Recent content by matkinitice

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My new workbench. 2.6m long, 650mm deep. Huge improvement/upgrade over my previous one. Full build thread here: English Workbench

As for what is left - I still need to create some proper shims for the floor. You can probably see in a few photos there is a slope to the right of the bench from the old car port. It will most likely be early next year when this project starts but I plan to board over the floor. Once level I'll...

I did go with BLO in the end. First coat was thinned with some white spirit. Second and third coat went on pure. The weather was pretty chilly during this period so it took a few days to properly dry. While it was touch dry very quickly - a few days after the fact it feels dry if that makes...

Bit of delay with the update due to a holiday break, but the vice was next up. I can't find the thread now - but it was here and I'm sure it was @thetyreman (correct me if I'm wrong) that suggested this - nitrile bonded cork sheet. I needed 4 sheets but this was really cheap - £20 or...

That's a fair point. I did look at BLO as a finish but I've never used it before. Screwfix has some in - so could be worth a punt? Your point about multi coats is a good one though. Getting this done in one day would be great. How does it fair with popping off glue drops/spills? That's the...

Just a minor update today. So I rebuilt the planing brace though there was one difference. I didn't have enough of the planing stop material left, so it wasn't as thick as the original. I could have laminated some scrap together and thicknessed this but after a test it seemed to work fine. The...

For dog holes I spent a fair bit of time prepping for actually drilling them. Thinking where to place them. My thought process was less is more. In my old bench I used several all the time, the others never. You can easily add more at a later date if needed. The first row are inline with the...

I paid £290 back in Dec 2022, not sure where you got 2019 from? Bought a bit more than needed - delivery too. I'm not a trade's person so paid whatever price they had.

A quick job was to trim the top to length. I still need to do the left side next to the vice but this wasn't too bad. It was the first time I've ever used a tracksaw vertically, so glad I have the clamps. It looks nice and neat now. I was able to flush the front apron off finally. I still...

I started by marking out the planing stop hole. The idea behind this is that the wooden block rests against the bearer, so when there is force from the front it has support below. I don't have a picture of this, but I used the drill bit that came with the holdfasts to cut a load of holes...

Before the break I glued the first plank on. I went over the top with clamps but as this is the most important plank I wanted it as tightly glued down as possible. You should see a slight overhang. This will get planed flush once dried. While the glue was setting I nailed and sunk the heads...

So two big delays over the last couple of weeks. One was a work trip, the second Covid but I'm back to it. Before I left I ripped the bearers to rough size and installed these. Richard recommended putting a bit of a chamfer on the underside so that any glue can squeeze out if needed. I only...

The housing for the planing brace wasn't too bad to make - I used the tracksaw for the shoulders, then paired away the middle waste. I planned to use the same strategy for the bearer housings. Originally I said I wanted to limit rips and laminations with this build but it occurred to me the...

A bit of a funny week, due to the snow and ice I spent the earlier half of the week making a snowman among other distractions. So less progress than I'd have liked leading up to the weekend. This was the planing brace. It's essentially the same joint as the leg end, except it's only 11mm and...