Roubo'ish bench
- Thread starter DynaGlide
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Sparktrician
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Great progress, Matt!!! [smile]
DynaGlide
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rvieceli said:
Thanks Ron. I think I'm going to opt for the router sled, and here's why. I didn't orient my boards to have the grain running the same direction during glue up and I think I would get a lot of tearout if I tried to do it by hand.
DynaGlide
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I was able to knock this off the punch list. By design that dog lands directly over a tenon on the front leg. I had already made the access hole on the leg I just needed to mortise for the dog once I had the top on. I was nervous doing that but I took it slow with a 3/8 chisel and cleaned it up at the end with my 1 inch chisel.
Matt
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Welp I lost about 10 days to the flu and strep with my kids but I'm finally getting back to it. Last week I managed to get my leg chop shaped despite having very little shop time. I just plugged away at it a little bit at a time. This is one area where I really, really, badly wanted a bandsaw. I used an assortment of router bits, my drill press, chisels, hand saws to get through it and it wasn't pretty or fun but the outcome is what I wanted:
The top is kind of ugly. I haven't decided if I'll try to hide it or just let it be:
I was also able to knock out the groove for the sliding deadman:
I'm very close to being able to permanently attach the tops with Spax screws through the rails. I just need to do some clean up work before applying finish which will be easier with the tops removed. Once that's done I can go ahead and finish everything and come back and make the sliding deadman, shelves for the base, the gap stop for the top and it should be all done.
Matt
The top is kind of ugly. I haven't decided if I'll try to hide it or just let it be:
I was also able to knock out the groove for the sliding deadman:
I'm very close to being able to permanently attach the tops with Spax screws through the rails. I just need to do some clean up work before applying finish which will be easier with the tops removed. Once that's done I can go ahead and finish everything and come back and make the sliding deadman, shelves for the base, the gap stop for the top and it should be all done.
Matt
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Well done, Matt! [smile]
DynaGlide
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Photo dump time. I've been busy. Everything is done except for applying finish. Gap stop is made and planed, I put a little ramp on one end so I can just lift the opposing end up and slide it between acting as a planing stop and being flush. No slots for tools at the moment. My thinking is I want to limit places for junk and dust to fall through the top to the shelf below. I only put in 4 holdfast holes in the rear slab for the same reason. I can always add more, can't take them away. The first holdfast hole I did isn't straight but that's on me for not getting the starter hole perfect before hand drilling the rest of the way. Other 3 are perfect. They all do their job, albeit that first one bugs me when the holdfast goes in skewed. Nothing to do about it now and lesson learned.
Sliding deadman was kind of fun to make. I decided to go with a different look for the sides than most because I don't own a bandsaw and that template shape was one I had lying around. I like it as it gives me a "handle" at the mid point to move it around.
The shelves were finished up yesterday. I had to resaw some 8/4 leftovers to make them and let them hang out for a few days before doing the shiplaps. It took me a while to figure out how wide to make them to get even gaps and still span the width of the bench underneath. Lots of SketchUp involved. I went with a 1/16 roundover on those because I like the look.
Any questions, ask. Too many operations to explain them all.
After adding that crubber material (ground up cork and rubber) to the vises it's incredible how much better they grip a board with so little force. I just lightly spin the leg vise wheel to clamp and the board will not move.
For finish I was originally going to go with danish oil all over. I've since decided not to do that based on this being in my house and not wanting that stench lingering for weeks or more. I'll probably go with water based poly on the base since it doesn't see much abuse and for the top I'm leaning toward 2-3 light coats of 50/50 shellac sanding sealer. My concern isn't so much about having a super durable finish on the top. I want something that will give some protection and is easy to repair. 2-3 light diluted coats should provide that without making it overly slick. Open to suggestions. Whatever they are it has to be easy to use and can't be stinky or too much of a film.
Matt
Sliding deadman was kind of fun to make. I decided to go with a different look for the sides than most because I don't own a bandsaw and that template shape was one I had lying around. I like it as it gives me a "handle" at the mid point to move it around.
The shelves were finished up yesterday. I had to resaw some 8/4 leftovers to make them and let them hang out for a few days before doing the shiplaps. It took me a while to figure out how wide to make them to get even gaps and still span the width of the bench underneath. Lots of SketchUp involved. I went with a 1/16 roundover on those because I like the look.
Any questions, ask. Too many operations to explain them all.
After adding that crubber material (ground up cork and rubber) to the vises it's incredible how much better they grip a board with so little force. I just lightly spin the leg vise wheel to clamp and the board will not move.
For finish I was originally going to go with danish oil all over. I've since decided not to do that based on this being in my house and not wanting that stench lingering for weeks or more. I'll probably go with water based poly on the base since it doesn't see much abuse and for the top I'm leaning toward 2-3 light coats of 50/50 shellac sanding sealer. My concern isn't so much about having a super durable finish on the top. I want something that will give some protection and is easy to repair. 2-3 light diluted coats should provide that without making it overly slick. Open to suggestions. Whatever they are it has to be easy to use and can't be stinky or too much of a film.
Matt
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rvieceli said:
Hear, hear!!! [thumbs up]
DynaGlide
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mattgam said:
Thank you for confirming my decision. I'll make the base look nice with poly and the top will just get the shellac treatment. Hoping to wrap this up this week.
Sparktrician said:
Thanks Willy. Let me know when you want to come see it. Careful though, I fear you'll be itching for one of your own if you do.
rvieceli said:
Thank you Ron. I'm looking forward to it.
Doug H said:
Thank you Doug.
I'm still a bit in disbelief that I made this thing. I had never milled a board before this project let alone cut a M&T joint, or a dovetail, or so many other things involved with bringing this all together. I haven't picked my next project to put it to use but I do know I need to come up with an adjustable storage solution for the hand tools I've been acquiring with many more to come.
I shut my shop down for the holidays every year so I will have some time to think about what's to come.
Matt
