Workbench build advice

[Gravers007]

Hi all,

I've been looking at making a workbench as my first project and have opted for the Paul Sellers design.

Before i can begin I need to get the right tools. I have a no 5 & no 4 planer due to arrive in the next couple of days, and am keeping my eye on a few hand saws & tenon saws sold on ebay. However, as much as I'd love to follow Paul's footsteps and stick to hand tools - after seeing the cost of hand routers I've had to rethink this strategy! If I start getting into woodwork more seriously then i might contemplate getting it but at this stage I think I'll have to go down the electric router route.

I notice good things being said with regards to the Katsu router, so was planning to buy one of those. However, i notice there is a 110v and a 220V (£34.79 & £26.99 respectively). I've read that on building sites 220v are not allowed for safety reasons, but is there a difference for a novice doing work in the garage?

Thanks,
Gravers

 

[thetyreman]

there's a simple solution to this and it definitely works, look up paul sellers poor mans router, that's what I used to make the dados for the legs on the aprons cos I didn't have a router plane at the time, the router planes are well worth it by the way in the longterm, I got the veritas one.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

There's no reason why you shouldn't use either, but of course you need a transformer for the 110v. For a while at least just buy good quality hard point saws - they are perfectly adequate for most purposes, and a hard point saw is often about the same price as a saw file ........... which for "proper" saws you then have to learn to use.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

+1 for the idea of making your own router plane.

Spend £15 on a veritas blade e.g. https://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-1-4 ... ane-701929 (which would fit the Veritas router or the old Stanley 71 if you decide to buy one in future) and make your own simple 'jig' for it e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufDd8Oh4WLY

Of course an electric router is more versatile, so you're not really comparing like with like, although you can end up spending quite a lot of cash on different bits and accessories. It's also intrinsically more dangerous. As Phil says 240v is fine for home use and avoids messing about with transformers etc.

Cheers, W2S

 

[Gravers007]

Fantastic replies! Looking forwards to watching and reading about the "poor mans router" during my lunch break!

I'll have a look at some hardpoint saws too!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you can run to it -
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=115242&view=unread#unread

A half inch one does way, way more than a quarter inch one.

 

[thomashenry]

I made the PS bench earlier this year, and didn't use a router plane at all (didn't use any power tools either). You don't need one. His 'poor mans router' is perfectly adequate for the one part of the build where it's used.

A hand router is in many ways a very different tool to an electric router. You definitely don't need an electric router to make the workbench.