Workbench Build aka Paul Sellers style

[NickN]

second apron is almost dry! all laminations are now done, I am celebrating and getting a beer now, we'll see how I feel in the morning.

And a very well deserved beer that will be sir! Fingers crossed for dry weather at the weekend where you are.

Terry.

Stockport, Manchester? Dry weather? Hehehehehehehe. (hammer)

Still, nothing wrong with a bit of optimism.

Progress looking great so far - having just received 6 x 1500mm aluminium sash cramps for the bargain price of £52 delivered... I now see that I should probably have ordered twice that number. Ah well, it will have to wait for another pay packet.

 

[Grawschbags]

depends how much you've over done it mate, you could always fill the gaps with epoxy, although it wouldn't cost a lot to just buy another one, best of luck either way

I foreseen my cackhandedness and bought extra stock at the time...

Enjoy all the planing that's in store for you! I'm only just starting to get the sensation back in my arms!

 

[thetyreman]

another update, I've been planing like crazy :wink:

still working on the worktop to get it flat, but there is no twist on the underside, or top after checking several times, the only problem is one corner is about 1-1.5mm lower than the rest of it on the underside. I've just been using a no4 for now, but I will be getting the 5 1/2 and 4 1/2 ready tomorrow, it feels like a longer 5 1/2 will be much better, I am actually tempted to get an old no7 just for this project.

one of the aprons is badly twisted though, I think it's the way I clamped it up plus there was already some twist in the wood..thinking about buying another 3 pieces and making another apron, it wouldn't cost a fortune, it's literally about 1/4 of an inch out and it's very obvious even without winding sticks, with winding sticks it's terrible, I could always use the wood for something else another time...coffee table perhaps?

added some pics to show you the progress, including the wellboard and the mountain of shavings, enjoy!

 

[MattRoberts]

I think I could happily lie down and sleep on that bed of shavings!

 

[custard]

Great work Tyreman. The way you check everything for true, and rehearse each step in advance, is absolutely the right way to go. It may seem a giant faff when you just want to crack on and finish your bench, but that careful and considered approach will deliver quality results more quickly than the guy who bashes through regardless hoping to correct problems later in the build. In woodworking the tortoise beats the hare every single time!

 

[Grawschbags]

Great progress again. You'll sleep well tonight!

Can I ask where you got your Winding Sticks?

I'm just using some offcuts I planed true to each other.

 

[thetyreman]

Great progress again. You'll sleep well tonight!

Can I ask where you got your Winding Sticks?

I'm just using some offcuts I planed true to each other.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/aluminium-wi ... cks-202398 they are made by veritas in canada, even though they are cheap, they don't feel cheap at all, highly recommended

thanks, I will sleep well

 

[thetyreman]

got some new wood for to replace the twisted apron, about to glue it up, I did try and remove the twist and it worked but the piece is messed up, it's not worth using, too thin in parts meaning it would end up a lot thinner than the other piece.

 

[thetyreman]

question regarding the humidity/climate, should I leave a heater on or is this more likely to make the wood warp?

 

[MrTeroo]

I have a dehumidifier running in my garage 24/7
Keeps it at a constant 60%

I do that mainly for the benefit of tools etc but any wood in there also benefits from it I think.

 

[biskit]

What size/make of dehumidifier are you using MrTeroo.?

 

[MrTeroo]

It's an ELA DD822

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELA-DD822-Dessicant-Dehumidifier-Laundry/dp/B003XPWPLG

Works well, it's been going strong for nearly five years now.

I drilled a hole on a downward gradient through the wooden door frame of the garage and fed the drainage tube through it, out to the grate outside.

Don't need to empty it now.

 

[Fitzroy]

My understanding is that the dessicant type perform much better in the cold damp uk climate than the condenser type.

 

[thetyreman]

I've made another apron, it's so much better than the twisted one, perfectly flat and twist free with no gaps...a miracle, the pic shows the two flat aprons (post surface planing)

also made sure the frame tops were flush with the top of the tenons so the bearers are tight, see pics

 

[Fitzroy]

Looking good! Motivates me to get on finishing the new shed as a bench is next on my list. My shed frequently looks like yours, ankle deep in shavings, which as an all year shorts wearer irritates the wife as apparently it's a total pain picking the shavings off my socks.

 

[Bm101]

That's not a miracle, that's careful preparation , good execution and technique I'd reckon. =D>

 

[thetyreman]

I'm beefing up the bearers and making them exactly 1 inch thick, when you buy 3 x 1 it's actually 3/4" thick, and the bearers really do need to be 1" thick or it won't be exactly 38" high.

the quoted dimensions of 2 3/4" wide doesn't leave enough overhang for my liking, so instead I'm making slightly wider more like 3 1/2 inches otherwise there will only be 1/4" which would make it very tricky to screw through from underneath once it's all assembled, I think it needs more wood than that, especially if you are using thick screws, so for now I'm making the apron housing dado's before commiting to screwing the bearers down, I want to see how it all fits together first, thinking about all this has been holding me back a bit, because I want to get it right.

 

[part_time_cowboy]

I'm feeling slightly inspired by this thread, as the timber for my own workbench is sitting in the garage waiting for me to have a free afternoon to start planing it flat. Hopefully I'll get as good results.

 

[Wizard9999]

Looking really good, loving the ever increasing depth of shavings on the floor! It's really starting to get there now, won't be long until you are working on it!

Terry.

 

[thetyreman]

bit of an update, I knifewalled the aprons and cut them to length, these will be the 'reference' for the benchtop and apron. There's a problem though, one apron is 3/8" of an inch wider than the other one, so I have to factor this in when making the housing dados, apart from that it's starting to come together, I am starting the routing tonight, using my chisel and veritas router plane...about time I put it to good use.

edit: pics attached to show the difference in the two apron widths, I could easily plane them so they are the same which is probably what I'll end up doing this evening.