hand tool shopping list

[mac1012]

hi there as some of you may know I make and sell clocks and I am happy making them with various machines , router scroll saw , drill etc

I still have an overwhelming desire to produce some made by hand tools , it is going to be a winter project that I can set up in a corner of my kitchen (don't worry no other half to upset (hammer)

the clocks have straight sides lengths 8.5 inches by 1 " thick made from yellow pine.

I have seen some solid benches made by a company for 100 pound on amazon that will fit nicely in the kitchen and no they not cheap quality flat packed they make them themselves and are really heavy and solid.

I saw a guy on you tube who is quite well respected in the hand tool world chopping out mortices with a bevelled chisel and also with a mortice chisel his techniques were very interesting, as I will be chopping out my recess for movement by hand.

my list is (I think)

1/2 " bevel edge/mortice chisel and prob some other chisels , recess is 16mm deep x 55mm square

vertias small router plane

Japanese saw ( not sure which would be best ?)

a smoothing , jack plane

a plane for end grain

cabinet scrapers

a hand drill thingy :idea: and drill bits for it :shock:

and interesting tool I seen on axminster site for putting a bevel on edge of wood cant remember what it is called you just hold in hand and pull along edge

any makes for a beginner that wont break the bank would be great to hear about oh and I need a couple of carpenters vices with dogs on

mark

 

[speeder1987]

A couple of suggestions, or alternatives to consider

The veritas tools are lovely, but you could get an old vintage Stanley router plane much cheaper and the veritas router blades can be used with it.

Look at the japenese saws from workshop heaven, I bought the dovetail one (can't remember the name) and I don't use my lee neilson dovetail saw anymore.

I would be very sceptical of a bench for £100 quid being sturdy. If it is then brilliant tell me where I can get one, but I think there is a reason why people pay a lot of money to buy a sturdy bench ...... but then if your on a budget, the only other option is build your own

With chisels, buy a selection, I don't recommend a set though, I bought a set of two cherries, really happy with the chisels, but there are two I have never used from the set. Narex also get good reviews and are very good value.

My only suggestion is, buy the best quality tools you can afford. There is nothing more frustrating than a poor quality tool

John

 

[mac1012]

here you go john

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbench-1-5m- ... +workbench

like I said it not flimsy but I thought people would doubt me (hammer) it weighs 45kg

its heavier than the sjobergs at axminster for 400 quid I know it not fancy but for 100 pounds it will do for me by the time I got the wood and the hassle of building it there wouldn't be much difference

I may even go for this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbench-1-5m- ... _sbs_diy_1

which is same but 2inch top and weighs a whopping 60kg for 155 quid
they come part assembled in two packages with just the leg section to put on

its I deal for my kithchen as standard work bench too long for my space they do bigger ones for extra money I know they haven't got vices or drawers but I think good value

mark

 

[Dangermouse]

Weight isn't everything, this bench looks like its been just screwed or nailed together and after a bit of planning I expect it would be rocking like a boat on the waves. There is no lower bracing for the legs, which is a must to keep it firm. For a good bench you need it more firmly put together. I'd say make one your self, a smaller version of Paul sellers bench would be ideal for you. Spend a £100 on wood and you will have a bench that will last for many years. But really really advise you not to buy this bench, it is a work bench, good for a potting bench etc, but its not a good woodwork bench. Here is the link to the sellers series of video's on how to make his bench
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru2ZiNs_Wek

 

[mac1012]

nah am ok thanks dangermouse I prob go for the 2 inch top one at 60 kg it not nailed together comes with bolts to fix legs on

far better than other ones I have seen for 100 quid if I need to brace it some more I will do but I doubt it it also had good reviews on amazon

mark

 

[mac1012]

having had another look at the 145 pound 1.2 metre 60kg bench it seems to be well constructed the legs are bolted on both sides of the curtain on all four corners

the top is two inch thick again it is bolted down the legs look sturdy enough it is braced back to front and bolted together.

the only weak spot I can see I concede is some bracing along the front and back which for me would be an easy fix and then for the money for me it will be an ideal bench and I don't think I will get any better for price far better than the axminster bench at 160 notes and weighing 30kg and will fit nicely in my kitchen to practice with my hand tools on the long dark winter months whilst listening to my music.

mark

 

[speeder1987]

Hi mark,

Unfortunately I think I've got to agree with dangermouse, those benches will be very liable to wracking, yes you could put cross bracing which will help, but it will probably still move a lot when planing. Also from the first link it doesn't look like the top is even remotely flat ..... I don't disagree with the cheap axminster benches looking very lightweight but I don't think this will be much better. If there are no joints in it and it is just screwed/bolted it will loosen up with time.

I made my own for probably a lot less than this, with cheap softwood frame and an mdf/plywood top. I bought a cheap a minster vice which is pretty good if you don't mind it not being quick release. If you want to read how to make a bench get the chris schwarz wookbench book.

If your on a budget with tools, then go vintage Stanley/record either through eBay, or through a dedicated second hand tool shop such as theoldtoolsed.

Oh and you have to think about how you are going to sharpen your hand tools, I use scary sharp from workshop heaven, it works well for me and is relatively cheap. But everyone to their own, you can go through all the sharpening threads on here and make an informed decision

Hope that helps
John


John

 

[mac1012]

ok thanks for advice john , everybody advises me to build my own but nobody shows me theres or tells me how they made it :lol:

I been looking at this one

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/work ... w20xl.html

I know it hasn't got any joints but thought it looked pretty sturdy with the top and bottom shelf and within my capabilities

I been to price the wood up at band q and with the 3 inch decking screws and mdf 18mm top and shelf it comes to a total of 63 pounds

I would probably put some extra cross members in on the top and bottom frame

the work I do is only light plane work on 9 x 9 inch pine and some chiselling and cutting again only on small pieces.

I hoping I should be strong enough

steve ramsey does a similar one here but mine wont have the wheels I going to put some doublers on the front of the legs to give more support for the stretchers

http://www.woodworkingformeremortals.co ... bench.html

mark

 

[rdesign]

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workb ... nch-in-use

This milkmans bench is really nice and for the size of work u are doing and especially in the kitchen might work well for you in the video you can see he has it clamped to a very cheap table and found it ok. but to a kitchen counter top or a heavy kitchen table would be my preferred option for Kitchen work build a nice bench in your garage for the summer months.

Richard

 

[Flynnwood]

ok thanks for advice john , everybody advises me to build my own but nobody shows me theres or tells me how they made it :lol:

I recently made one similar to this design:

cheap-workbench-t69533.html

 

[marcros]

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/workbenches/schwarz-workbenches/the-milkmans-workbench-in-use

This milkmans bench is really nice and for the size of work u are doing and especially in the kitchen might work well for you in the video you can see he has it clamped to a very cheap table and found it ok. but to a kitchen counter top or a heavy kitchen table would be my preferred option for Kitchen work build a nice bench in your garage for the summer months.

Richard

i wonder whether the milkmans bench would be a good addition to a workmate. seems an ideal extra.

 

[rdesign]

i wonder whether the milkmans bench would be a good addition to a workmate. seems an ideal extra.[/quote]

Think it would work great if you have one of the originals with the fold out wide legs and the step not a cheap and unsteady lidl knock off or the sort.

Think i might build one just for the times my work bench is too cluttered to access :x

 

[mac1012]

thanks for showing me the plans Flynn the one I think I going to make is this



http://dreambuildfly.com/wp-content/upl ... ns_SA1.pdf

which is very similar to yours just the corners are different although nominal wood thickness is - 4mm as in us seem to finish at 40mm were in uk mainly 44m so will have to adjust a few measurements to fit

I like your vice can you tell me where you got it from ?

mark

 

[morfa]

mark,

This is the workbench that I'm building:

http://paulsellers.com/series/building-a-workbench/

And here is the WIP thread:

wip-my-first-workbench-t68280-30.html

If you do make the Paul Sellers bench, make sure you buy 2x3s for the top. I used 2x4s and it's probably a bit too thick.

 

[dannykaye]

I made a bench about 13 years ago out of some temporary window frames a friend was chucking out, it's light, moves too much and looks a mess. While moving the top has warped and I flattened the top but the bottom is still convex. I look at really nice benches all the time, like last night I was drooling over the one in Furniture and Cabinetmaking this month. The problem is I couldn't mistreat that bench the way I do mine, yes I would love a pretty bench but I am unlikely to replace the one on which I have made so many things