Next I layout the dovetails on each apron and cut the tails first on my band saw and then the pins. I try any means necessary to remove the waste. Ultimately I end up removing most of the waste with a router and then following up with the good old chisel and malet. I decide that the front apron will have 3 tails while the end aprons will have one large tail on the back.

Once all the dovetails are cut I dry fit the aprons and when I am satisfied with the fit I then start work on the two vises. I ordered two large front vises from Lee Valley. The directions were very straight forward.

Once the carriage for the vise is mounted I am able to drill the holes in the right leg to alllow the vises’ screw and guide rods to pass through the leg.

At the same time I layout and cut the notches on each of the legs to receive the front apron. This is done with my dozuki hand saw. This allows the apron to sit flush with the plane of the leg.

I drill double rows of 3/4” round dog holes in the top.

Starting with the back apron I secure it to the top using lag screws. Next the side aprons are attached in the same manor. For the side apron I allow for movement. Finally I attach the front apron. To simplify this process I use 3 clamps to “walk” the apron in to final position. I secure it with 3 lag screws. Each apron is 1/16 high so that I will be able plane it down to the hgt of the top. I do this with my #5 and #4 planes.

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Once the top is perfectly flat and level I flip the top over with the help of my friend. I locate and install the two cleats that are seated in the top of each leg and prevent the top from moving on me. We set the top and then I sand the top and put the first of 3 coats of whip on poly on. Here are a few shots.

Next Step is to work on the drawers.

So my 3 sheets of veneer arrive and I open them to inspect them. I opted to use 2 ply 4×8 sheets to save time vs. laying up my own veneer. Out of the 3 sheets I rejected two, one walnut sheet which was supposed to be flat cut and the maple sheet which I paid a premium for to have wider leaves. The walnut piece didn’t have any cathedraling in it at all and was made up entirely of the quartered portion of a flat cut piece of veneer. The supplier worked with me to get me replacement sheets ASAP. Honestly Joe at Veneer Supplies has to have some of the greatest customer service I have ever encountered. He totally gets it. I decide to keep one of the walnut sheets and use it for the inside of the storage case. I chalk out the sheet and cut it into pieces.

I veneer one side of each panel and clamp them up. I stack them on top of each other separating them with wax paper. I use one of the slab legs for added weight. The 75lbs comes in handy.

My replacement veneer arrives a few days later and I am able to veneer the other side of the panels that will make up the case. I also veneer the slab legs. I then attach 1/4” thick maple solids to each end of the slabs encasing them entirely in maple. I oversize the solid maple and then use my block plane to bring the edges flush with the veneer. I then use a 1/8” round over bit to soften the edges.

I then drill for the vertical dog holes in the side of the right leg.

The slab legs receive two coat of whip on poly. I will follow up with a few more coat once the base is assembled.

I next turn my attention to the construction of the case. With both sides of the top, bottom, back and fronts veneered I drill the sides for the 3/8” x 2 1/2” lag screws that will attach the case to the legs. The sides of the case are unfinished as they will not be seen. I recess the washer to be flush with the side of the case and mark the center lines for the drawer slides.

I then use my pocket hole jig and drill for the sides of the case.

I also rabbet the back of the sides, bottom, and top to accept the 3/4” back panel.

I glue up the case and add the 1/4” solid edge to the front side using blue tape as clamps. I miter the corners. Once dried I flush the edge to the case using a flush trim bit on my router and soften the top and bottom edge.

everything gets sanded and then the case receives two coats of tung oil to bring out the grain of the walnut.

Now for the fun part, assembling the base. To aid in the assembly I make a quick riser out of mdf to set the case on. I level the glides and then attach the case with 4 lag screws into each slab. I remove the riser and test for any lateral movement. Sure enough this thing is solid!!!

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I couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like with the top on (obviously without the apron yet). It is starting to come together. Next up the top.

So my latest project is officially underway. Click Here http://lumberjocks.com/bfd/blog/8062 to see the back story and details. I decide to build from the ground up so I start with the slab legs first.

Here you see one end panel with the heavy duty glides attached and the 3 inner layers of Particle board. The glides are rated for either 1000 or 2000 lbs (either way they should hold!) The layers are glued and screwed together to make a particle board sandwich.

I then attach the other end panel along with the back piece.

Next I mill some 8/4 solid maple leaving it slightly proud of the end panels and glue them in place. Once the glue has cured overnight I come back and plane down the maple until it is flush with the end panels. Once I veneer the sides I will come back and add an additional 1/4” solid maple piece to the front and back giving the look of a solid maple slab. I ordered both my walnut and maple veneer from VeneerSupplies.com and should be receiving that in the next week. Until then I am at a stand still with the legs. The legs prove to have the weight I wanted for stability. the Legs at this point weighs in at 75 lbs a piece!

Here is a picture of the top that I picked up locally.

While I am waiting for my veneer to arrive I decide to mill up my stock for the 4” thick apron.

And then start on the center storage case by cutting the panels that will be veneered in Walnut. Here I have done a quick dry fit and have labeled the parts. I also resaw some walnut to a finished 1/4” thickness that I will use as edging for the case. I also take stock of my other outstanding materials and order the vises and drawer slides from Lee Valley. Hopefully they arrive soon so I can continue work on the top.

Here you can see the current multi purpose bench that will be replaced by the bench I am making. This solved the conundrum of needing a bench to build a bench. It will get reused some where else in my shop.

Size Limitation: 30”x60”x 34 3/4” High. Space is limited in my shop. The bench also needs to double as my outfeed table for my Table Saw so that dictates the hgt of the bench. I will have to route out miter slots for my cross cut sled. Not being very tall this hgt works out perfectly for me.

Storage: Being a organized person I need to have storage under my bench. This is where I will store all of my hand tools. keeping them within arms reach. I plan is to utilize a different drawer construction techniques for each of the 4 drawers. The central storage itself will act as the cross bracing for the bench. I will add future storage to the outside of the slab legs as needed. I can easily add this by attaching to the slab leg a french cleat and hanging the unit.

Budget and Aesthetics: I wanted something that was unique and would serve as an example of the type of work I do both in quality and in the style. I wanted to blend both modern and traditional elements. Budget dictated a few details on this bench. I decided to buy the laminated maple top for two reasons. The cost of the raw material exceeded what I paid for the top and once you factor in the time to mill, glue, and flatten the top it was a no brainer. I will be putting a 4” solid maple apron around the top which I will mill and dovetail myself. The legs were another place where I decided to save a lot of money. They will be a laminated slab construction consisting of 5 layers of 3/4’ particle board that will be skinned in Maple veneer. The front edge will be solid maple so that I am able to drill for bench dog holes up the side. These legs will definitely have the mass required to keep the bench in place. Anyway here is the design. The second picture show the future storage I will build at a later date. The form is very reminiscent of my winebar when the outboard storage is added. This will definately be the focal point of my shop. I plan to blog the process.

PS almost forgot the most important thank you…...To Martin for conceiving the idea behind the greatest Woodworking site around. Thank you for constantly adding and improving LJ.

Now for the collector’s and purist in the group my goal was to get these back to a useable condition so that I can actually work wood with them not maintain any collectible value. As I mentioned the sentimental value was far more then their market value. Since I wasn’t going to sell these I decided to restore them accordingly.

Spending an entire day I disassembled each and spent much of the time removing the years of rush and stains. The #5 cutter and iron cap were too far gone and I had a new one of each laying around so that was the only pieces that I didn’t salvage. After a lot of elbow grease, sweat and love I have brought each back to life and they are tuned up and ready to Rock N Roll. I dated the #5 online and it is circa 1929-1930. I have no idea about the other 3.

Idea 1 is modern and the concept is that the frame is mitered in two directions to create a continuous “ribbon” of walnut that is unbroken. I will either do a contrasting keyed miter joint or a miter slip joint. I may or may not have a edge detail. If I do an edge I would do a chamfer on the underside of the top. dimensions: 11”d x 60”w x 29”h

Idea 2 is a classic Parson’s style hall table and is timeless. Looks simple right? Well if I do this I would attempt to do the frame with a Triple Miter Joint. dimensions: 11”d x 54”w x 29”h

I start by building forms from MDF. I prefer to use light weight MDF if you can find it but the standard stuff works well too albeit alot heavier. Since I will be laminating stock that is 1-1/2” thick I will need to build my forms out of two layers of 3/4” MDF. I like to work directly off my CAD drawings using them as a template. I print the CAD drawing on letter size paper at full scale. This take several pieces of paper so I create a 6”x6” grid so that I can easily tape the pieces togetherr to get a complete template.

Once I have the template together I then just spray mount the paper template directly onto the mdf. At this point I screw my MDF layers together making sure not to drive any screws near the lines that I will be cutting out. I cut these templates out on either the band saw or jig saw cutting just shy of the lines. Keep in mind that you will be making two cuts to account for the thickness of the lamination. I smooth the lines using an oscilating sander. To finish off the forms I use clear packing tape along the edges to seal the mdf. This will prevent the glue up from sticking to the form.

The finished form looks something like this. You will want to mark a center line on the two forms so that you can align your forms during glue up.

I then set up to cut my own veneer on my bandsaw. I set up to resaw anywhere between 3/32” – 1/8” thick veneer. You will want to make sure that you have your BS dialed in for this. I cut a test piece and place it in my form to make sure that the piece can be bent at the desired radius without splitting or cracking. Satisfied with the thickness. I joint the edge of the first piece as this will be the show face. Using a piece of chalk I mark a triangle on my stock so that I can keep it in order as I resaw. I then proceed to resaw the stock until I have enough veneer cut. Since I am doing a 1-1/2” thick lamination and am resawing to 1/8” I need 12 pieces. For those of you who have a thickness sander you will want to cut your veneer over size and bring to final thickness with the sander. Since I don’t have one yet I skip this step and cut to the 1/8” thickness. Here I have just cut my veneer and have kept it in sequence for the glue up. You will notice that I cut a few more extras just in case. I also make the glue up longer then needed as you will encounter the veneer sliding in the form. You can cut the lamination to final length when you take it out of the form.

Now I am ready to start the glue up. Note: If this is your first time laminating or using a new glue I highly recommend doing a test piece. You will save yourself some frustration in the long run. At the vary least do a dry run each time before you mix your glue making sure that everything is ready. I usually will put a long board down over a pair of saw horses and clamp some wax paper to the board since you are about to make a huge mess. You will want to protect your floor as well.

Now my experience is with Better Bond Ultra-CAT veneer glue (available through Veneersupplies.com which I have NO affiliation with) but Unibond 800 also works well from what I have read. Depending on the color of the wood you are bending you will have to add the optional lightening agent. Reading and following the directions I measure out the correct amount of glue (it comes in powder form). I use my wife’s food scale (don’t tell her!). I also measure out the necessary amount of water. I use distilled water but I am sure tap water will work too. I also use a respirator while I am working with the glue in powder form and while I am mixing it. Once it is mixed to proper consistancy I am ready to start glue up. I have found that the easiest, fastest and most efficient way to apply the glue is to use a roller. With your stack of veneer in order I flip the first piece over so that the show side is down and I roll the glue on making sure that I apply an even coat. I take the second piece of veneer and turn that over stacking it onto the piece I just glued and repeat the process. I do this for all the pieces that will make up the lamination being carefull not to put any glue on the show side of the last piece. Carefully move your glue and veneer “sandwich” to where you have your form and clamps set and ready to go and place the lamination into the forms. Starting at the middle slowly tighten the first clamp making sure your center line marks that you drew on your forms align. working your way from center out continue to clamp and tighten. You may have to go back to the first few clamps and tighten down as you progress outward. It helps if you clamp one of the forms to your table or bench so that it doesn’t move on you. This will also assure that the form is flat on the surface. You will want to also use wax paper below the glue up so that nothing sticks to your surface or bench that you are working on. Once satisfied that the lamination is properly seeded in the form and that you have used your entire collection of clamps you will want to let the lamination cook overnight until the next day.

The next day you can remove the lamination from the form. Be sure to wear gloves as the shards of glue are as sharp as glass and will cut you (I know this from experience). Once out of the form you can clean up one edge with the a belt sander before you joint the edge.

Once one edge is jointed you can then pass the other side through a bench planer. If there are any small voids you can fill them. At this time you will want to cut to final length. Sand, Scrape, and finish as desired.

Here are two examples of finished projects using this technique.

Note: On the tea cart I used commercial veneer that was 1/42” thick due to the complex curve involved.

The table will be built out of a slab of figured bubinga that I picked up. The slab is 8/4×16 x 68 and it is as heavy as it is beautiful. Here are shots from both directions showing how I laid out my cuts.

I then take a moment of silence before I cut into this beautiful slab and start the milling process. I make a template for the legs and cut them out on the band saw.

I then glue up the boards for the top. I had to rip the slab into 3 piece in order to joint the faces before I glue it up again this time 5 boards wide.

I then decide to cut the circle on my band saw trying something new. In the past I have cut circles using my router. I build a quick jig to cut a 24”dia circle.

Test it out on a scrap piece of plywood. Satisfied I cut into the bubinga and it works like a charm!

I gave my client a short list of woods that I could build this out of and he left it up to me so I selected walnut.
Here is a shot of the piece of 8/4×108” x 10” that I picked out. I ended up cutting it down to 36” and 72” so that I wouldn’t be fighting with it in my small shop. I would have struggled trying to pass 108” stock through my jointer, table saw, planer and band saw.

I start by building the mdf bending forms. This time I spend the extra $2 and get a full sheet of light weight mdf. MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD! I build two forms, one for the main bow and one for the legs. These were much easier then the forms that I did for my tea cart. I use pocket holes to connect the sections of the forms together

This time I just spray mount the paper template directly onto the mdf. I cut these templates out on my band saw and finish them up on my new ridgid oscilating sander.

I then set up to cut my own veneer on my bandsaw. I set up to resaw 1/8” thick veneer.

I mark my stock prior to cutting so I can keep the veneer in order

Now I am ready to start the glue up

Using Better Bond Ultra-CAT veneer glue I go to work

Here is the bow lamination just after I took it out of the form. I used wax paper to create two halves during the glue up. I will router out a channel in the middle to accept 3/8 OD copper pipe which I will run wire through (David Marks did a similar lamp). I take my 1950’s era belt sander to it to clean it up a bit before I proceed. More to come.