PlacidCasual's Work Bench Build

PlacidCasual · 25 Jun 2018

Hi Guys

I've been a long time lingerer and now I've finally got an image hosting account I thought I ought to share a bit.

This is my first workbench build, it's not really to any specific pattern but it is inspired by the plan Peter Sefton gives away on this Introductory Woodworking Course. I chose to use a birch ply work surface because I'd got an 8'by2' sheet of 25mm ply hanging around and it seems as good a use as any. I used CLS wood from the local timber merchant for the stretchers and apron, some fence post for the legs and half a sheet of OSB to thicken the work top.

Carefully cutting the tenons using bandsaw, 100mm by 45mm stretcher had to go very slow as didn't really have the right blade.

Alignment that would do a steam turbine engineer proud, and make a boiler engineer blush.

Cutting these mortises by hand nearly killed me, it's a 75mm square post and a 24mm by 100mm mortise.

Needed to leave some meat above the rear trestle top mortice, front trestle top was a double lap joint arrangement.

Bashing the rear trestle together.

Completed front and rear trestles.

OSB base for worktop.

Close up of front trestle joint arrangement, 150mm by 45mm apron at front and 100mm by 45mm stretcher at back.

The finished beastie, need to trim the back of the birch ply flush with OSB but figured that would be easier once built than before.

I've fitted some jacking castors since I took those photos and i'm prevaricating about how to install a record woodworking vice to the front. I'm thinking about not rushing to put a tail vice on the left hand end with dog holes to match but I'll keep thinking about that one for a while.

The bench ended up about 2,440mm long approx 750mm deept and 890mm tall. I'll be trimming approx 100mm of the back (the overhang) as it's a bit too deep and was never meant to be there anyway. If I find it too tall I have about 50mm I could take from the legs but that would be only if I found it intolerable. I have some Osmo wax oil so intend to sand then finish with that.

Bodgers · 25 Jun 2018

For info, you don't need picture hosting to post if you keep the picture size down. You are probably better off not using hosting anyways as external sites can have rule changes (as per Photobucket) which means in future the pictures are gone for good.

Looks like a practical bench

PlacidCasual · 25 Jun 2018

I'll settle for practical now over beauty one day.

And good point about the photos, I might resize and upload for future posts.

PlacidCasual · 5 Jul 2018

A little update.

I sanded the surface with 120 grit then 240 grit and Osmo Wax Oiled, 240 sand, Osmo, 240 sand, Osmo, final 240 sand. Really pleased with the finish it feels more robust if that makes sense and the smooth finish gives me confidence that it won't stain too easily.

I decided to add an old record 55 vice I had to the front of the bench. The construction of my bench has a front trestle with a front apron and a stretcher. So I decided to rebate out the back of the apron and attach the vice to the stretcher reattach the apron with the rear vice jaw between the stretcher and apron. Effectively the apron becomes a flush vice jaw.

So I used my router to cut the rebate.

Just checking the rebate in the back of the apron was big enough to accept the vice.

And finally an image of how I installed the vice from underneath with my finished front jaw.

I didn't take any photos but I had some fun using my planer/thicknesser for the first time in anger to make the front jaw. I took a scrap length of C24 6by2 and planed and thicknesses until square and parallel. Sanded it down marked it up for fitting and pilot holed. Then I took a sheet of leather and glued to the inside front face. Once this had set screw it on with some coach screws.

Definitely got a sense of achievement from building the bench.

My next stage will be some dog holes. Not planning many at present but I might mark up the bench and put a tiny dimple/shallow pilot at the grid I might want so alignment for any future holes is easy. I'm planning on using hold fasts to surface clamp mostly. To that end I'm not rushing to fit a tail vice. I initially thought I wanted one but I've found using the end of the bench for sawing to be quite useful for the bigger jobs I do like building my chicken house. So that is under consideration rather than in plan.

I plan to Osmo the apron soon and drill some dog holes in front apron to support longer planks/boards if I want them held in front vice. The I have to find some kind soul to turn me a few dogs to fit in those holes but I reckon I can find some stainless and a machinist at work to help with that.

Phil Pascoe · 5 Jul 2018

I sanded the surface with 120 grit then 240 grit and Osmo Wax Oiled, 240 sand, Osmo, 240 sand, Osmo, final 240 sand ...

I think you'll find you've gone too far with this - everything you put on it will slide around.

OscarG · 5 Jul 2018

Looks great! Impressed that you did that with your first bench build.

It's a whopper!

Do you have a pic of those jacking casters? I had no idea those existed, could have saved me some time on a previous project!

PlacidCasual · 5 Jul 2018

I'll take a photo later and attach it. They're Axminster ones Accessories>Bench Fittings I think. I had a good look around and couldn't find anything similar so swallowed the cost £54 a set I think.