August 27, 20223 yr Popular Post Mounting the vises is tricky but my mounts are not near as complicated as yours. Keep up the good work
August 28, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Test fitment of the front laminate. It’s not the most perfect dovetail I have ever done, but it is the first one I have done 100% by hand and I am pretty happy about it. There are a couple of little gaps that I will need to fix in the final but that’s to be expected. It will serve as a reminder of where I started. Tomorrow I will glue up the dog hole strip and the front laminate.
August 28, 20223 yr Popular Post 8 hours ago, Cal said: That's a great lookin' dovetail from here ^^^^^what Cal said^^^^^
August 30, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Nah I am inexperienced and worried about making mistakes so I take a long time to set everything up and run through each process like a dozen times to make sure I have it correct. Then I second guess myself, start the process over, and finally get to the point where I don’t feel completely uncomfortable and execute the process which usually surprises me with the results. More than once during this build I have stepped back holding a chisel or saw or something and thought, “wow, that actually worked?” This has been a lot of new ground and the only saving grace is that I have a fair amount of experience with power tool woodworking, have a moderate understanding of wood, and I have had enough catastrophes where I have gotten pretty good at fixing mistakes.
August 30, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Had an actual lunch hour today so I routed out the channels for the rails and installed the tail vise. Still need to cut out and install the dog block, but the tail vise is installed and working smoothly.
August 31, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Well, it is starting to look like a workbench… Lots of work still to do but we are getting there!!
August 31, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Now with more wheeeeels… Because moving this thing around is getting less and less feasible all the time. These casters are rated for 880 lbs which should be sufficient for the bench and eventual cabinet. At present, they make it very easy for me to move things around. Not sure how they will hold up long term but see no reason why they would have any issues. And for less than $40 on Amazon, well worth the experiment.
August 31, 20223 yr Popular Post It's looking awesome Michael. Really enjoying the build and you're willingness to share by keeping the thread going along the way.
August 31, 20223 yr Popular Post Looking more like a monster every day.I got some of the same casters for my mini lathe, but have no desire to put them on the bench.
September 3, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Had a little time to get out to the shop today. Got the tail vise dog block fitted, all the dog holes drilled, and the bench cut to length. Drilling all them dog holes by hand was a bit of an effort but it turned out pretty nice. Holdfasts and bench dogs came in today just in time to make the bench functional. Which is really good because I need to put together the chop for the leg vise and the sliding deadman. These are going to be the largest (widest) pieces of the bench at 9” and 7” respectively which is a touch of a problem with a 6” jointer. Looks like I will get some practice milling these by hand.
September 6, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Got to spend some time in the shop today and got the leg vise chop done and mostly installed. Turns out the vise kit comes with 5/16-18 machine screws and the installation calls for tapping the vise chop. So a tap is on order and final install will have to wait until tomorrow. CPT Wiggles, shop supervisor, approves of the progress though.
September 6, 20223 yr Author Popular Post After much maths, managed to get the sliding deadman roughed out and test fitted. Tomorrow I will get the side details marked out and done and get a bunch of holes drilled and mount the whole assembly permanently. That just leaves me the front leg vise to finish up and the slats for the bottom shelf and a few little details and some finishing and this project will be done.
September 7, 20223 yr Author Popular Post Got the leg vise fully installed today and the deadman drilled out and finished off. Need to do the bottom shelving, sand, and finish and this one will be a wrap.
September 7, 20223 yr Spectacular Michael. A classic craftsmans bench. What's the first project planned?
September 7, 20223 yr Author Popular Post The first project on the list for the wife will be some white oak patio furniture. I did a patio chair a while back and she wants a couch and another chair to go with it. Looking forward to getting the bench done this week and start on that project this weekend.
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