one end, and then used a stop block on the fence to help avoid any binding. I had also swapped the fence to the left side of the blade, as I hadn't yet cut the components to length and therefore couldn't reference from the other end. In hindsight, I didn't really need to do this and could have cut each component to final length - something I had to do later anyway.

Nice set of shoulders!

 

[MattRoberts]

Time to cut the tenons. I did the first set with a Japanese saw, but I must confess I did later ones using the bandsaw. My hand sawing isn't great, and despite having a terrible bandsaw with a resaw blade on, it was still an improvement over handsawing!

I did some initial cleanup with a chisel and then did a test fit. A little bit of massaging with chisels and a shoulder plane resulted in a satisfactory fit.

I'm planning on drawboring the tenons later, which brings me to a question: would softwood dowel be sufficient to use as the pegs? I have some 20mm oak dowel, but would rather save this for future use if normal softwood dowel will do the job.

 

[MattRoberts]

So cutting mortises in this wood sucks. It's super soft and springy, which means the fibres compress rather than cut cleanly. It almost feels like you're smashing the mortise out rather than chopping. It's also pretty difficult to keep clean edges, so cutting with a knife first is essential, as well as creeping up on the lines gradually to avoid taking off too much and denting the surrounding fibres in the process. I also seemed to need to sharpen my chisels very frequently, to ensure I had the sharpest edge possible at all times.

After completing the leg mortises, it was time to move on to the cross braces using the same technique:

• Cut mortise lines
• Drill mortise holes
• Chop through on both sides
• Chop back to lines
• Final trimming of mortise and tenons to fit

It's nice when it all comes together and each joint helps keep the other joints tight / in place. It feels like it's all coming together.

I'm undecided whether to wedge these through tenons or just leave them. I don't think they need to be wedged per se, it's more for aesthetic reasons - I think wedged tenons look nice

 

[El Barto]

Damn that looks very clean indeed! That thick tenon looks really cool. I agree that wedged tenons sure do look good too...

I also noticed that you're using one of those automatic centre punches. I love mine, it must be my most used tool!

 

[transatlantic]

Nice one Matt. It's looking nice and beefy. I see you share your workspace with the boiler too! (I also share mine with the washing machine)

 

[MattRoberts]

Damn that looks very clean indeed! That thick tenon looks really cool. I agree that wedged tenons sure do look good too...

I also noticed that you're using one of those automatic centre punches. I love mine, it must be my most used tool!

Yeah, it's definitely a handy tool

 

[MattRoberts]

Nice one Matt. It's looking nice and beefy. I see you share your workspace with the boiler too! (I also share mine with the washing machine)

Hah, yes - and a massive hot water cylinder. It's very cramped in the shop at the moment. Hopefully the new bench will help alleviate that, although I need to think of somewhere for the pillar drill to go...

 

[MattRoberts]

I find it tricky to get the fit just right. Too loose, and the through tenon has gaps. Too tight, and bam! Out blows a big chunk from the edge of the mortise!

A bit of glue and some clamps fix the piece back - it's going to be pretty much hidden under the table top anyway.

With the mortises in the leg components complete, I start working on the leg bases. I remove the majority of material using the bandsaw.

I then use the router table to create a nice straight edge and curved profile for the feet.

I used a speed square along with a bit of ply for additional support in order to cut the 45s. I had toyed with making the cuts on the tablesaw, but didn't think it was worth the hassle.

Here's the completed leg assembly prior to chamfering and glue up, and a close up of one of the legs.

 

[MattRoberts]

Next I start working on the main base rails. These are going to be tusk tenons, so the tenons themselves are very long. I marked out all of the bits as usual.

Cutting the cheeks on the tablesaw again, and then I used the bandsaw to cut the shoulders to size.

Once the tenons were more or less there, I could use them as references to mark my layout of the mortises on the legs.

The usual cutting knife lines and marking the centres ready for drilling.

As these mortises are through the thickest part of the legs, and I'm drilling four of them, the mess was phenomenal! I have the kit ready to make dust extraction for my drill press, but haven't got round to putting it together yet. This mess has just bumped it up my priority list

One of the tusk tenons in place. In hindsight, I would have like to have had more tenon poking through, especially as I'm using softwood. There's a chance that the tusk wedge could pop the end of the tenon off.

A lot of chopping and a lot of mess later, and all four mortises are done. It's surprisingly stable even as just a dry fit, which makes me feel even more confident about its stability once assembled.

 

[will1983]

That looks great Matt, certainly looks plenty strong enough!
Are you planning on putting a cabinet with drawers inside?

 

[MattRoberts]

That looks great Matt, certainly looks plenty strong enough!
Are you planning on putting a cabinet with drawers inside?

Thanks Will! Yep, that's the thought. I could fit three decent sized drawers in there

 

[Paul200]

A lot of chopping and a lot of mess later, and all four mortises are done. It's surprisingly stable even as just a dry fit, which makes me feel even more confident about its stability once assembled.

That's exactly how I felt when mine got to that stage! It's looking very nice Matt.

 

[will1983]

If you are anything like me Matt, things get dropped into drawers when I'm tidying up and if that drawer is too deep the item is never to be seen again.
I would always rather have more shallower drawers than a few deep ones, that way I can see at a glance what is in there when I open it.