Weekend workbench build

[Mac]

Hi all,

Sick of using my two Black and Decker workbenches with a sheet of foam and mdf on top, I finally decided to knock together a heavy permanent workbench using some old reclaimed timbers I've had lying around. Not having a planer/jointer or thicknesser I had to do it all the old fashioned way, but am really pleased with how solid it is; I can plane on it with no movement at all. Happy days.

Anyway, I didn't make WIP pictures as I went I'm afraid, but simple mortice and tenon joinery, heavy old pine, and a little cherry edging.

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A piece of the original timber. Not pretty, but heavy!

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Two of my kids, checking it out for sturdiness...

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Frank Pellow]

That table should be able to take lots of abuse -my kind of table.

 

[Wood_Junkie]

Nice table!    Cute kids!

You do nice work, on both projects.    [smile]

 

[Neill]

Rick,

Nice looking (read clean) shop.  Table looks great.  Just wondered what the dimensions were?

I guess Daisy would not fit lest the table collapse.  Straw that broke the camel's back you know.  [smile]

Neill

 

[Mac]

Rick,

Nice looking (read clean) shop.   Table looks great.  Just wondered what the dimensions were?

I guess Daisy would not fit lest the table collapse.  Straw that broke the camel's back you know.  [smile]

Neill

Hi Neill,

The top's about 60 x 34 inches, and it stands about 36 inches tall.  Does me just fine. 

As for Daisy, I'd be more worried about her crawling straight off the edge; she's at that age now and her mother would be 'unhappy' if she were involved in a workshop incident...

 

[Mac]

Nice table!    Cute kids!

You do nice work, on both projects.    [smile]

Haha, thanks Junkie!  [thumbs up]

 

[Wonderwino]

Nice table!  [big grin]  Are you going to add dogs opposite the vise?  I saw where someone here uses big dominos at an 88 degree angle to capture the work. 

 

[Mac]

Nice table!   [big grin]  Are you going to add dogs opposite the vise?  I saw where someone here uses big dominos at an 88 degree angle to capture the work. 

Thanks Wino (haha, I love saying that). Yes, I'm considering adding dogs now, but wasn't sure where they'd be most useful, as a novice to this stuff. How would you recommend I do this?

Cheers,
Rick

 

[mouppe]

Usually a row of holes down the side perpedicular to the vise, and some in a row facing the vise. I would also screw wooden blocks to the faces of the vise as it will be kinder to your workpieces. Then drill a hole in the outside wooden face of the vise, this will allow you to clamp pieces between a dog on the vise and a dog on the bench.

Hope this makes sense. I emailed you a photo of my layout. Nice bench by the way.

 

[Mac]

Hi all,

Thanks for comments and thoughts so far. I hope Jesse (Cloud) won't mind but I've copied and pasted a pm he sent me in response to a question I had about how to overcome the problem of my edging along the short edge of the table and the expansion and contraction of the pine top...I found it really useful and interesting and maybe others will too.  Public thanks to him for being so generous with his time to help me out  [thanks]

Here's what Jess had to say:

The basic need is to allow the pine panel to grow and shrink, while the edging stays the same size.  Most of the solutions provide some way for the edging to 'float' over the panel:

1. The easiest is to cut a few slots in the edging and screw the edging to the panel through the slots.  As the panel moves, the screw moves with it, through the slots.  If you don't want to see the screws and slots, simply glue another piece of edging on top of the first one.

2. This problem comes up in trim a lot.  Imagine a cabinet with trim on the top.  Before we started using plywood, the side panel was hardwood and moved like your benchtop will.  In fact, you will see lots of antiques with cracks.  The high end cabinet makers would cut a dovetail slot through the trim and nail a few 'male' dovetail pieces to the panel.  The male dovetails would slide through the slot as the panel moved.  Elegant solution, but a lot of work.

3. Dining tables have the same issue.  Either you leave the end grain exposed or you provide some sort of edging.  The typical solution is a 'breadboard' end.  The breadboard has a groove across its length which fits on a tongue cut on the end of the table.  Slots are cut near the ends of the tongue.  The breadboard is then attached with three (or more) dowels, two through the slots and one drilled and glued to the tongue in the middle.  The panel grows outward from the middle.

Sorry I ran on so, as you can tell, its something I think about a lot .
Jess

 

[robtonya]

Nice!

 

[honeydoman]

nice bench and shop  interesting chop saw from dewalt...