my new workbench

[marcros]

i will get the big camera out, and get the table saw out of the way. I should be able to get some better pictures that way. failing that, I will have to get it outside somehow.

I like mechanical designs like the angled legs- to rack in one direction it has to overcome a significant force which opposes it- like the torsion box.

I have just ordered some dowel to make a kennel full of bench dogs!

 

[beech1948]

marcros,
many thanks for the reply....it sort of makes sense. I can see that using the broad side boards to hold pieces with holdfasts would be a benefit for handwork. I fitted a sliding deadman to my trad bench and it was a struggle to fit and make work because it had to be perpendicular in several planes.

I guess as well you could use two leg vices if you wanted to.

What would you use for a tail vice.

I'm now to old at 63 to want to build another bench but very occasionally I have some issues with holding a piece of work and wonder about other bench styles. This is usually something curved and long....last piece was an ellipse moulding 8.5ft long and about 4ft across.

Keep up all the info and also what you like/what you like less well about it...enquing minds need to know.

regards
Al

 

[marcros]

Al

I am going to put a record quick release in. I was explaining to somebody earlier- in kitchens, on desks etc, I have a work area, and a dumping ground, almost always to the right hand side of where I am working. Cutting up veg- waste to the right. stir a saucepan- spoon to the right hand side. I agonised about storage trays, and rejected them on this basis. I hazard a guess that I will not use a tail vice often, because if I work on the left hand size of the bench, I will put tools and bits on the right. i will get the record with the dog in it, and use it as a moving dog. A proper wagon vice was a pain to fit in my firedoor under-top, and was quite expensive.

I have fitted the firedoor tonight, and the bench is 34". I wish it was a little shorter, because there is another inch of ash to go on top. If I have to I will build a platform to stand on- it is not possible to trim the legs. It may be ok. Cant really see until it is used in anger.

Iam not very good with perpendicular, hence avoiding sliding deadmen! I will keep you posted about likes and dislikes- it will take some use to really thrash these out. This is why I didnt want to spend a fortune on this bench, I am too inexperienced to name the features that I like- I can only pick the brains of others and read about it! I suppose like cars- you can get the fastest, most beautiful sports car. But for the particular job of taking rubish to the tip, a 20 year old, beat up old transit is better. You will never get the the best of every world, but hopefully, like yours, my bench will make a reasonable job of most things I ask of it!

Mark

 

[marcros]

It looks like the rain has put pay to todays beekeeping and gardening plans so I might get the chance to do a bit more on this project.

A few quick question- On putting the top layer of ash onto the firedoor, do I glue each strip to the door or each strip to each other and then to the door (like gluing sheet to sheet). Does it matter? Is the door going to cause problems with movement, in that the ash will want to move and be unable to, in which case should I only glue the first strip to the door, and the others only to each other?

 

[marcros]

slowly making progress on this project. I have a top made from American white ash, laminated at 22" wide and just under 1 1/2" thick. It will need a final planing when on the bench but is pretty flat.

Now, some questions. The top is a firedoor with this ash on top, and dog holes through the pair. This is causing me some confusion re. movement. The door shouldnt move with humidity, but the hardwood will. How do I fix one to the other, so that the rear line of dog holes are maintained whatever the season. The workshop is dry, and is insulated on the walls, but will obviously fluctuate in temperature. If it was a tabletop, I would glue the front and screw the back in slots/use buttons. But there are no dog holes on a table! The other way, I suppose is a flip top, as used by Richard Maguire, a tool well in the middle, or just a thick sawcut in the middle of the hardwood and glue front and back. Is there a rule of thumb for how much movement can be expected per inch of width?

Any hints or recommendations on dog hole locations- I was planning a row at the read, a row in the centre and a row towards the front. $" centres between the holes in each row. I have a Veritas wonder dog to try in lieu of a tail vice, but if I fit a record QR, I would line it up with the front row. I may add a couple more in line with the leg vice. Once the top laminations are fixed together, they will be almost 3", so I will struggle to drill any extras. Asit is, I will clamp the ash and drill through, marking the centre of the hole into the door. I can then remove it and drill those.

 

[No skills]

If you really want some sort of dog hole setup along the rear of the bench then just drill the hardwood but not the door, having a peg/dog in 1 1/2" of ash should be plenty of support to put things against for planing. Then you can go with glueing the front edge and slot fixing the rear of the ash top. The door will only move with an extreme amount of moisture from my experience so dont worry about that.

 

[condeesteso]

Good work Mark... yes, more pics please.
Beech1948... too old to build another bench :roll: I very think not - they get better the more you make 'em I reckon.
Re canted leg vice, I am interested and I suspect they are not as straight forward as the books and pics imply because the loading is not equidistant from the guide. Let us know how it goes.

 

[beech1948]

Douglas,

At 63 I am finding that I prioritise everything by how much effort things are and how vital to me it is to do it. My list of jobs for people is getting longer and a bit more complex.

I find I think about alternative ways to hold work on the bench about once every year....not enough to change my already great bench.

Al

 

[condeesteso]

Quite right Beech. I am close behind you and my 'to do' list grows faster than I do (I stopped growing a few years back now).

 

[Togalosh]

Marcos, what makes you say that the ash will want to move more than the door?...solid core doors are lipped & veneered with all hardwoods without any problems... though I can't remember if the core is also lined with a thin layer of chipboard & then veneered..it was a long time ago since I did that work.

I like your approach - less will definately do if it definately does the job just as well.

Have you taken any pics yet?

 

[marcros]

the movement of ash was a (mis)educated guess- door being man made and hopefully stable, and ash being natural, and likely to expand and correct. It may be too many scare stories about not allowing room for expansion on tabletops that is worrying me.

I havent got any more pics yet, but I will get some. My machines are almost on top of each other at the moment, and I cant get in the door without moving a couple of bits that really belong in the shed. I bought a huge lump of cast iron morticer which is a bit immovable and slap bang in the way. I struggled to get the bench into a picture with my phone camera because I couldn't zoom out enough. I will dig out the proper camera soon.

I am in a 20x10ft single garage, a window in one end, and a non working up and over door in the other. Everything else is moveable, but I am struggling to find the best layout. I currently have the bench in the corner, along the 20ft wall, end to window. I have thought about putting it under the window on the short end wall for the light but am still undecided. The table saw, planer and thicknesser are all on mobile bases, and to be used at their full potential, they need to be in more or less the same spot in the centre. They can wheel out of the way afterwards, when I move some of the "corner of rubbish"- mainly beekeeping parts and some doors that I want to make into a "le salvageur" style greenhouse. My intention for the next few months are mainly shorter projects- up to 6' boards, so I have a bit of space to play with.

Less should work well- in fact less quite literally is more than the plan in the book which only uses an inch top. That didnt feel enough to me, both for giving things a good wack where necessary, and for mass. you an never be 100% sure whether it will be as good, but the door was good and heavy and so worked well on paper.

 

[Togalosh]

Ha ..the old lack of space conundrum. Is it just a UK issue? everywhere else seems to have double garages.

I moved into a rented workshop last year in a desperate need for space & safety as I had a workbench, desk, table saw, thicknesser, bandsaw, pillar drill, shelving, vacuum chip extractor & ridid pipework with scrap wood, tools & myself..all in a 6'x10' apex shed. It felt more like potholing. Now I have so much more space but it's still a bit too small !

The safety aspect was down to a nearly very serious accident that immediately woke me up to these issues - I had the table saw under the desk & used it there but I took off the rifing knife to do some dado-ing or similar but because it was a faff to put back I didn't & bang! I got an off-cut kick-backed into my eyebrow leaving a deep gash with a loss of feeling there lasting 2 years. An inch or 2 in another direction could have lost me an eye, tooth or broken my nose. I feel so lucky to have learnet a lesson without any long term consequence & now take absoluely no chances with any machinery nor work without all PPE (full face mask for the table saw !). . but I'm sure you are not as daft as me.

"Let's be careful out there"