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Workbench #3: Base and sundries

Blog entry by VTWoody posted 602 days ago 292 reads 0 times favorited 12 comments Add to Favorites Watch
« Part 2: Top and Base Glue-up Part 3 of Workbench series Part 4: Table Top and bleeding »

Ok, back to blogging. The next picture is me using the top on sawhorses in its first job as a workbench. I needed a good surface to clamp the legs to in order to scrape them even with the scrapers that are on the right in the picture. Who woulda thunk that flat pieces of metal like card scrapers would be useful with just a slight burr on them? I love things like that that are low tech and do a better job then all our fancy other gidgets and gadgets. Don’t get me wrong, I love my gadgets and fancy powerful things, but it does give me some sort of primeval pleasure in using a simple scraper to get something done.

In the next two photos, I have marked out the mortises for the stretchers and you can see the preformed mortises in the feet and bench supports for the preformed tenons on the legs.


Those mortises in the legs had to be hogged out, and I sure wasn’t comfortable doing the whole mortise with my skills and the not so great Irwin chisels I had, so I hogged out the waste with my drill press and a Forstner bit.

The next shot is of one of my chisels sticking out of the mortise as I am squaring it up. I know I have said a few times that I don’t really like these chisels, but only for the reason that I ended up purchasing a set of Ashley Iles chisels for myself as a Christmas present and boy are they so much nicer. It may also have helped that I got a Worksharp shortly after and my chisels (all of them, including the Irwins) are so much sharper that they all cut better.

Here are the Ashley Iles Chisels. So nice and comfortable for my large hands and I love the weight and they cut like a dream.

Here the legs are being dryfit. If you look really close at the connection between leg and feet and support, you can see that the tenons were just a little long and that there is a slight gap. This was intended so that I could flush trim them later and be sure I had not made a measuring error. The next photo after that is the feet after they had been rounded over and had the relief cut on the bottom.

Oops, now I realize that I didn’t take any pictures while gluing up the leg sections, but you can take it from me that I glued them together. The next and last picture for this installment will be the glue up of the base. Since I have a dearth of clamps that are over four feet long (let’s just say that I have Zero), I had to do some creative clamping with my long boys both on top and bottom to make sure that everything was square.

That should just about do it for this post. On to the benchtop in a couple of days.

Ciao!


12 comments so far

View Rxmpo's profile

Rxmpo

119 posts in 641 days


posted 602 days ago

This has been a great step by step blog. I have been thinking of this project myself, but never attempted it. Can’t wait to see the finished product. Thanks for tutorial!

Mike

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5968 posts in 962 days


posted 601 days ago

Great blog, almost felt like I was building it with you. Should be a nice workbench.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

20707 posts in 718 days


posted 601 days ago

Thanks for continuing this construction blog. I really like seeing posts like this as it help the rest of us better visualize your building process.

You are getting close now.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

View Thos. Angle's profile

Thos. Angle

4013 posts in 858 days


posted 601 days ago

Looks good, Woody.

-- Thos. Angle

View Mario's profile

Mario

882 posts in 947 days


posted 601 days ago

Nice progress and thanks for the post.

-- Hope Never fails

View ShannonRogers's profile

ShannonRogers

370 posts in 684 days


posted 601 days ago

Great blog, especially since I have some lumber acclimating in my shop right now for my own bench project. I think the greatest testament to sharp chisels and your Worksharp is not your words, but the band-aid wrapper seen off to the side in one of your pix. lol

-- Check out my blog and podcast "The Renaissance Woodworker" at www.rogersfinewoodworking.com/blog

View motthunter's profile

motthunter

2079 posts in 695 days


posted 601 days ago

its going to be a great bench. thanks for hte step by step display.

-- making sawdust....

View HallTree's profile

HallTree

2041 posts in 663 days


posted 601 days ago

I like the photo’s and comments. This is going to be one nice workbench. Looks like you are going to have to tell the story of the band-aid wrapper.

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

View Ad Marketing Guy - Bill's profile

Ad Marketing Guy - Bill

314 posts in 694 days


posted 601 days ago

VERY VERY Informative – thanks for posting I got quite a bit out of it. Good Luck on the rest of the table- will be intereting to see how you fit the rest of it.

-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ

View jcees's profile

jcees

552 posts in 695 days


posted 601 days ago

She’s comin’ along righteous. Nice job. Thanks for all the pics too.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

9533 posts in 884 days


posted 601 days ago

You’re doing a great job so far. Keep up the great work!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

View Hersh's profile

Hersh

59 posts in 611 days


posted 600 days ago

Woody,
Thanks for the inspiration and good blog. I have read all 3 of your blogs on the bench. Keep up the good work.

-- Hersh from Port Angeles, WA - Gotta Complete That Project!

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