LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner
7K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  dryhter 
#1 ·
The first in series of nine

Hey everyone,

Well it was just about a year ago that I started on this project, eventually I entered it in the Winter lumberjocks contest, some may remember it,it even got a few votes. While I was constructing the workbench I was shooting video and have about nine hours of video. This is the first of a series of nine.
I also have a website That I will be posting future episodes to, as well as here at lumberjocks. Prior to starting the bench I checked out the www. to see what kind of videos were available regarding building a heavy-duty heirloom quality woodworker's bench and there were few, maybe none. There were plans but no actual video of actually building a bench.

I am getting to a question here so please bear with me.

My BIL who is a web master and helped build my site tells me a video needs to be short maybe ten minutes max., because peoples attention spans are short and anything after that people will just tune out. And I can't really disagree with with him, but, I disagree with him on this point.

If you are going to use the web for entertainment or socially then short is good, but if you are using the web as a tool and you want to find out how to do something then short is not so good. And that is the niche' that I would like to fill. I know lot's of thing about working wood, somethings learned at great expense, other things just from doing.

So, here is the question "Do you think this kind of format will work or should I edit the videos?"
Anyways enjoy!

http://blip.tv/play/AYGrrhQA

The workbench
1 thru 9

These videos (one thru nine) detail the building of a heavy duty woodworking bench. The bench is often considered a watermark in a woodworker's career, testing skills to blend form and function. All is revealed, along with my thoughts on the hows and whys I did what I did.

The captured video is in raw form, without editing, in real time. My hope is that you may see me do something while constructing the bench that might help you build yours, but might have been edited out as being unimportant. The video is not meant to be strictly instructional but more of a visit to a friend or mentor's shop. While I make no claims of being a master woodworker, I do have 25plus years of experience being a carpenter and cabinet maker and would like to share what I have learned. The learning never ends and I am always seeking a better way to do things, join me on my journey.

ONE
That was the case with this workbench, using salvaged materials from a remodeling project is the starting point. I discuss preparing the used materials for the project and finish with using a lathe to turn some massive, yet elegant legs.

There are no drawings for the bench, I have an idea in my mind of what I want to build, and the available materials will ultimately dictate what is produced. I sometimes like to build something with materials that I have, as opposed to buying what is needed. This is fun for me, the challenge, is bringing into balance what I want to build with what I can build. Many times this kind of project causes me to be creative, pushing the boundaries and causing a great deal of thinking, which is a good thing. And if I can clean up a pile of material and build something, so much the better.

Two

Coming soon to www.underconstructionlive.com
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Sounds like a really neat idea for a podcast or youtube videos or some easier way to find you(streaming).
I don't know if it's just me but the video in this post just tries to get me to download a flv file.
I'm assuming not playable by streaming.
 
#4 ·
Hey skywalker,
I edited the post and switched the video to a flash player, let me know if you still have a problem playing.
I like youtube but they have a time limit of ten minutes and most of my videos are close to an hour.
I would like to do streaming videos when I am in the shop working, just don't have the coin to set it up, but hey Christmas is coming and I have been a very good boy this past year.

Hey Rozzi,
Glad to hear that, eight more videos will be comming soon.
 
#7 ·
Your BIL is dead wrong. Many podcasts and videos on the web are under ten minutes long because they not only lack any real content, but are also not actually aimed at any audience beyond the random short attention span surfer.

Tell your BIL to head over to The Wood Whisperer or Wood Treks and check out the average length of videos that actually contain content and are aimed at a specific audience. (It also help's that those videos make an honest attempt at good lighting, decent sound, and proper camera work - again, utterly unlike the average web video.)
 
#9 ·
Hey gmerteng,
Thanks for looking at the video. Yes using the planer on salvaged material is pretty tough on the blades, but not on the machine. As careful as I was about removing the nails and staples from the wood a few staples (from attaching insulation to the stud cavities ) got through and added a few new nicks in the blades.Luckily these staples are pretty soft steel compared to the blades and did little damage.
On my planer it is easy to shift the blades and reduce the effects of this.
 
#11 ·
Mortising

http://blip.tv/play/AYGrwWUA

The workbench two
I complete the turning of the legs for the workbench and compare minor differences that occurred while turning. While the differences are not obvious to the casual observer and don't affect the overall project I can't help but to critique my work. This critiquing is an important step in my learning process. Being self taught for the most part, many times in the past the first step in a project was to just do it, then analyzing what went wrong or right. Having chosen to do this line of work as a profession you can understand how developing efficient, methodical work routines directly affect the bottom line, my paycheck. One problem I have struggled with in my career is not being able to cut corners I just can't seem to sacrifice quality. My solution is to not even try to cut a corner anymore (because I know I will just end up redoing or agonize over some stupid detail) and to develop efficient work methods. The efficiency allows me to spend the extra time required to do quality work and yet be competitive regarding cost. I think that developing this skill is as important as any skill you may learn from woodworking.

In the second half of the video I start mortising the table legs, and right from the get go I have to improvise. I had planned on using my chisel mortising machine, but the legs are so big they exceed the capacity of the machine, so I used my drill press. In retrospect this was a very efficient method and probably a much more common way of hogging out the wood for viewers of this video.

At the very end is a short segment of sharpening a chisel with an oil stone, this is my preferred way to sharpen my chisels and plane irons and I offer showing it only to continue the controversy in the woodworking world as to which method of sharpening is best.

Coming soon, Third in a series.
Deals with refining the mortise for that snug fit, developing a cutting list from available materials, preparing materials and finally cutting the tenons.

Chips and shavings
 
#12 ·
The perfect fit

The Workbench
THREE

The third video in a series of nine.

............................

Mortise and tenon joinery synonymous with fine woodworking, mystical like dovetailed joints. Working with wood is therapeutic in a way, putting you in touch with your senses and connecting your head to the wood. T he woodworker's never ending quest for perfection. It will drive you crazy if you let it.

In the first part of the video I show the perfect fit. At least perfect for me, on this particular project at that specific point in the space/time continuum. All is revealed. So all you novice wood workers watch how to make the perfect fit. You old farts can leave a comment and disagree.

The rest of the video deals with the actual fabrication of the tenon.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top