HeathRobinson
Established Member
Greetings one and all! Roll up, roll up! Come and see a ply bench in the making. Get your popcorn and find a seat. The HeathRobinson circus is about to begin! :lol:
I must be paired up with the most understanding woman in the world. Tired of seeing me struggle with my workmate and with no chance of an outdoors workshop I have been given permission to build a workbench that will live on one side of the lounge. The rest of my tools are stored there anyway so I guess it was the next logical step. It might even look neater than a pile of tools stashed up against the wall.
I have the unusual long term desire to build my own aircraft but, before that, I want to explore woodworking further. A far fetched dream perhaps, but dreams must be catered for in small ways in our everyday planning or we might never get there.
It was with this in mind that I started to explore options for benches. First I came across what is pretty much the bench that most people build when they embark upon the amateur construction of an aeroplane at home. Known as the EAA Chapter 1000 bench it is a simple bolted base of construction grade 2x4s with a sheet goods top. Next I went through untold numbers of designs of more traditional woodworking benches. Some are exquisite in design and are things of lust. Unfortunately for me they don't really fit in with my long term plans. I needed to find a compromise.
One day while searching through the workbenches that have been featured in the Fine Woodworking magazine. I came across a design for a completely plywood bench. It's very similar in design to the EAA bench but has been setup for woodworking and uses mortise and tenon joints formed by laminating layers of ply of different lengths. Perfect for a beginner I knew then that this was the bench I'd be building.
Up until recently I had no real power tools besides my cordless drill, a cheap sander and a really rubbish jigsaw. First I acquired a router, not for this project, but because I felt it was time to do so and because it saves on keeping a small army of fancy planes when space is particularly tight at home. The purchase of the router loosened my wallet and opened my eyes to the helping hand that power tools could lend to my woodwork. I cannot fit any stationary machines into my lounge, that would be taking things a step too far, but I knew that sawing up sheet goods by hand would set the project up for disaster. I'd get bored and the cuts would not be straight. A circular saw was required.
Funny enough, after viewing a fair number of the beasts that are recommended on this forum, it was Miss Robinson who decided that no other saw but the Festool TS55 would do. It was perceived that a plunge saw would be less likely to perform impromptu surgery on my body, the guide rail being supplied with the saw was an added bonus and with reports of excellent dust extraction the saw was chosen.
Of course you can't have dust extraction without a beast that sucks and besides I was tired of picking up my hand tool wood shavings by hand and we might even find it handy to have a wet&dry vac around the house and so the Festool CT Mini was procured at the same time as the saw. A very nice couple they make too. Speaking only, of course, as someone who has never used machines such as these before.
It was around about this time I started searching for decent plywood. I have to say that impatience got the better of me and despite deciding earlier on not to purchase ply from B&Q I went ahead and did so anyway. I had some of the major cuts done in store and was pleasantly surprised by their accuracy. I have only had one cut done there before and it was out of square by miles. Anyway, some of the parts fitted into the back of my hatchback and the rest I had to pay to get delivered. More fool me, because with the delivery charge from B&Q to my place, I probably could have bought the goods from a better source.
I had to wait the weekend for the larger parts but at last I could get to grips with my new power tools. Very snazzy they are too and with the supplied 48T blade (even got an extra free one) the cut quality is about on par with my dovetail saw! I was quite worried about splintering along the cut line, but even without the anti-splinter device fitted I have not seen a single splinter on any of the cuts I made. I experimented with different ways of improving the accuracy of my cuts and generally had a ball cutting the stuff up. Effortless compared to the hand tools I am used to. I had to construct a pair of wide saw horses by clamping sash cramps onto the ends of two long planks. This kept the planks upright and they were plenty sturdy enough for me to cut the sheet goods up.
I'm done making most of the very long cuts now, I only have the shortest cuts left to make and then I'll begin gluing the laminated components of the base together. That'll have to wait until my next entry on this thread. I need to buy some clamps first :lol:
I must be paired up with the most understanding woman in the world. Tired of seeing me struggle with my workmate and with no chance of an outdoors workshop I have been given permission to build a workbench that will live on one side of the lounge. The rest of my tools are stored there anyway so I guess it was the next logical step. It might even look neater than a pile of tools stashed up against the wall.
I have the unusual long term desire to build my own aircraft but, before that, I want to explore woodworking further. A far fetched dream perhaps, but dreams must be catered for in small ways in our everyday planning or we might never get there.
It was with this in mind that I started to explore options for benches. First I came across what is pretty much the bench that most people build when they embark upon the amateur construction of an aeroplane at home. Known as the EAA Chapter 1000 bench it is a simple bolted base of construction grade 2x4s with a sheet goods top. Next I went through untold numbers of designs of more traditional woodworking benches. Some are exquisite in design and are things of lust. Unfortunately for me they don't really fit in with my long term plans. I needed to find a compromise.
One day while searching through the workbenches that have been featured in the Fine Woodworking magazine. I came across a design for a completely plywood bench. It's very similar in design to the EAA bench but has been setup for woodworking and uses mortise and tenon joints formed by laminating layers of ply of different lengths. Perfect for a beginner I knew then that this was the bench I'd be building.
Up until recently I had no real power tools besides my cordless drill, a cheap sander and a really rubbish jigsaw. First I acquired a router, not for this project, but because I felt it was time to do so and because it saves on keeping a small army of fancy planes when space is particularly tight at home. The purchase of the router loosened my wallet and opened my eyes to the helping hand that power tools could lend to my woodwork. I cannot fit any stationary machines into my lounge, that would be taking things a step too far, but I knew that sawing up sheet goods by hand would set the project up for disaster. I'd get bored and the cuts would not be straight. A circular saw was required.
Funny enough, after viewing a fair number of the beasts that are recommended on this forum, it was Miss Robinson who decided that no other saw but the Festool TS55 would do. It was perceived that a plunge saw would be less likely to perform impromptu surgery on my body, the guide rail being supplied with the saw was an added bonus and with reports of excellent dust extraction the saw was chosen.
Of course you can't have dust extraction without a beast that sucks and besides I was tired of picking up my hand tool wood shavings by hand and we might even find it handy to have a wet&dry vac around the house and so the Festool CT Mini was procured at the same time as the saw. A very nice couple they make too. Speaking only, of course, as someone who has never used machines such as these before.
It was around about this time I started searching for decent plywood. I have to say that impatience got the better of me and despite deciding earlier on not to purchase ply from B&Q I went ahead and did so anyway. I had some of the major cuts done in store and was pleasantly surprised by their accuracy. I have only had one cut done there before and it was out of square by miles. Anyway, some of the parts fitted into the back of my hatchback and the rest I had to pay to get delivered. More fool me, because with the delivery charge from B&Q to my place, I probably could have bought the goods from a better source.
I had to wait the weekend for the larger parts but at last I could get to grips with my new power tools. Very snazzy they are too and with the supplied 48T blade (even got an extra free one) the cut quality is about on par with my dovetail saw! I was quite worried about splintering along the cut line, but even without the anti-splinter device fitted I have not seen a single splinter on any of the cuts I made. I experimented with different ways of improving the accuracy of my cuts and generally had a ball cutting the stuff up. Effortless compared to the hand tools I am used to. I had to construct a pair of wide saw horses by clamping sash cramps onto the ends of two long planks. This kept the planks upright and they were plenty sturdy enough for me to cut the sheet goods up.
I'm done making most of the very long cuts now, I only have the shortest cuts left to make and then I'll begin gluing the laminated components of the base together. That'll have to wait until my next entry on this thread. I need to buy some clamps first :lol:
